By ADRIAN MWANZA
THE Patriotic Front (PF) has slammed the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee for condemning President Edgar Lungu’s decision to deploy soldiers on the streets ahead of the August 12 general elections and accused the institution of double standards having done the same in their own country.
The Senate tweeted that the government’s deployment of the military was a reminder that democracy remained under threat in the country. But Mr Kambwili said that he was shocked by the sentiments attributed to the US Senate and said that President Lungu needed to be commended for his swift action to bring sanity in the country.
Mr Kambwili said that the deployment of soldiers was not meant to intimidate the citizens but to enhance security in the country. Meanwhile, Green Party President Peter Sinkamba said that peace was more important than democracy and that the President was right to deploy soldiers.
Mr Sinkamba said the army had brought sanity on the streets as cadres from all the fronts were scared to engage in political violence. New Hope MMD president Nevers Mumba said that the problem was that the police was not professional which made it difficult for them to act.
