HARARE, 26 June 2008 (IRIN) - More than 200 supporters of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), including women and children, are camping in the grounds of the South African embassy in the capital, Harare, hoping to get refugee status. They say they are trying to escape the violence unleashed by the militia of ZANU-PF, the previous ruling party.

Police have set up roadblocks on all roads to the embassy, apparently to stem a suspected tide of asylum seekers ahead of the presidential run-off election on Friday 27 June.

The MDC supporters, who claim to have fled their homes in former ZANU-PF strongholds in the three rural provinces of Mashonaland West, Central and East, have sought refuge at the South African embassy since the afternoon of Wednesday 25 June, after police forcibly removed them from the MDC headquarters in Harare on 23 June.

"This group of unidentified people want the embassy to give them sanctuary," said William Geerlings, first secretary in the embassy's political section.

He said the staff were arranging for food, blankets and other necessities for the asylum seekers, and the embassy was in contact with the Zimbabwe government and other humanitarian agencies because "We don't want them to be exposed for too long to the harsh weather conditions."

Fleeing from the cops

The asylum seekers appeared to have outwitted the police, who have often raided the MDC offices and taken the occupants into custody for questioning, saying their presence posed a health hazard.

The police took at least 60 opposition party supporters from the MDC headquarters on Monday. According to the MDC, more than 86 of their supporters have been killed since the first round of elections on 29 March.

Seeking asylum at the South African embassy seems ironic in view of the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa, which forced many Zimbabweans to leave the country.

"We are in this mess, although [South African] President [Thabo] Mbeki says there is no crisis in this country [Zimbabwe]," said a self-appointed spokesman for the displaced people, who refused to identify himself.

"He [Mbeki] shares part of the responsibility for our plight now ... He said there is no crisis in Zimbabwe, yet here we are, sitting and sleeping in the open."

Some of the asylum seekers claimed they had been camping at the MDC headquarters since the first week of April, when a wave of violence, attributed to state agents, party militia and war veterans, engulfed rural Zimbabwe in the wake of the March polls.

Call for fresh elections

The representatives of several hundred Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said they were aware of the asylum seekers camped at the South African embassy and called for fresh elections at a press briefing in Harare on 26 June.

"We are aware that over 300 Zimbabweans are gathered at the South African Embassy as a direct result of the political violence, and the failure of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to protect life and limb," said a statement released at the press conference.

"In light of the foregoing, we view the only solution to our current national crisis as one that requires the holding of fresh elections under a new, democratic and people-driven constitution," the NGOs said.

Zimbabwe is to go ahead with the election of its president on Friday, despite the fact that President Robert Mugabe's only challenger, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has withdrawn from the race, saying he needed to save the lives of his supporters, who have become the targets of ZANU-PF's militia.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights noted in a statement that it would "indeed be an absurdity" to allow the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission "to continue with an election where there is only one remaining candidate".

The United Nations and the Southern African Development Community have called for a postponement of Friday's presidential vote because of the violence.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980 during the March polls, as well as council seats in all major cities and towns.

Tendai Biti out on bail

The MDC secretary-general, Tendai Biti, who was arrested on treason charges a fortnight ago, was released on bail on Thursday. Tsvangirai has called for the release of all political prisoners before any negotiations concerning possible transitional arrangements for a new government can take place.

Mugabe has reportedly said he would be open to negotiations after Friday's run-off. Political analyst Brian Raftopolous said the two parties would have to negotiate, as "That is the only way forward for both the ZANU-PF and the MDC - they have no other choice."

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