Zimbabwe court overturns police ban on rallies

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's High Court on Saturday overturned a police ban on opposition rallies this weekend ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off, a lawyer for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said.

"The effect of the order is to allow MDC rallies to proceed. The order simply says that police should not interfere with the MDC rallies. We made an urgent chamber application after police wrote to say the rallies scheduled for this weekend should not continue," MDC lawyer Charles Kwaramba said.

He said High Court Judge Alfas Chitakunye gave the order on Saturday afternoon. The application only sought to challenge the police ban on MDC rallies scheduled for this weekend.

"The ruling is logical. What is disturbing is we have to go to the High Court each time we want to meet our supporters. That only happens in a dictatorship. We are not an underground or guerrilla movement, we need to meet the people," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.

He said the rallies the party planned for this weekend would go ahead.

Police on Friday banned several of the planned rallies in the campaign for the presidential run-off between the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai and veteran leader Robert Mugabe because authorities could not guarantee the safety of party leaders.

Chamisa said the police decision to bar opposition rallies was "deplorable."

"It is absolutely deplorable that the police and some state institutions have willingly become agents of repression. They seem to be taking instructions from ZANU-PF," Chamisa said.

Zimbabwean police arrested another opposition lawmaker -- Eric Matinenga -- on Saturday, a day after Tsvangirai was detained for the second time this week ahead of the run-off vote.

Six MDC lawmakers have been arrested for various offences since the March 29 poll, in which Tsvangirai beat Mugabe but failed to win the majority needed to avoid a run-off.

The MDC accuses Mugabe of trying to sabotage Tsvangirai's campaign in order to preserve his 28-year hold on power.

Mugabe, however, blames the MDC party for violence and his government this week ordered all aid agencies to stop their humanitarian programs, saying they were interfering in the country's politics.

The Southern African Development Community, a regional grouping of 14 nations, including Zimbabwe, is sending observers to monitor the run-off.

Tensions have been running high ahead of the vote.

On Thursday, police stopped and held five U.S. and two British diplomats for several hours after they visited victims of political violence. Zimbabwe also barred relief agencies from doing work in the country, suffering economic ruin.

(Editing by Stephen Weeks)