Protesters await Mugabe ahead of Namibia trip

Reuters
Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:30 PM GMT
By Desiwaar Heita

WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Rights activists in Namibia promised on Tuesday to stage street protests against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on his first foreign trip since his government imposed a temporary ban on opposition rallies.

Mugabe, facing growing unrest at home over policies that critics say have ruined Zimbabwe's economy, is due to arrive in the Namibian capital Windhoek on Tuesday afternoon for a four-day state visit.

The veteran Zimbabwean leader, who turned 83 last week, will hold talks with Namibian President Hfikepunye Pohamba, visit a diamond company and speak to business leaders during the trip.

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), a Namibian group, said it planned to protest outside Zimbabwe's embassy in Windhoek on Wednesday to express "outrage about the political, human rights and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabweans living in Namibia are expected to join the protest.

Last week Zimbabwe announced a three-month ban on political rallies and protests in a number of volatile townships in Harare after clashes there between police and opposition supporters.

Anti-Mugabe groups have described the move as effectively a "state of emergency" designed to stifle the opposition.

Zimbabwe's new ambassador to Namibia urged Namibians not to believe reports that his southern African nation was sinking into a deeper economic crisis.

"People should not listen to such propaganda that the country is going down, and that the economy is sinking. It is all propaganda. Zimbabwe is doing well," Ambassador Chipo Zindoga told Namibian state television.

Zimbabwe is struggling with soaring inflation, which at 1,600 percent is the highest in the world, chronic shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel and unemployment of 80 percent.

The International Monetary Fund last week maintained its suspension of financial and technical aid to Zimbabwe, saying the government had failed to clear its arrears and address the worsening economic and social crisis.