Demo at Zimbabwe UK embassy

Zimbabwean exiles are set to stage their biggest ever demonstration outside the country’s embassy in London.

Religious, parish justice and peace groups, priests and Zimbabweans will gather to mark the fifth anniversary of the Zimbabwe Vigil.

The vigil has been held outside the embassy every Saturday since October 2002 to protest against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and to campaign for free and fair elections.

MP Kate Hoey, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe will attend the demonstration.

She will be presented with a petition to pass on to the Prime Minister.

The petition urges the UK government and the European Union to suspend government to government aid to all 14 Southern African Development Community countries until human rights have been improved.

In 2002 Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and of election tampering.

The population is plagued by drought, HIV and homelessness following land reforms under President Robert Mugabe. Some 80% of Zimbabweans are unemployed and inflation has soared to over 15,000%.

Life expectancy at birth for males in Zimbabwe is 37, the lowest in the world.

According to human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the government of Zimbabwe violates the rights to shelter, food, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly and the protection of the law. Guardian UK