Thousands of villagers around east Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields took to the streets on the 23rd of April 2018 to protest the looting of diamond revenue and were met by armed soldiers and police who fired tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch. The police argued that the protest had not been authorized under the repressive Public Order Security Act (POSA), which severely limits freedom of association, public debate, and criticism of the government. According to the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, which works closely with Marange community activists, representatives of the Marange communities petitioned the Parliament of Zimbabwe in March to “ensure diamond mining contributes to development of the health, educational and road infrastructure of the Marange community, especially areas affected by diamond mining.”