Harare – Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Welshman Ncube, has reportedly said the fall of Myanmar’s dictatorship was an indication Zimbabwe would one day be freed from the rule of PresidentRobert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party.

According to New Zimbabwe.com, Ncube said this in a congratulatory message to Myanmar’s opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Election results on Friday showed a resounding rejection of military rule in Myanmar. The country, reports said, had been under army control for half a century.

Suu Kyi’s party won a 1990 election by a landslide, only for the army to ignore the result and tighten its grip on power.

Ncube said Aung San Suu Kyi’s victory showed “people power will always prevail in the end”.

“Having suffered under the dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe for the last 35 years, your victory is a reminder to the people of Zimbabwe that people power will always prevail in the end,” Ncube was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwe has been under Mugabe’s leadership since 1980, when the southern African country attained its independence from colonial Britain.

New blood

The veteran leader has often been accused of ruling the country with an iron fist. At 91, many feel the veteran leader should step down and pave the way for new blood to rule the country, which is currently reeling under economic hardships.

In a different report, New Zimbabwe.com quoted the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as calling for “Mugabe must fall” demonstrations, in the same way South African students have in the past weeks protested against university fee hikes.

“It is time that we must take a leaf from what university students in South Africa did a few weeks ago when they successfully staged a peaceful and democratic demonstration against fee increases… It is now time that the people of Zimbabwe show courage and not outsource their struggle to outsiders,” the PDP was quoted as saying.

This comes as News24 reported on Thursday that police in Harare detained a freelance journalist and 25 other people during a protest against Mugabe’s government.

The journalist was later released after being charged under Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Act for “allegedly participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of peace or bigotry”, according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

At least 17 supporters of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai were also detained in Harare when police broke up an unsanctioned rally.