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 Peter Hain, Foreign Office Minister"Racist attacks targetting whites"  real 28k |
Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain said the violence appeared to be racist and organised.
Eyewitnesses, including a BBC correspondent, say white protesters were singled out for attack by people thought to be former fighters in the independence war.
Mr Hain said: "We strongly condemn all forms of violence, especially this sort of thuggery orchestrated from on high, which drags Zimbabwe's already tarnished image even lower."
 Peter Hain: "Clear evidence of racist attacks"
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Mr Hain said he would raise the issue "as a matter of urgency" at a summit meeting between African and European Union leaders, which opens in Cairo on Sunday.
The Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, will also attend the summit.
Mr Hain has been a persistent critic of President Robert Mugabe and his administration, and relations between the two countries have become increasingly strained.
 Demonstrators fleeing from police
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The Conservatives have accused the UK government of failing to match its words with actions.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Francis Maude said: "It's about time the British Government spoke out against Mugabe's corrupt regime, but as we've seen so often Labour prove to be all mouth and no delivery.
"We have called for Zimbabwe to be suspended from the Commonwealth until Mugabe's government is removed or until he completely changes his policies.
As we've seen so often Labour prove to
be all mouth and no delivery  |
Shadow Foreign Secretary Francis Maude
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The Harare demonstration was called to protest against the takeover of more than 700 white-owned farms by black war veterans.
A British journalist was among those injured. Andrew Meldrum of the Guardian was struck on the head by a missile, which he described as a "very large rock".
 A protester is arrested as the demonstration starts
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"The original protest had been very joyful and peaceful but then the so-called bush war veterans came along.
"I saw people being beaten with steel bars, pickaxe handles and rocks. One man was on the floor unconscious and having convulsions."
Mr Meldrum said he believed that President Mugabe's men were behind the attack.
"They were targeting white people who weren't even involved in the protest, even people coming out of the bank," he said.
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