Quotes of the Day

Is Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe trying to set an African record for mass arrests? It certainly looks that way.

Two weeks ago, police launched a violent crackdown on illegal traders in Zimbabwe's biggest cities — the government blames them for fueling inflation, now at 129%. Operation Restore Order has so far netted more than 15,000 people for hoarding maize and dealing in foreign currency. Many Zimbabweans believe there are darker reasons for the sweeps, which have included incidents of police brutality and destruction of property. Most of those targeted live in urban areas that overwhelmingly backed the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in parliamentary elections last March. Many believe the arrests are payback for perceived disloyalty and a warning that antigovernment unrest will be met with force.

But the arrests may also be a way for Mugabe to make nice with his new patrons in China. As he tries to cope with the world's fastest-shrinking economy, he has developed a Look East policy designed to curry favor with Asian powers, especially Beijing. China has begun to give arms and planes to Zimbabwe; in return, the MDC charges, Zimbabwe is giving China land. The Chinese government is helping to build Mugabe a new mansion on the outskirts of Harare, the capital. And Chinese traders are flooding the country with cheap shoes and clothes — and immigrants to sell them, too.

The crackdown on Zimbabwean sellers will remove competition in this sector, alleges MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. "The Chinese are not so interested in short-term material gain; they're after long-term influence and power in the region," says Isaac Maposa, director of Zimbabwe Institute, an opposition-aligned think tank. "But Mugabe has to look like he's thinking of them after all the help China's given him."

• SIMON ROBINSON
• As times get tougher in Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe gets tougher still, the biggest winner may be China