Free-Zim Youth Stages A Demo at The South African Embassy

 

14.OCT.06
LONDON - The pressure group Free-Zim Youth (UK) yesterday marched and danced on the streets of London and staged a demonstration at the South African embassy. The event coincided with the fourth anniversary of the Zimbabwe Vigil.

The event which was attended by 200 or more people was filled with chants and songs against the Zanu PF government in Zimbabwe. Many political and human rights activists, Zimbabwean and non-Zimbabwean, attended the event showing solidarity with the Free-Zim Youth group.

Speakers included the prominent civil rights activist, Peter Tatchell, gender activist and advocate, Yvonne Marimo, and the African Liberation Support Campaign Network's Tokumbo Oku.

The long trail marched from Zimbabwe House to the South African embassy in central London. Free-Zim Youth leaders, Alois Mbawara and Wellington Chibanguza were dressed in military gear to mark the renewed fight for democracy in Zimbabwe.

The group marched carrying a mock coffin symbolising the Murambatsvina victims,torture victims and Gukurahundi massacres and this was dumped at the embassy.

Alois Mbawara and Wellington Chibanguza leaders of Free-Zim Youth, expressed their disappointment at Mbeki for not speaking out against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and blamed the South African leader as not being an honest broker in the crisis. They said that this is the first of a number of campaigns sheduled at the South African and Sadc country embassies in the UK.

After the demonstration the Free-Zim Youth group marched back to the Zimbabwean embassy to join the Zimbabwe Vigil in marking their fourth anniversary.

Yesterday's event included many groups including the press from different Zimbabwean and foreign newspapers and many concerned people from the streets of London often stopped to join in the dances and find out more about the demonstrations.

"Mugabe should be ashamed of his betrayal of the Zimbabwean people," said one passer-by. "I saw him here in London in the late 70s during the Lancaster House negotiations and he seemed like a visionary who would make the lives of Zimbabweans better, instead he has made their lives worse, and should be ashamed", she continued.

Meanwhile, as predicted there was a large turnout for the fourth anniversary and ZimVigil urges more people to show some solidarity and attend the Saturday meetings, every Saturday until freedom is attained in Zimbabwe.The Youth said this is only the start of our war which with Mbeki,he has to give us an update of the Zimbabwean crisis.

 

And they are also demanding an update from the outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan before he leaves office.And said Annan and Mbeki are a dis-grace to young African,saying African leaders should not be given financial aid to make poverty history but should put their houses in order first(speaking out on man-made poverty Mugabe regime)They also had solidarity masseges from YCL(young communist league)of South Africa,Gabriel Shumba(Zim Exile SA)and COSATU.