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| author/source:Zim Online (SA) |
| published:Thu 9-Jun-2005 |
| posted on this site:Thu 9-Jun-2005 |
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| Article Type : News |
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| Thousands without shelter |
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Harare - The Zimbabwe government last night deployed more soldiers and police in residential suburbs while hundreds of ruling Zanu PF party youths distributed fliers urging workers to report for work in a bid to thwart a mass job stayaway today and tomorrow. The country’s second largest mobile phone network, owned by the government, was also roped in later yesterday to help discourage Zimbabweans from boycotting work today sending messages through SMS (short message service) to subscribers that the job action had been called off. The work boycott was called by a loose coalition calling itself the Broad Alliance which includes the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) civic alliance. Alliance spokesman Lovemore Madhuku says the stayaway is to protest an ongoing police blitz against homeless people and informal traders that has seen 22 000 people arrested for selling goods without licences while hundreds of thousands of families were left shelter-less after their makeshift homes were razed down by the police. Madhuku says the job action is also to register Zimbabweans’ growing anger at the deepening food and economic crisis.
The security forces who have already warned of stern action against the work boycott, yesterday also increased roadblocks with checkpoints on nearly every major route into Harare’s dormitory Chitungwiza city and to the capital’s restive suburbs of Glen View, Mabvuku, Tafara, Kuwadzana, Budiriro, Glen Norah, and Dzivarasekwa. The additional roadblocks were mounted yesterday after suspected supporters and members of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and civic organisations went around the suburbs distributing fliers urging Zimbabweans to heed the call to stay at home today and tomorrow. In central Harare, police spent the better part of yesterday chasing around youths who defiantly continued distributing fliers calling on Zimbabweans to support the stayaway. Nine of the youths were arrested but had not been charged by late last night. Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka would not comment on police operations yesterday saying he was still to be briefed on the day’s activities. “I have not been briefed of what happened today. Try calling me later,” Mandipaka said. He could not be reached when tried on his mobile phone later last night.
Madhuku, who together with other organisers of the work boycott could be jailed for calling the work stoppage, appeared confident last night telling Zim Online: “We are now ready to roll. We have put mechanisms to make the stayaway successful and to ensure that there is minimum force (against workers) from the government.” Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe social and economic crisis made worse in recent weeks by the government when it sent police and soldiers destroying informal market stalls and makeshift homes of poor families in cities and towns. President Robert Mugabe says the “clean-up” operation condemned by the United Nations and Amnesty International as inhumane and a violation of poor people’s human rights, is necessary to restore the beauty of Zimbabwean cities and towns. But Zimbabwe’s church leaders, human rights groups and the MDC says the government exercise has only worsened the plight of long suffering Zimbabweans with hundreds of thousands of families now without either shelter or means of livelihood.
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