Opposition rally cancelled
Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:01:54 +0000
Five opposition political parties that planned to hold a rally in Lusaka’s Mtendere Compound today have canceled the event.
UPND deputy spokesperson Edwin Lifwekelo confirmed the cancellation to the Daily Nation saying they would only take the fresh application on Monday.
But MMD president Dr. Nevers Mumba says that opposition political party leaders will not allow the Patriotic Front (PF) government to abuse God given liberties and freedoms.In an interview Dr. Mumba said that God had given people liberties and freedom, therefore the PF government would not be allowed to continue showing their hostility in the manner they were abusing freedoms for many Zambians.
He said that the opposition would defy all acts that throw away the respect of the rule of law and the respect of freedoms and Human rights.
“We shall defy the PF if they want to infringe on the rights of the people of Zambia, “ he said.The five opposition political parties are UPND, MMD, United Liberal Party (ULP), Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) and Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM).
Home affairs minister Edgar Lungu said that if the opposition were not happy with the action by police, they should go to his office to seek a compromise.
Mr. Lungu said that the opposition political party leaders condemning the Public order Act had not approached the government to see how best the piece of legislation could be applied.
He said government had called on all the people with concerns to seek an audience with his office but that none of them had shown interest.
Mr. Lungu said that the PF government would not compromise the national peace and stability by quashing laws that were meant to protect the citizens from lawlessness.He also said that the PF government had nothing to do with the operations of the police and would not in any way intervene in their operations.