True to form government officials continue to bury their heads in the sand as they blame western countries for the protests that have rocked the country over the past few weeks.
Zimbabweans across the board have been up in arms against the ruling Zanu PF party, and in particular President Robert Mugabe who they feel should now call it a day and let fresh blood take over. Mugabe has presided over the worst economic and political crisis in the country, is not likely to turn its fortunes as things get worse and citizens become more restive.
However, instead of finding solutions to the myriad of problems, faced by citizens, ruling party officials instead blame the west.
State media reports that foreign countries that have been sponsoring violent demonstrations through opposition parties and their proxies in the civil society have finally come out in the open. Demonstrators drawn from mainly MDC-T and their appendages in the civil society, have been looting shops, burning cars, blocking roads, stoning cars and destroying property as well as attacking innocent people who were going about their business in Harare.
It goes further to insinuate that yesterday morning, the United States, Canadian and Australian embassies issued separate statements supporting the violent protests and condemning law enforcement agents for maintaining peace and order by reining in the hoodlums. The statements were meant to coincide with a demonstration that flopped in Harare yesterday.
“The United States is troubled by the economic policies and financial strains that have prompted numerous recent protests in Zimbabwe and we join many Zimbabweans in their deep concern over reports of violence during some of the protests,” reads the statement released by the US Embassy in Harare yesterday.
“The United States supports freedoms of speech and assembly and we call on the Government of Zimbabwe to exhibit restraint and respect the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens, including those basic rights.”
While the US embassy said it supported non-violent demonstrations, it did not condemn the violence instigated by opposition elements over the last few months that led to the destruction of property. The US Embassy also said it was “monitoring recent threats to crackdown on activists using social media”.
On the other hand, the Canadian Embassy said: “The Embassy of Canada to Zimbabwe is increasingly concerned with reports of violence and human rights violations in response to public protest.
“The Embassy of Canada calls for calm and stresses the importance of peaceful dialogue. The Embassy of Canada reiterates its call on all stakeholders to respect the Constitution of Zimbabwe, in particular, the freedom to peacefully demonstrate, the right to personal liberty, the right to personal security and the rights of arrested and detained persons.’’
On its part, the Australian embassy said it shared the “concerns of many Zimbabweans at the violence, which has occurred over recent weeks in Zimbabwe. “The use of violence is not acceptable under any circumstance. The Australian Embassy wishes to emphasise that the rule of law, respect for human rights, right to free speech, freedom of assembly and other democratic freedoms are at the heart of the Zimbabwean Constitution and must be respected by all parties.
“We encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure the democratic freedoms of all Zimbabweans are fully protected.” But political analysts said their statements vindicated Government position that some of these countries sponsored the current protests.
“While we hear those embassies gleefully rubbing their hands at the chaos, we did not hear them condemning the violence being perpetrated by these elements,” said political analyst and lawyer, Mr Terrence Hussein. “Government must only be guided by the Constitution and the laws of Zimbabwe. If they feel the laws are being violated then they must act accordingly.”
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs, Kindness Paradza said the statements vindicated Government position that Western countries were behind the current wave of violent demonstrations.
“All along, we have been saying these countries and their allies are sponsoring illegal regime change in Zimbabwe over the years through all sorts of machinations with the latest one being these violent protests targeting properties.
“As the committee on Foreign Affairs, we warn these embassies and their Governments that their freedom ends where ours begin. “They must not interfere in our internal affairs. What they must know is that we are different from Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. Our security forces have the capacity to deal with these hooligans,” said Paradza.
Legal practitioner, Mr Tendai Toto, said it was important for the embassies to also condemn violence that was being perpetrated by protestors. “It is right that these embassies take constructive diplomatic efforts to help address concerns identified.
5 Replies to “Mugabe Blames America, Canada, Australia for ShutDown Protests”
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Shame on Mugabe regime, hiding behind a finger
of course everything wrong in Zimbabwe is a r esult of western interference!! How sad is Zanupf? How low can this government continue to ignore Zimbabweans. The west has nothing to gain from Zimbabwe ‘s m isrule. Zimbabweans have brains and they are the ones going through teh hardships and not the west. Is this government insinuating that Zimbabweans have no brains of their own to make decisions about their lives. Zanupf had been in power for too long. They have lost touch with the ordinary grass root zimbabwean, We cannot wait for teh day that we shall see the Mugabes, Munangagwas Chombos, Charambas, Paradzas, Zhuwaos, Kaukuweres etc of Zanupf fall. This time is coming and we shall all celebrate. Watch this space!!!!
Its you Shonas who created all these problems in 1980, because of your primitive tribalism. Admit; you destroyed our country. The then Jewel of Africa!!
Shona Gukurahundi idiots!!!
What do you expect from a clueless government led by a grave bound president, time and the world have moved on