ZimVigil to hand petition to the United Nations via British Labour MP

By Lance Guma
11 October 2006

The Zimbabwe Vigil in London is celebrating its 4th anniversary on Thursday and will hand over a petition to British labour party MP Kate Hoey, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe. The petition, which has been signed by thousands of people across the world who have attended the vigil, will then be handed over to the United Nations representative in London. Rose Benton an organiser with ZimVigil says they decided to use Hoey because of her high profile and interest in the Zimbabwean crisis. She recently returned from a secret visit to Zimbabwe where she met some of the labour leaders who were assaulted during last months ZCTU demonstrations.

Benton explained that the petition has also been timed to coincide with the Vigils 4th anniversary and that this Saturday they will be joined by members from the Movement for Democratic Change in the United Kingdom. The MDC activists will also be marking the 7th anniversary of their own party and show solidarity with their colleagues in the Vigil. Benton told Newsreel ‘we will be wearing black armbands to mark the death of freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe.’ The vigil is held every Saturday at the Zimbabwean embassy in London and has been used as a protest platform against the Mugabe regime.

The petition being sent to the United Nations reads in part, ‘We are deeply disturbed at the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. It seems as if the international community does not care that a rogue government can hold its people hostage. In the past six years up to a quarter of the population have fled the country. Half of those remaining face starvation. Any dissent is stamped on. The UN’s special envoys have seen this for themselves and condemned the regime. We urge the UN Security Council to take measures to help free the suffering people of Zimbabwe.’