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Pax Christi International (PCI) ruft zu Gebet und Aktion für Zimbabwe auf - Aktionstag am Samstag, den 14. April 2007

Pax Christi International Calls for Prayer and Action for Zimbabwe

In solidarity with an appeal for prayer from Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, Pax Christi International is calling for prayer and action for the people of Zimbabwe on Saturday 14 April 2007.

The Zimbabwean crisis is growing ever more serious, according to the Catholic Bishops, as the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture. ...the situation is extremely volatile.

President Robert Mugabe also faces deepening opposition within his own party ZANU-PF. Nonetheless, there are no signs of the 83-year-old leader relinquishing power, despite mounting pressures at home and abroad. African leaders have requested South Africa`s President Thabo Mbeki to assist in mediating the country`s political crisis. Zimbabwean Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has also urged the people to stage peaceful demonstrations to call for the president`s resignation. A recent pastoral letter issued by the Zimbabwean bishops` conference calls for "concrete action" to inspire hope and proposes that Saturday 14 April be observed as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe.

Pax Christi International has likewise appealed for prayer and action throughout its worldwide networks on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, calling for:

Gatherings of prayer and actions of solidarity with Zimbabwe on Saturday 14 April;
Letters and telephone calls of appeal to Embassies of Zimbabwe in countries where Pax Christi Member Organisations are present, urging an end to the violent repression of the country`s opposition and a commitment to peaceful and democratic change; and
Signing the Letter of Solidarity and Peace to our Brothers and Sisters of Zimbabwe, to be published in cooperation with the Maryknoll Office on Global Concerns, a member organisation of Pax Christi International.
Go to and sign online a solidarity letter

Bishops of the Southern African Catholic Bishops` Conference have also issued a pastoral message in respect to the crisis in Zimbabwe. Contact is also very important with African governments to get them to keep pressure on Zimbabwe.

Brussels, 10 April 2007

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