ZIMBABWE: Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai leaves hospital saying he is still in pain from police beatings but will keep up his struggle against President Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is discharged from hospital after treatment for injuries he suffered in police custody last weekend and says the struggle continues against President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government. Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai left hospital on Friday (March 16), saying he was still in pain from police beatings, but would keep up his struggle against President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government. Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had been treated for what his party said was a suspected skull fracture since Tuesday (March 13), two days after he and scores of supporters were arrested in an anti-Mugabe protest. Images of a badly bruised and limping Tsvangirai entering hospital earlier this week fuelled international outrage and threats by the United States and other countries to tighten sanctions against Mugabe and other senior Zimbabwean officials. "I think I have made progress over the last two, three days and today I think the doctor discharged me on the condition that I take a much more relaxed position, after three days in hospital," Tsvangirai told Reuters. Mugabe's government accused his group of resisting arrest and waging a violent, militia-style campaign to topple the 83-year-old ruler. The opposition rejects this claim. Tsvangirai and others who were arrested in the crackdown face charges of public violence and convening an illegal rally, defence lawyers say. The charges usually lead to fines as opposed to serving time in jail. The opposition leader is determined to keep battling the government. "This is not the first time people have gone through this experience. I'm not the only one who has gone through the experience. One thing is for certain that freedom is not cheap and it is only when people lose their freedom that they realise how freedom is precious," Tsvangirai said, adding: "The struggle continues." A court hearing on Tuesday was abandoned after a state prosecutor ordered that the MDC leader and other injured detainees be taken to hospital for treatment. Zimbabwean officials have said the government will not tolerate dissent on the streets, vowing to use a "heavy hand" to enforce a three-month-old ban on political rallies and protests in Harare. Mugabe, who frequently blames Zimbabwe's economic problems on sabotage by Britain and the United States, told his Western critics on Thursday (March 15) that they could "go hang". Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said on Friday Mugabe had assured Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete at a meeting in Harare that the political problems would be resolved legally and the rights of all Zimbabweans respected. Political analysts said Mugabe's tactics could backfire as millions of Zimbabweans looked for a way out of a deep economic crisis, marked by soaring inflation and unemployment, and chronic shortages of food and fuel. YL/AD

ITN Source | March 17, 2007

Tags:. .threats. .earlier. .britain. .rallies. .injuries