Student protest crackdown shows Zimbabwe's military still firmly in charge

It was one of the first unauthorized protests of the new Zimbabwe: thousands of students gathering outside the library at the University of Zimbabwe to sing revolutionary songs, march, chant slogans and boycott their exams.

The protest on Monday, just a day before ousted president Robert Mugabe's dramatic resignation, was more than just an anti-Mugabe demonstration. The students also wanted the resignation of their vice-chancellor and the reform of their beleaguered university to provide free education and more educational resources.

Within hours of the protest, the university had agreed to postpone the exams. But just a few hours later, Zimbabwe's military commanders stepped in. They ordered the university to reverse the decision, forcing the students to take the exams that they had planned to boycott.

Students must remain "calm" and "proceed with their educational programs as scheduled," the army said in a statement Monday night. Then it switched to capital letters to reinforce its heavy-handed message: "THEY NEED TO REMEMBER THAT ONE DAY OF EDUCATION LOST IS DIFFICULT TO RECOVER."

It was a small example of how Zimbabwe's coup leaders have become the powers behind the throne since last week's coup.

The military chiefs have turned Harare's street protests on and off to suit their own political agenda. They have been quick to intervene in the political world, even at the campus level, to maintain what they describe as "order and discipline."

The vast powers of the Zimbabwean military seem likely to continue under the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who will be sworn into office on Friday morning in front of a crowd of thousands of Zimbabweans at the national sports stadium.

Mr. Mnangagwa, a former defence minister, is a close ally of military commander General Constantino Chiwenga and a former head of the Joint Operations Command, which co-ordinates all security agencies.

Even after Mr. Mugabe fired him as vice-president on Nov. 6 and he fled into exile in South Africa, Mr. Mnangagwa says he remained in "constant contact" with the military chiefs. His military connections will be a key element in boosting his authority after he becomes president on Friday.

The military remains firmly in charge here. Armoured vehicles and military units continue to control key points around Harare, even after Mr. Mugabe's resignation announcement on Tuesday. Soldiers in camouflage uniforms, carrying assault rifles, still maintain control of the entrance to Harare's international airport.

The soldiers, who arrested a number of Mr. Mugabe's cabinet ministers and senior officials during the first hours of the coup, continue to hold an unknown number of officials in custody, refusing to provide any details on who is in detention or why. Some detainees were reportedly allowed to go into exile abroad, but the military has not provided any confirmation.

On Thursday, armed soldiers attacked and ransacked the homes of Mr. Mnangagwa's factional rivals in the ruling party, according to reports by human rights researchers. The researchers provided photos of damaged and ransacked homes, and they said that the families who still lived in the homes had been harassed and traumatized. The homes belonged to cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere, who led a faction that had feuded with Mr. Mnangagwa in recent months. Both were arrested by the military during the coup and have reportedly been sent into exile.

In his first speech after returning to Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Mr. Mnangagwa expressed his gratitude to his military allies for their behaviour during their coup, praising them for "managing this process peacefully."

Since the coup last week, many Zimbabweans have lauded the soldiers as liberators and heroes, mobbing them euphorically in street rallies. Many people, perhaps a majority, were grateful for anything that would remove Mr. Mugabe from office, even if it was an illegal military intervention.

But some citizens, including a number of university students, are worried about the military operation. They resent how the military has manipulated the protests, first encouraging hundreds of thousands of people to march in the streets last Saturday and then shutting down the university protests just two days later.

"It looks like a puppet show," said Nick Chauke, a 19-year-old first-year student at the University of Zimbabwe who had joined the campus protest on Monday.

"It's not fair," he said. "The army is controlling it. First you can protest, then you can't protest. Student protest is vital."

Antony Mukuwamombe, a 23-year-old accounting student, says the army has been acting as if it supported the Zimbabwean people. "But now it seems that they want things their own way. The army is taking all the power into their own hands. They want to decide how people protest and whether they protest."

Another student, 21-year-old Samson Tsikwa, said the students had little choice but to cancel their exam boycott. "We have to obey the commander's orders," he said.

The army's arrest of an unknown number of politicians has sparked concern from human rights groups. One group, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said it noted the arrest reports "with apprehension and concern." It said the military must follow due process, prevent any disappearances or incommunicado detentions, allow the detainees to have access to lawyers and family members, and respect their pretrial rights.

Mr. Mnangagwa, meanwhile, spent Thursday working on final preparations for his inauguration. After several unconfirmed reports of looting and other attacks on the property of Mugabe family members and supporters, Mr. Mnangagwa issued a statement calling on Zimbabweans to refrain from any "vengeful retribution."

In a brief statement issued Nov. 22, the Canadian government commented on Mr. Mugabe's resignation, calling it "a new chapter in the lives of the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe."

"Their views have been made abundantly clear through peaceful demonstrations demanding change, and we hope that with Robert Mugabe's departure, the country's leaders will use this impetus to set Zimbabwe on a path towards greater prosperity," the Canadian statement said.