by Mike Hall, Jul 22, 2008

Transafrica Forum’s Mwiza Munthali

Nearly 100 trade unionists and other worker justice activists marched outside Zimbabwe’s embassy in Washington, D.C., yesterday demanding fair and free elections and an end to government-sponsored violence against opponents.

The demonstration was sponsored by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Transafrica Forum, the AFL-CIO and several other groups.

Members of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party have waged a violent and deadly national campaign of intimidation, with union members as major targets, to ensure he remains in power. Mugabe has ruled the country since 1980.

But in March, Mugabe failed to win re-election and was forced into a runoff election. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told the crowd yesterday:

On March 29 of this year, despite the threat of brutal retaliation, the workers and people of Zimbabwe turned out to vote for democratic change. And although Robert Mugabe was legally required to hold a runoff election within three weeks, he chose to convene it three months later after a campaign of total terror in which thousands of people, including trade unionists, were threatened, tortured beaten and murdered.

Because of the escalating violence, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his followers boycotted the June run-off election. Voters were forced to the polls by Mugabe’s thugs and with no opposition candidate on the ballot, Mugabe declared himself the winner. International election observers condemned the elections.

The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, along with the international labor movement, is taking part in a global campaign, Stand Up for Zimbabwe, to end violence in Zimbabwe and show solidarity with its people. The campaign may be showing some results. Yesterday Tsvangirai and Mugabe signed an agreement to begin mediation in an attempt to solve the crisis.But in a statement, Tsvangirai warned the talks are:

just the first step on a journey whose duration and success and is dependent on the sincerity and good faith of all parties involved.

Trumka told the crowd outside the embassy that until free and fair elections are held, imprisoned trade unionists and government opponents released and the government-sponsored violence ends:

The AFL-CIO and the U.S. labor movement will not rest until all of these just demand are met, until democracy, peace and economic justice are restored to the workers and people of Zimbabwe.

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