5 reliable and convincing. And so it is in the instant case. In seeking to reveal the “Trail of Violence” by opposition groups in Zimbabwe, the author unwittingly admits the mechanisms of political oppression deployed by the police in Zimbabwe. WHAT THE REPORTS REVEAL The first report opens with the following statement: “All opposition forces in Zimbabwe and beyond our boarders (sic) have been, for a long time, working either individually, separately or jointly in strategising for regime change in Zimbabwe. These forces include the following: • Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) anti-Senate • Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) pro-Senate • National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) • Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) • Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe • Women/Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA) • Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) • Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) • Christian Alliance” It is, of course, the role of opposition political parties in any democracy to seek regime change. But in Zimbabwe the state-controlled press has repeatedly accused western governments of interfering in the country’s internal affairs and not respecting its sovereignty by expressing a desire to see “regime change” in Zimbabwe. By linking “régime change” with the alleged machinations of foreign governments, the state press has given the term a connotation of something inherently criminal. Even when the term is not linked to foreign interference, it retains that sinister connotation in the patois of the state media. The opening salvo of the first ZRP report needs to be considered in this context. The author clearly has fully internalised the government’s political philosophy that any person or body seeking or expressing a desire for regime change is engaged in criminal activity. The reports put beyond doubt that this view is held by a large number of members of the ZRP. This conclusion is fully supported by an analysis of the author’s next step, in the first report, which is to outline the “criminal activities” that he or she feels provides evidence for the “trail of violence” by the opposition. The bulk of the extensive list of “criminal activities” outlined in the reports consists of details of various political gatherings and meetings held by the MDC or civic organizations in Zimbabwe. In order to see this list in its context, it is necessary to examine the past response of the ZRP to public order issues. For several years the police have treated political gatherings and meetings by the opposition or civics as unlawful in themselves, and have used their powers or the Police Reaction Unit (the Riot Police) to prevent these meetings from taking