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ZINASU's long march to academic freedom
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
October 04, 2006

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor but the oppressed must demand it!" Martin Luther King (1964) - Why We Can't Wait

Today the 4th of October 2006 an estimated 500 students embarked on what they dubbed 'the long march to academic freedom" in the capital - Harare. The students organized by the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) commenced their protest march in Harare Gardens. The gallant marched, amid songs and dance for more than a kilometer towards the Parliament of Zimbabwe, withy the aim of handing a petition to the Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo.

The students waved placards demanding, among other things free education, economic revival and an end to police brutality. The peaceful demonstration was punctuated by regular barricading of the main roads as students displayed their messages to the people who reciprocated by giving messages of solidarity from the sidelines.

The protests caught the state machinery unaware as the heavily armed police only managed to block the students approximately 30 meters from parliament building. The police's actions were akin to closing the barn after the horse has already bolted. Almost thirty minutes after the march, police vehicles were awash in town in anticipation of the resumption of the protests. At noon the police started assaulting civilians who were suspected to have participated in the demonstration in central Harare.

Speaking after the march, the ZINASU President Promise Mkwananzi Said, "Students shall remain a critical and cardinal element in pressurizing the Zimbabwean government into upholding democratic governance policies. The history of the role of students in democratizing the country has never been questionable and is clearly written on the rock solid memory of the people of Zimbabwe. Education is a universal human right as enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution, regional bodies such as the African Union and the international organisations like the United Nations. Sadly, Zimbabwe remains a backwater, where education has become a preserve for the crème de la crème of the society whilst relegating the poor outside the academic radars."

Crisis Coalition commends the resolute and peaceful action taken by the national students' body in constitutionally registering their desire for a better Zimbabwe. The demonstration is encouraging as it comes on the background of unprecedented police brutality against the leadership of the ZCTU two weeks ago. It goes to show that where there are legitimate and lawful concerns even Rhodesian type brutality not prevail

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