|
At Peaceful Meeting, Zimbabwe Opposition Leaders Call for Mugabe's Ouster
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe -- At a meeting held in a Catholic church here Saturday, dissident and Christian leaders from Zimbabwe and around Africa called for the removal of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's 83-year-old president, and urged the country's people to unite and fight for their rights. The prayer meeting was organized by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, a coalition of churches, students, labor groups and opposition political parties that is fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe.In his speech at meeting at St. Patrick's Hall in Makokoba suburb, Rev. Morris Nduri, the secretary general ofMalawiŽs Presbyterian Church, was among those who said Zimbabweans should remove Mugabe'sgovernment from power. "This country used to be the bread basket of Africa but thanks to the vile leadership of Mugabe, it is now an empty basket case," said Nduri. "The people of Zimbabwe should stand up against this dictator and throw away their fear. We are all going to die one day and fearingdeath will not make you prosper as Zimbabweans because your suffering will continue." On March 11, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and dozens of other members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had sustained serious injuries after being arrested by police at an aborted prayer rally in the capital Harare. Saturday's prayer meeting, which was attended by more than 1,000 people, including opposition politicians , civic leaders and clergymen from Malawi and South Africa, went ahead without any incident despite earlier fears that police would disrupt proceedings. Posted by: Fred 2007-04-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=185969 |