‘We’ll die with Mugabe’

HARARE – Thousands of hardline supporters of Robert Mugabe marched through the capital yesterday, denouncing the Zimbabwe president’s Western critics and endorsing his controversial programme of farm seizures.

The War Veterans’ Association said the march would be the start of a series of shows of strength on behalf of Mugabe whose government was battling an inflation rate of more than 7 600 per cent ahead of elections next year. Many of the marchers carried banners with slogans such as: “Down with Western imperialists” and “Give land to the people” while others sang chants pledging that “We will die with our president”.Mugabe, in power in the former British colony since independence in 1980, had blamed his country’s economic woes on targeted sanctions imposed on him and his inner circle by the West over claims that he rigged his re-election in 2002.Jabulani Sibanda, national chairperson of the veterans’ association, said: “This is the beginning of marches in support of our president because he is operating under sanctions from the Western imperliasts.”We are doing this to show our support for him because of these sanctions and we will continue supporting him.”About 5 000 people were taking part in the demonstration, which was expected to culminate in a series of speeches outside the offices of the ruling Zanu-PF party in the centre of the capital.Mugabe had often used the so-called war veterans to intimidate opponents to his rule and they were at the vanguard of farm occupations during his controversial land reform programme, which began in 2000.While some of the veterans did take part in the war against the all-white regime of Ian Smith, many were not even born before 1980.Nampa-AFPMany of the marchers carried banners with slogans such as: “Down with Western imperialists” and “Give land to the people” while others sang chants pledging that “We will die with our president”.Mugabe, in power in the former British colony since independence in 1980, had blamed his country’s economic woes on targeted sanctions imposed on him and his inner circle by the West over claims that he rigged his re-election in 2002.Jabulani Sibanda, national chairperson of the veterans’ association, said: “This is the beginning of marches in support of our president because he is operating under sanctions from the Western imperliasts.”We are doing this to show our support for him because of these sanctions and we will continue supporting him.”About 5 000 people were taking part in the demonstration, which was expected to culminate in a series of speeches outside the offices of the ruling Zanu-PF party in the centre of the capital.Mugabe had often used the so-called war veterans to intimidate opponents to his rule and they were at the vanguard of farm occupations during his controversial land reform programme, which began in 2000.While some of the veterans did take part in the war against the all-white regime of Ian Smith, many were not even born before 1980.Nampa-AFP