HARARE, June 6: Zimbabwe police on Friday arrested opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and charged him with treason at the end of a week of mass protests against President Robert Mugabe’s government.

Mr Tsvangirai was arrested at his home and taken to a police station in central Harare on the last day of mass anti-government protests, an official for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said.

His lawyer, Innocent Chagonda, said he had been charged with treason for “organizing and holding rallies urging his supporters to take to the streets to overthrow President Robert Mugabe”.

He said the 51-year-old opposition leader would remain in custody for the time being.

The arrest and treason charge came on the day the MDC had called for a last concerted push by its supporters to show their anger against the government.

The party had set Friday as “D-Day” and called for people to “rise up in your millions” in street marches in cities around the country.

The party blames the government for chronic economic hardships and widespread shortages affecting most Zimbabweans. Around 80 percent of the country’s 11.6 million people live in poverty, and inflation is officially at 269 percent.

But although most shops and businesses were closed in central Harare on Friday, scores of ruling party supporters and state security agents ensured no marches got off the ground.

Ruling party youths ripped up copies of the private Daily News newspaper, which is highly critical of the government. Police, swinging batons were also out in full force to quell would-be demonstrators.

The government had obtained a court order declaring this week’s mass action illegal. And it again went to court again to enforce that order, following an appeal lodged by the MDC.

Hundreds of opposition supporters and officials, including lawmakers have been arrested and some of them beaten, the party has claimed.

Shortly before his arrest, Tsvangirai had condemned the state’s show of force, and vowed his party would press on with mass action.

He claimed that Mugabe could no longer be called a “civilian president”.

Tsvangirai added that although his party wanted to help solve the country’s problems through dialogue, it would not back down from its calls for mass action against the government.

In the country’s second city of Bulawayo meaningful mass demonstrations failed to gain momentum. Hundreds of police and military patrolled the streets, according to a correspondent there.

Mugabe and his government have defended the use of force to suppress the street protests, saying it was meant to ensure peace and stability in the country. —AFP