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Headlines : Human RightsZimbabwe braces for general strike
In September, labour unions were forced to abandon plans for mass anti-government protests after organisers were rounded up in a police crackdown.
Last month, several MDC officials including MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai were arrested and assaulted at an anti-government rally – a beating Mugabe said his arch rival had “asked for“.
But the opposition movement has been unaffected by the brutality. Mugabe is losing credibility and power fast, although his exit could yet be either bloody or peaceful.
[Posted By Szamko]Republished from News24 (South Africa)
Thousands of Zimbabwean workers are expected to down tools this week as pressure mounts on President Robert Mugabe’s regime over its violent opposition crackdown and the country’s economic meltdown.
As a lawyer claimed on Sunday that nine opposition activists beaten in police custody had been abducted from hospital by state agents, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions urged workers to stay at home on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We expect everyone to take part,” ZCTU spokesperson Kumbulani Ndlovu told AFP. The call extended to everyone from public servants to shopowners and bank staff.
Mugabe is widely blamed for the violence and economic crisis gripping the country, which has the world’s highest inflation rate at 1 730% and four out of five people unemployed.
Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.
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Companeros y companeras, our hearts and minds are with you.
A tepid start to the strike unfortunately, according to the BBC.
Threats may have had the intended effect:
Labour Minister Nicholas Goche dismissed the protests as western-backed “violence aimed at regime change”.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said the elite National Reaction Force would be deployed against those who threaten the government…“The police will be on the lookout for people who commit such offences and when arrested they should not cry foul,” he said.
With unemployment so high, and everyone so close to the edge, I can see how it might not seem like a good idea to many. Upon further reflection.
Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, has said he believed Robert Mugabe, his Zimbabwean counterpart, would step down peacefully at some point.
“I think so. Yes, sure,” Mbeki told Tuesday’s Financial Times newspaper. “You see, President Mugabe and the leadership of [the ruling] Zanu-PF believe they are running a democratic country.”
Striking an optimistic note, Mbeki said the chief challenge for the region was to ensure Zimbabwe has free and fair elections next year.