Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said this evening that force had been necessary to maintain peace and stability in the face of a nationwide anti-government strike called by the opposition Movement Democratic Change (MDC).
"It is sad when we are forced as a government to use teargas against our own youth who are being misled but we have to do it in the interests of peace and security," Mr Mugabe told South Africa's SABC television news.
"We don't want to make our people suffer. We suffered enough during colonial times and during independence...
"We want our people to be free to express their free views and feel that the country belongs to them, that they have a stake like everybody else in the country."
The MDC on Monday launched a five-day national strike and protest marches in a bid to force Mr Mugabe out of office or at least get him to the negotiating table.
The opposition accuses the government of plunging the country into economic and social crisis and has demanded that Mugabe engage in serious dialogue with it.
Mr Mugabe said there was no way the MDC was going to remove his government by force.
He said the MDC had rejected advice from South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo not to engage in acts of violence to overthrow the government.
AFP