Rt Hon Winston Peters
Minister of Foreign Affairs

12 March 2007
Media statement

Peters calls for release of Mugabe opponents

Foreign Minister Winston Peters today called on Zimbabwe Prime Minister Robert Mugabe to immediately release opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues from captivity.

Mr Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was arrested by police on Sunday as part of a violent crackdown on a planned demonstration in the capital Harare.

One activist was killed and scores of others were arrested, including five other senior MDC officials. Tsvangirai and his officials have been denied access to legal advice since being taken into custody.

“This latest incident is another sign of the desperation of the Mugabe regime, which has banned all political rallies,” Mr Peters said.

“The situation in Zimbabwe is appalling. Many Zimbabweans cannot feed themselves in a country that was once the food basket of Africa.

"Mugabe’s regime, through its mismanagement, is responsible for this tragedy, and its answer to legitimate and understandable political protest continues to be violent repression.

“It is time for Robert Mugabe to act in the interests of all Zimbabweans. It is quite clear that while he maintains his current course the disaster he has imposed on his country will only deepen,” Mr Peters said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On The New Government’s Policies Of Yesteryear

Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT. More