US increasingly disappointed with Zimbabwe government

Riot police officers in Bulawayo. Picture: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)

Riot police officers in Bulawayo. Picture: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Aug 27, 2019

Share

Washnington - US disappointment with

Zimbabwe's government keeps growing amid the heavy-handed

response of authorities to any form of opposition, a senior

State Department official said on Monday following a crackdown

last week against protesters.

"The disappointment just keeps getting worse and worse,

unfortunately," said the official, speaking on background to

reporters. "The government seems to be getting even more violent

in their response to any form of opposition."

The official said Washington had made clear to the

government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa what it would take to

improve relations between Zimbabwe and the United States. US officials have previously called on Mnangagwa to change

Zimbabwe's laws restricting media freedom and allowing protests.

Mnangagwa's government last week banned anti-government

protests by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which

accuses the authorities of political repression and mismanaging

the economy. Police fired tear gas to disperse crowds and barred

access to the MDC's Harare offices.

Anger among the population has mounted over triple-digit

inflation, rolling power cuts and shortages of US dollars,

fuel and bread.

In March, President Donald Trump extended by one year US sanctions against 100 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe,

including Mnangagwa, saying his government had failed to bring

about political and economic changes. 

Reuters

Related Topics:

ZimbabweDonald Trump