Human rights lawyer and opposition MDC Senator David Coltart told a recent Gibs forum: “We desperately need the international community to facilitate a dialogue. Zimbabwe has a corrosive power in the region and the potential to reverse democratic gains. If we do not return to the values of the constitution, this cancer can spread to the region and undermine it, including South Africa.”
Tensions continued to increase following the collapse of the economy in October 2018 and calls to double the petrol price in January 2019 to the highest in the world resulted in a national strike. However, he admitted it is difficult to convince people to take bold steps as they “have been beaten into submission.”
“Zimbabweans need each other. Real dialogue comes from acknowledging that the whole is more powerful than the parts. Yet those with true power – business, the military and government can continue eating,” Binedell said.