Lost Cause
It's a wrap!
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2001
- Posts
- 30,949
How come every time an African country gets free from the European influence that built it's infrastructure, it turns to shit? South Africa, Uganda, Zaire, Kenya, and now, Rhodesia. Wasssuuuppp???!!
Zimbabwe Arrests 354 Activists
Fri Apr 5, 3:47 PM ET
By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Police have arrested 354 activists as they organized protests against disputed presidential elections, in what critics say is the latest example of President Robert Mugabe's efforts to turn Zimbabwe into a police state.
The activists were arrested Thursday as they met at a church-run hostel in Harare to prepare for weekend demonstrations to protest Mugabe's victory in last month's elections, organizer Lovemore Madhuku said Friday.
Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo, in charge of the police, said the demonstrations planned for Saturday were illegal and told state television he was giving "a stern warning" to anyone choosing to take part.
"The law will be applied in full force," he said.
Thousands of government critics and opposition activists have been arrested since the election as part of a campaign of harassment and violence targeting critics of Mugabe's 22-year regime, human rights groups said.
"It is a police state. We will not be intimidated," said Madhuku, head of the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of activists.
The southern African nation has been wracked by political violence over the past two years that human rights groups contend was a calculated ruling party campaign to intimidate opposition supporters and ensure Mugabe's re-election.
Opposition leaders and several independent observer groups say the March 9-11 elections were deeply flawed and clearly biased toward Mugabe. The United States condemned the poll and the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies suspended Zimbabwe for a year.
Since the poll, Zimbabwe's 4,000 white farmers have reported an upsurge in violence, evictions, and looting of their property, which they blamed on retribution against them by Mugabe's militants.
Mugabe has rejected calls by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change for an election rerun.
"The next poll will be held six years hence. Let that sink in to Britain and its surrogates in the MDC," Mugabe said Friday at a meeting of his party's 125-member central committee.
The activists jailed Thursday were arrested under the sweeping Public Order and Security Act, passed by ruling party lawmakers in January, which requires police approval for all gatherings of more than three people that are seen as political in nature.
Amnesty International condemned the arrests, accusing the ruling party of a campaign of "reprisal attacks" against opposition supporters.
Instead of stopping the violence, the government condoned it in order to destroy the opposition and take revenge, Amnesty said in a statement.
Some of the activists were accused of holding an illegal public meeting while others were accused of holding a gathering likely to induce public disorder, said Chief Inspector Tarwireyi Tirivavi, a police spokesman.
Before the elections, police used the security law to ban at least 80 opposition rallies, while allowing Mugabe's party to meet freely.
Since the election, police have used the law to break up efforts to organize protests and to stifle criticism of the regime.
A three-day national strike called two weeks ago fizzled out, partly because the laws prevented labor officials from moving freely and holding meetings at factories and businesses.
Earlier this week, police in Harare forced The Book Cafe, something of an intellectual salon, to cancel political debates by authors and academics. Satiric plays at the cafe were also put on hold, cafe owners said in a statement.
Police have ordered some bar owners to close early in strongholds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change after raids to break up alleged illegal gatherings there.
Brian Raftopoulos, a political analyst with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies, described the security laws as "very repressive, but very effective" in stifling dissent.
Earlier this week, Mugabe vowed to crush protests or civil disobedience to protest the election.
The organizers of the planned weekend demonstrations face up to six months in jail if they defy the prohibition of their protest.
"The police ban on our planned peaceful demonstrations is unlawful and unconstitutional," Madhuku said. "We are going ahead, even if they have to keep jailing people."
The activists, which included women with young children, were arrested while meeting privately inside a church building, he said. Four officials with the group were later arrested when they asked police about the status of those arrested, he said.
Raftopoulos said the security laws were comparable to measures used in dictatorships. They not only disrupted opposition campaigning, but also meetings of independent rights and reform groups and civic organizations.
"It has had a most debilitating effect on the continuity of discourse and action on the protection of free expression, movement and association," he said. "It works."
Zimbabwe Arrests 354 Activists
Fri Apr 5, 3:47 PM ET
By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Police have arrested 354 activists as they organized protests against disputed presidential elections, in what critics say is the latest example of President Robert Mugabe's efforts to turn Zimbabwe into a police state.
The activists were arrested Thursday as they met at a church-run hostel in Harare to prepare for weekend demonstrations to protest Mugabe's victory in last month's elections, organizer Lovemore Madhuku said Friday.
Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo, in charge of the police, said the demonstrations planned for Saturday were illegal and told state television he was giving "a stern warning" to anyone choosing to take part.
"The law will be applied in full force," he said.
Thousands of government critics and opposition activists have been arrested since the election as part of a campaign of harassment and violence targeting critics of Mugabe's 22-year regime, human rights groups said.
"It is a police state. We will not be intimidated," said Madhuku, head of the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of activists.
The southern African nation has been wracked by political violence over the past two years that human rights groups contend was a calculated ruling party campaign to intimidate opposition supporters and ensure Mugabe's re-election.
Opposition leaders and several independent observer groups say the March 9-11 elections were deeply flawed and clearly biased toward Mugabe. The United States condemned the poll and the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies suspended Zimbabwe for a year.
Since the poll, Zimbabwe's 4,000 white farmers have reported an upsurge in violence, evictions, and looting of their property, which they blamed on retribution against them by Mugabe's militants.
Mugabe has rejected calls by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change for an election rerun.
"The next poll will be held six years hence. Let that sink in to Britain and its surrogates in the MDC," Mugabe said Friday at a meeting of his party's 125-member central committee.
The activists jailed Thursday were arrested under the sweeping Public Order and Security Act, passed by ruling party lawmakers in January, which requires police approval for all gatherings of more than three people that are seen as political in nature.
Amnesty International condemned the arrests, accusing the ruling party of a campaign of "reprisal attacks" against opposition supporters.
Instead of stopping the violence, the government condoned it in order to destroy the opposition and take revenge, Amnesty said in a statement.
Some of the activists were accused of holding an illegal public meeting while others were accused of holding a gathering likely to induce public disorder, said Chief Inspector Tarwireyi Tirivavi, a police spokesman.
Before the elections, police used the security law to ban at least 80 opposition rallies, while allowing Mugabe's party to meet freely.
Since the election, police have used the law to break up efforts to organize protests and to stifle criticism of the regime.
A three-day national strike called two weeks ago fizzled out, partly because the laws prevented labor officials from moving freely and holding meetings at factories and businesses.
Earlier this week, police in Harare forced The Book Cafe, something of an intellectual salon, to cancel political debates by authors and academics. Satiric plays at the cafe were also put on hold, cafe owners said in a statement.
Police have ordered some bar owners to close early in strongholds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change after raids to break up alleged illegal gatherings there.
Brian Raftopoulos, a political analyst with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies, described the security laws as "very repressive, but very effective" in stifling dissent.
Earlier this week, Mugabe vowed to crush protests or civil disobedience to protest the election.
The organizers of the planned weekend demonstrations face up to six months in jail if they defy the prohibition of their protest.
"The police ban on our planned peaceful demonstrations is unlawful and unconstitutional," Madhuku said. "We are going ahead, even if they have to keep jailing people."
The activists, which included women with young children, were arrested while meeting privately inside a church building, he said. Four officials with the group were later arrested when they asked police about the status of those arrested, he said.
Raftopoulos said the security laws were comparable to measures used in dictatorships. They not only disrupted opposition campaigning, but also meetings of independent rights and reform groups and civic organizations.
"It has had a most debilitating effect on the continuity of discourse and action on the protection of free expression, movement and association," he said. "It works."
