Zimbabwe police arrest union leaders after court bans protests
With the current mood in the country, the courts are concerned that protests over the worsening economy could turn violent
Harare — On Thursday, Zimbabwe’s police arrested trade union leaders to thwart a planned protest over rising prices and a worsening economic crisis. A Harare magistrate later banned street protests, arguing that any demonstrations could turn violent due to the mood in the country. Distressed by a deteriorating economy, Zimbabweans are increasingly looking to street protests as a way out of their quagmire. Fresh in the minds of many are the scenes of November 18 when hundreds of thousands marched to demand that long-time ruler Robert Mugabe step down; he handed resigned three days after the protests. More recently, however, on August 1, street protests turned fatal when an army crackdown left six dead as opposition supporters demonstrated against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) handling of the July 30 elections. Belief that more street protests could provide a solution to the country’s crisis have begun to grow and the opposition MDC Alliance has indicated that it may take ...
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