Zimbabweans against government and cricket match against New Zealand
Hundreds of protestors waved Zimbabwe's national flag and sang the
national anthem during a cricket match against New Zealand on Saturday,
in a sign of mounting opposition to President Robert Mugabe.
Circumventing laws which forbid political gatherings without police
clearance, protestors at the ground in Bulawayo, the country's second
largest city, rose at the 36th over and began singing the national
anthem while waving the national flag,which has been turned into a
symbol of protest.
A Zimbabwe cricket supporter, drapped in the national flag,
reacts during the first day of the second Test against New
Zealand at Bulawayo. AFP PHOTO |
"I am in complete support of the protest because of the situation in
the country," activist Mandla Dungeni told AFP.
"We need to get the message across that it's time up, using whatever
means available to us. There will be more of these and I am certain they
will have the desired impact."
A woman who asked to be identified as Rose said: "It's difficult to
fend for ourselves let alone send our kids to school. It's not a secret
that this government has failed. That is why you are seeing all these
people gathered here are concerned about how things are."
Pastor Evan Mawarire who called for a national strike last month
which shut down businesses and schools and paralysed the public
transport system was behind the protest, according to a video he posted
on Facebook.
Police had earlier arrested at least 10 members of the pressure group
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) who staged a protest outside the venue of
the Test match calling on Mugabe to fix the ailing economy or step down.
"Mugabe Must Go" one placard read, and another protestor called for
resistance to a government plan to introduce token bank notes to ease
cash shortages. The demonstration was dispersed by mounted police.
After 36 years of Mugabe's authoritarian rule, Zimbabwe has seen a
rise in opposition protests fuelled by internet activism using the
hashtag "ThisFlag" - a reference to wearing the national flag in public.
On Wednesday hundreds of protestors held a march in the capital
calling on 92-year-old Mugabe to step down over worsening economic
troubles which have seen banks running short of cash and the government
failing to pay its workers on time.
Three weeks ago, Zimbabwe's independence war veterans, who had been
loyal allies of Mugabe, issued a strongly-worded statement calling on
him to step down. Despite his advanced age, the president has fought
back, vowing to crack down on leaders of the protests. The ruling party
on Thursday expelled four war veterans suspected to be behind the
criticism.
(AFP)
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