Ambassador said Zimbabweans are notoriously patient

Former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan said Zimbabweans were notoriously patient. He was commenting on whether they would join the proposed stay-away that had been called for by the Movement for Democratic Change.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had called on Zimbabweans to "rise up in your millions and take part in nationwide peaceful protest marches for democracy and good governance", and to stay away from work for a week.

Sullivan was worried about what would happen to the stay-away if there was a government crackdown.

“Word travels fast though, and a harsh crackdown in one suburb could quell peoples' willingness to take to the streets in others.

“The MDC has a very limited track record of getting people to march, and it is unclear whether general frustration and desperation is enough to make notoriously patient Zimbabweans take to the streets in huge numbers,” he said.

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