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GUESTS: Sinclair Roberts, political asylee from Zimbabwe, Carol Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Northern Arizona

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is facing international criticism following the violent repression of a weekend gathering of opposition activists. His response yesterday was to tell Western countries to “go hang.” Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change was among the activists arrested at last Sunday’s banned gathering of the “Save Zimbabwe Coalition.” He was beaten while in custody suffering head wounds at the hands of the police. Tsvangirai was released from the hospital today and vows to continue the struggle against Mugabe. The chief spokesperson for Mugabe’s ruling party, Zanu–PF, said that Morgan Tsvangirai “asked for the trouble in which he has found himself.” Another opposition activist, Gift Tandare, was shot and killed by police during the gathering. The crackdown on opposition activists comes at a time when President Mugabe is considering a plan to extend his rule past his 2008 term to 2010. The official rationale given is that combining presidential and parliamentary elections will cut down costs associated with elections. However, some analysts believe that the move is more motivated by divisions within the Zanu–PF over who will succeed Mugabe. The 83 year old Robert Mugabe has been Zimbabwe’s sole leader since the nation gained independence from Britain in 1980.