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 JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Police in Zimbabwe banned demonstrations in parts of the capital of Harare on Wednesday in an effort to crack down on the opposition as the country's autocratic ruler celebrated his 83rd birthday by vowing to stay in power.
Police issued a three-month ban on protests in two districts considered hotbeds of opposition support. The districts include several working-class suburbs and include sporting grounds usually used by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for rallies.
Police on Sunday arrested and beat up opposition party supporters who planned to demonstrate against deteriorating living conditions and plans by President Robert Mugabe to postpone presidential elections from 2008 to 2010. The government cited looting and destruction of property over the weekend as the reason for the protest ban.
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