Thursday April 6 1:41 PM ET Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Urges Farmer Self-Defense Reuters Photo By Stella Mapenzauswa HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader said Thursday a breakdown of law and order in the country meant white farmers might soon be forced to defend themselves from angry protestors. He said the failure of police to act on farm invasions, despite a High Court order, left farmers with little chance to protect themselves from increasing violent war veterans. ``If the police are not able to help...then certainly the community has a right to self defense. I think everyone must now agree that the government has abdicated its responsibility of protecting the citizens,'' Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, told Reuters Television in an interview. ``When the state is sponsoring the violence itself, where is the protection of the ordinary citizen of this country? ``If (President Robert Mugabe) allows outlaws and renegade elements to go around unchecked then he will engulf the whole nation into anarchy,'' he added. Speak your mind Discuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger) Police are still investigating the death of a police officer who was shot Tuesday during skirmishes at a farm occupied by the squatters in eastern Zimbabwe. The owner of the farm was severely assaulted. Tsvangirai's seven-month-old movement has emerged as Mugabe's strongest rival in parliamentary elections expected in May. The war veterans say they have the backing of the president, who pushed through legislation Thursday allowing the government to grab white farms to resettle landless blacks, with responsibility for compensation falling on Britain. ``He (Mugabe) must admit that the orchestrated plan of using the war veterans on the land issue has backfired. He cannot control the situation,'' Tsvangirai said. Reuters Photo He dismissed Mugabe's threats to challenge Britain over the land issue, urging him to move quickly to bring order to white farms besieged by war veterans. Threat To Britain ``An Old Man's Ranting'' Mugabe told state television that Zimbabwe was prepared to go to war with its former colonial master Britain if necessary. ``I think people should just dismiss that as the rantings of an old man. Why should there be war with Britain? Fight over what, go to the trenches over what?'' Tsvangirai said. ``Mugabe had 20 years to solve the land question. He has failed to implement fundamental changes to it. Britain does not come into it. So why is he dragging Britain into this whole issue?'' he asked. He said Zimbabwe's leader had failed in his responsibility to protect white farms whose property has been invaded by some 3,000 war veterans in the last couple of months. Tsvangirai, a former trade unionist, said Mugabe's grandstanding over land was at the expense of fundamental economic considerations. Zimbabwe is now in its worst financial straits since independence. ``The situation is deteriorating because of Mugabe's agitation for land and I think he has a national responsibility to uphold the rule of law on those farms. That is the only way in which we can start having confidence in this economy,'' Tsvangirai said. ``The first thing he needs to do is to ensure that people are protected, that the law enforcement agencies are there on the ground so that there is normality on the countryside,'' Tsvangirai said. E-mail this story | Printer-friendly format Earlier Stories Zimbabwe Makes Britain 'Liable' for Farm Seizures (April 6) White Farmers Worry As Land Seized in Zimbabwe (April 6) More Land Seizures in Zimbabwe As Mugabe Talks War (April 6) Mugabe Challenges Britain to War Over Land (April 5) Zimbabwe Farmers Report Arson by Mugabe Backers (April 5) Zimbabwe Farmers Report Arson, Nigeria to Mediate (April 5) <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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