HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Police on Tuesday detained the entire leadership of Zimbabwe's trade union umbrella organization to muzzle protests against worsening economic conditions, union officials said.News of the arrests of all the top leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions, representing 30 worker organizations with 1 million members, came in a statement expressing "utter shock and dismay" by the trade union congress in neighboring South Africa. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions had scheduled a midday march to "remind government and employers that workers are hungry, angry and tired."
The South African statement said that those arrested included the president of the congress, Lovemore Matombo, and his secretary-general, Wellington Chibebe. The statement said at least 200 people were reported arrested in Harare alone. Ahead of the planned march, police mounted roadblocks on all routes into Harare, stopping any vehicle having more than one passenger. Paramilitaries with dogs, shields and batons were conspicuous throughout the capital.
Witnesses said about 10 trades unionists were arrested and hustled away by police in downtown Harare at lunchtime as they prepared to deliver a petition to the Labor Ministry demanding new minimum wages, improved conditions, and free treatment for millions of HIV and AIDS sufferers. Union officials said police swooped overnight on leading activists in several parts of the country and detained them even though the union had notified police of the marches, as required under new security laws.