In his first major address since last month's disputed elections, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vowed that former colonial power Britain would never "steal" his country as an arms shipment destined for Zimbabwe sat in a South African port, according to dpa. Mugabe was addressing thousands of people attending a rally Friday in a Harare stadium on the 28th anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence from Britain and his arrival to power. Three weeks ago Zimbabweans voted on whether he should remain president for another five years but the state-controlled Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is refusing to release the results. Speaking for over an hour, mostly off the cuff, the 84-year-old leader accused Britain of throwing money at Zimbabweans to turn them against the government, and declared: "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again. Never shall we retreat." Mugabe alleged that some white farmers who were evicted from their land by ruling party members and cronies since 2000 and had emigrated to Britain, Australia and South Africa were waiting in hotels to reclaim land in the event of an opposition victory. Mugabe's defiant address came a day before ZEC undertakes a partial recount of the votes cast in the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections - even though the presidential results are still unknown. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims he defeated Mugabe squarely. Mugabe's Zanu-PF party claims neither Tsvangirai nor Mugabe won outright and that a runoff is required. An independent electoral observation NGO also predicted neither took more than 50 per cent at the first round but had Tsvangirai very close. The MDC opposes both the runoff and recount. The party was in court in Harare Friday attempting to block the recount of votes from 23 constituencies it won mostly while its leaders engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity. Tsvangirai met Friday in Johannesburg with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who conveyed "a message of Nordic support for democracy in Zimbabwe," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said. MDC officials were also in Kenya for talks with new Prime Minister Raila Odinga on how he dealt with that country's post-election crisis. "Kenya is special for us ... because of the special circumstances that people here have gone through. There is a basic correlation. Your people feel our bitterness, our people share your bitterness," MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti told independent NTV station. Mugabe's warnings about Britain and land reform, coming a day after a state newspaper accused Britain of colluding with Tsvangirai to overthrow him, is seen as part of his attempt to regain support in rural areas that used to vote for him but voted MDC this time. Youth militia loyal to Mugabe have sown terror in these areas since the election, chasing white farmers off their land and beating and chasing from their homes scores of black farmworkers and other people suspected of supporting the MDC. Earlier soldiers went house to house in the low-income Harare suburb of Glenview beating up men and youths, in what one witness claimed was revenge for an assault on a soldier earlier in the week. The MDC and several newspapers have reported that military hardliners are now effectively running the country. Tsvangirai claimed in a BBC interview Thursday that Zanu-PF and the MDC had been close to a deal that would have ended Mugabe's autocratic and economically disastrous rule a few days after the election but that some "establishment" elements scuppered it. The situation in Zimbabwe has sparked objections in neighbouring South Africa over a consignment of Chinese weapons sitting in Durban harbour destined for Mugabe's government. The 70-tonne consignment include millions of rounds of ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles,mortar bombs, grenades and grenade launchers. Dock workers have refused to off-load the shipment for transport by road to Zimbabwe saying it would be "grossly irresponsible" to do so. The opposition Democratic Alliance has called on the government of President Thabo Mbeki - whom the MDC wants replaced as southern African mediator in Zimbabwe - to revoke the conveyance permit it issued in the interest of peace in Zimbabwe. The government said it could not interfere in a transaction between two sovereign states.
