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NCA marched today for a new constitution
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
March 08, 2007

Today NCA staged a peaceful demonstration in the streets of Harare demanding for a new people driven constitution. We marched in Harare registering our disgruntlement on the continuous use of the present defective Lancaster House constitution by the government.

During the peaceful march police heavily descended on our members and they went about beating people in first street. We are concerned about 20 of our members who were arrested by police. The arrested were assaulted with button sticks before they were forced into police vehicles. During today's march we managed to distribute fliers in town demanding for a new constitution. The demonstrators also distributed fliers advertising a rally penciled for this Sunday under the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. Today's demonstration was a clear message to the government that we are ready to fight for our rights.

As NCA we will continue to defy the illegal ban on demonstration by the police. We are shocked that the police are still brutalizing peaceful demonstrators. Our understanding as an assembly is that the duty of the police is to arrest people and submit them to the courts of law. It's pitiable that the police force is amongst the least paid civil servants yet they are also used by the government to suppress people demonstrating for better living conditions.

As NCA we understand the plight of a police force that is vulnerable to government oppression and we are aware that they are suffering like us and also fed up with the current crisis in the country. The behavior by the police today is a clear sign of how the government arms have been militarized to defend dictatorship in Zimbabwe. We will continue to fight for a new people driven constitution that respect the right to freedom of expression and assembly.

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