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Don’t push Zambians to emulate Egypt, Libya - Rupiah

Don’t push Zambians to emulate Egypt, Libya - Rupiah
By Patson Chilemba
Thu 24 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT

President Rupiah Banda has asked the press to help not push Zambians to emulate the pro-democracy demonstrations going on in Egypt, Libya and parts of the Middle East.

Commenting on the happenings in Egypt where Hosni Mubarak was forced
out of office by pro-democracy demonstrators, and now Libya where demonstrators want that country’s President Muammar Gaddafi out of office, President Banda said the happenings were sad.

He said it was sad that Libya seemed to be heading for violence.

“I think that all the governments must always listen to people,” he said.

President Banda said there were people in Zambia who were saying that the happenings in those countries could spread to this country.

He said Zambians had already gone through the experiences in the Middle East, saying the democracy the country was practicing now was what they were fighting for there.

President Banda said Dr Kenneth Kaunda was now a great man because he didn’t want bloodshed by conceding defeat to the MMD.

“I hope you will help as the press not to push this element of ‘let us emulate the Egyptians’. Zambians won’t accept this. You know after the last elections, 2008, when I was elected President, because of the gap between myself and Mr Sata, he really believed that the Zambian people will rally behind him,” said President Banda.

He said PF leader Michael Sata was always calling on Zambians on the Copperbelt to demonstrate after he lost the elections, but the people refused to heed his calls.

Labels: EGYPT, MUAMMAR AL-GADDAFI, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 2:27 PM