‘Oust Mugabe’, says Tsvangirai

BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday urged Zimbabweans to seize the opportunity and oust President Robert Mugabe during street protests being planned by his party.

Tsvangirai, who heads the main faction of the splintered Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, has since March this year said he will lead protests to force Mugabe to give up power to a transitional authority. Addressing thousands of his supporters at White City Stadium in Zimbabwe’s second biggest city of Bulawayo to celebrate the party’s seventh anniversary yesterday, Tsvangirai said people must eventually confront Mugabe on the streets.”Mugabe will not go through people merely talking about him going and we say when the time comes for us to go out there (on the streets), there should be no compromise.”People continue to say that Mugabe should go.But what are we doing about it?” he said.Tsvangirai did not say when exactly the protests will begin.MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa last week told ZimOnline that his party had already begun a decentralised process in cities and towns to embolden its supporters to confront the government.Yesterday, Tsvangirai also demanded a new democratic constitution before the next presidential election scheduled for 2008 saying days when the ruling ZANU PF party would set the rules and the opposition followed were over.”We demand a new constitution before the next elections…The time for ZANU PF to continuously set the rules whilst we follow is gone and we need a new constitution to decide who should lead us as Zimbabweans,” Tsvangirai said.Speaking at the same occasion, Lucia Matibenga, the chairperson of the MDC’s Women’s Wing, criticised what she said were “desktop activists” who are quick to criticise the party while refusing to join them in the trenches.The MDC, which had presented the greatest challenge to Mugabe’s 26-year grip on power, is severely weakened after it split into two rival factions late last year.The Zimbabwe government has in the past threatened the MDC not to go ahead with the protests with Mugabe saying last August that soldiers will pull the trigger on demonstrators.ZimOnlineAddressing thousands of his supporters at White City Stadium in Zimbabwe’s second biggest city of Bulawayo to celebrate the party’s seventh anniversary yesterday, Tsvangirai said people must eventually confront Mugabe on the streets.”Mugabe will not go through people merely talking about him going and we say when the time comes for us to go out there (on the streets), there should be no compromise.”People continue to say that Mugabe should go.But what are we doing about it?” he said.Tsvangirai did not say when exactly the protests will begin.MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa last week told ZimOnline that his party had already begun a decentralised process in cities and towns to embolden its supporters to confront the government.Yesterday, Tsvangirai also demanded a new democratic constitution before the next presidential election scheduled for 2008 saying days when the ruling ZANU PF party would set the rules and the opposition followed were over.”We demand a new constitution before the next elections…The time for ZANU PF to continuously set the rules whilst we follow is gone and we need a new constitution to decide who should lead us as Zimbabweans,” Tsvangirai said.Speaking at the same occasion, Lucia Matibenga, the chairperson of the MDC’s Women’s Wing, criticised what she said were “desktop activists” who are quick to criticise the party while refusing to join them in the trenches.The MDC, which had presented the greatest challenge to Mugabe’s 26-year grip on power, is severely weakened after it split into two rival factions late last year.The Zimbabwe government has in the past threatened the MDC not to go ahead with the protests with Mugabe saying last August that soldiers will pull the trigger on demonstrators.ZimOnline