Are Tunisian type street protests possible in Zimbabwe

One of Robert Mugabe's trusted spin-doctors has rubbished off possibilities of Tunisian-type street protests in the country to topple the veteran ruler. Meanwhile, massive campaigns to mobilize millions of Zimbabweans to sign a petition condemning actions taken by Western countries against Mugabe and his cronies have been planned.
Jonathan Moyo, a political science professor, believes that a Tunisian-style street protest in the southern African country would only serve to hurt Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's political future and not the 86-year-old Mugabe
Moyo explains that Zimbabwe is undergoing a transformation which "these detractors don't want: to empower our people to ensure that our people, unlike the Tunisians, enjoy not just the fruits of their liberation but the riches of their God-given natural resources.
"There is no way you can have a Tunisia against a government that is seeking to ensure that our citizens are the beneficiaries of our resources."
In power for over two decades, former Tunisia leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to leave the country on January 14, after successful street protests.
Private publications in Zimbabwe have been running cartoons showing both Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, and his rival Tsvangirai, in their Monday tea meetings holding newspapers headlined "Tunisian President Flees, PM takes over."
Puppet
After Ben Ali's departure, his Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi announced he was taking over as interim president, promising fresh elections would be held within six months.
However, Moyo, a member of the ruling party's (ZANU-PF) highest decision making body, the politburo, says Zimbabweans need to understand that it is "the colonizers and their puppets who want to derail our revolution."
Tsvangirai is viewed by Mugabe's party as a puppet of the West.
"A Tunisia can only happen against puppets who are bent on ensuring the continuation of the exploitation of our people, the denial of access to the resources of their country, not against the nationalist forces, which not only liberated this country from a political point of view, but are pursuing a very profound deep-rooted economic transformation agenda of this country to benefit the ordinary person."
According to him, "If we stop the transformation that started in this country in 1980 to empower people, then we will have a Tunisia."
Pro-ZANU-PF demonstrations
ZANU-PF will in February launch massive campaigns to mobilize over two million citizens to sign an anti-sanction petition "that will send a clear message to the world that illegal sanctions are not targeted at individuals as claimed by the West, but are an embargo aimed at effecting regime change in Zimbabwe."
The former ruling party spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, says his party "has opted for a home-grown solution code-named 'anti-sanction campaign.'
"The campaign is targeting over two million Zimbabweans to sign an anti-sanction petition to show that the so-called targeted sanctions are not just affecting individuals, but the entire nation," Gumbo said.
A committee has already been set up as the massive campaign that is expected to be launched by Mugabe.