There’s no harm with our protests – Sata

There’s no harm with our protests – Sata
Written by Patson Chilemba in Lusaka and Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Monday, December 01, 2008 3:49:28 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday said there is no harm in holding the planned peaceful demonstrations because people should not be treated like children. Commenting on the application by PF on the Copperbelt to hold non-violent protests simultaneously in all towns against high mealie-meal prices, Sata said there was nothing wrong with PF demonstrating against high mealie-meal prices and other pressing national issues.

"Any political party is supposed to demonstrate. The whole point is that in Zambia, we are treated like children. The provocations which comes from the other side is what causes violent demonstrations.

It is sad that 45 years after Independence, there is still rigging of elections," Sata said. "People have a right to demonstrate over national issues such as high mealie-meal prices and fertiliser."

And PF spokesperson Given Lubinda said the issues that the party members wanted to protest against were very important.

However, Lubinda said the party leadership had asked the provincial committee on the Copperbelt to put the protests on hold until the party comes up with a national position on the matter.

"The issues they want to demonstrate over are matters of national importance. Much as we would support them, we have to ensure that other provincial committees are talked to also. We want to look at it from a national perspective," Lubinda said. "We should respond to issues vexing the country...issues of fertiliser and laying bare Rupiah Banda's campaign lies. You remember Rupiah Banda lied about reducing the price of fertiliser, prices of mealie-meal and also lied about salaries for constitutional office holders."

On the party's central committee meeting which was held on Saturday, Lubinda said the party decided that internal elections, which were postponed should commence.

He said the party expected to conclude constituency, district and provincial elections by March next year and thereafter focus on the general conference.

Asked if he would challenge Sata for the party presidency, Lubinda said it was not necessary on his part to challenge Sata now.

He said Sata had proved that he was a capable leader, as evidenced by his performance in national elections.

Lubinda also said an adhoc committee had been set up to conduct a thorough post-mortem of the just-ended elections.

And PF Copperbelt Province chairman Mwenya Musenge said the protests would not go ahead as planned on account of instructions from the party's secretariat.

He explained that mealie- meal prices among other issues were national and that PF on the Copperbelt would wait for further instructions from the party's secretariat.

Musenge also said he had been informed by his secretary that police had denied PF the permit to hold the peaceful protests.

"We did not apply for a permit," Musenge said. "Had it not been for national secretariat asking us to hold on, we could have gone ahead and held the demonstrations. The Public Order Act (POA) is very clear and only provides for police to be notified and not for them to permit us or deny.

As Ella Wheeler Wilcox once said 'to sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men' and as Patriotic Front we reject intimidation and shall not allow government ministers driving around with those flags on their vehicles without them fulfilling their campaign promises.

"The people are languishing in poverty and nothing will stop. We will just hold on for now waiting for further instructions from the PF national secretariat."

In a letter dated November 24, 2008, addressed to the Copperbelt police chief, Musenge cited the increments in salaries for the Republican President, ministers and members of parliament as well as the high cost of fertiliser and mealie-meal as reasons for the planned protests, which were to be held this Saturday.

Recently, police cancelled a PF permit to demonstrate against the election of President Rupiah Banda and to press for the removal of Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) director Dan Kalale for allegedly presiding over fraudulent elections