U.S. critics of Zimbabwe’s human rights record can “go hang on a banana tree,” a Zimbabwean official said and stated that the government was to wait to see how the Trump administration will see the country.
“We are waiting for a cue from the new government,” Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper quoted presidential spokesman George Charamba as saying.
On Monday, the U.S. Embassy expressed deep concern about what it called the “continuing deterioration” of human rights in Zimbabwe. The American statement followed the arrest last week of Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean pastor who launched a popular protest movement on social media.
“The U.S. government unequivocally believes in the basic right to freedom of speech and calls on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens which are enshrined in the constitution,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
“We believe that the basic right of Zimbabweans to freedom of speech — be it in public, through print media, or social media — should be protected within and outside Zimbabwe’s borders,” it said.
“He thinks he can boss over us,” Charamba said of Thomas. “They can go hang on a banana tree.”
source: thestar.com
