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Strikes and Protests 2007- Save Zimbabwe Campaign
Statement
on recent arrests and physical attacks on civil society leaders
Legal
Resources Foundation (LRF)
March 14, 2007
The Legal Resources Foundation
condemns in the strongest possible terms, the reprehensible conduct
of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the condonation of such conduct
by the Government of Zimbabwe over the last few weeks, and particularly
since Sunday 11 March. The matters complained of include:
The shooting by the police
of an unarmed man in Highfield on Sunday 11 March, when civil
society activists and opposition political parties attempted to
have a prayer meeting for Zimbabwe under the banner of the Save
Zimbabwe Campaign. The use of live ammunition in the circumstances
was uncalled for and must be presumed to have been deliberate. In
a normal society the police do not use live ammunition against citizens
and residents exercising their democratic right to freedom of assembly
and expression. [Constitution of Zimbabwe, Article 21]
The banning of all political
meetings for a period of three months. The law gives no general
authority to the Minister of Home Affairs to do this. The Public
Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17] only entitles the
regulating authority (i.e. the officer commanding a police district),
if he believes on reasonable grounds that the normal powers vested
in the police to regulate public gatherings will not be sufficient
to prevent public disorder being occasioned by the holding of public
demonstrations or any class of public demonstrations in the area
under his command or any part of that area, he may issue an order
prohibiting, for a period not exceeding three months, the holding
of all public demonstrations or any class of public demonstrations.
In other words, the authorities are only entitled, in very limited
circumstances, to ban demonstrations. There is no general power
to ban meetings. It cannot be truthfully said in respect of every
single police district in the country that there is any reasonable
need to prohibit all demonstrations for three months. By arrogating
to themselves the powers which they do not legally possess, the
authorities are themselves causing or at least contributing to a
tense situation and thus to unnecessary loss of life, as well as
trampling on the constitutional rights of the people of Zimbabwe
to assemble freely for the purpose of expressing their opinions.
The arrest of leading
civil society activists and the leadership of the opposition.
It is not at all clear what offence these people are alleged to
have committed. What is known is that they attempted to attend a
prayer meeting for the country at Zimbabwe Grounds, in Highfield.
It is unbelievable that people who are concerned about their country
should be arrested, assaulted and tortured simply for daring to
exercise their Constitutional right to assemble and pray for their
country.
The assault
and torture of all the civil society activists and political leaders
who were arrested by the police. The use of assault, torture
and other forms of violence against people in police custody is
in contravention of the Constitution of Zimbabwe [Article 15],
the Police Service Charter and all known human rights norms. Many
of the people who were arrested sustained serious injuries, and
some of them were denied medical attention and treatment after they
had been tortured and assaulted. This is abhorrent in any society,
let alone one which claims to be a democracy.
The refusal
by the police to allow access to the arrested people by their legal
practitioners and their families until so ordered by the courts.
[in contravention of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Article 18]
It appears the police are being used by the Government to fight
its political battles with its rivals. This is unacceptable and
indicative of a Government that has absolutely no respect for human
rights and is not even attempting to adhere to common standards
of decency and morality.
We condemn in very strong
terms the manner in which state authority is being abused to further
the interests of the ruling party and we call upon the Attorney-General
to prosecute those members of the police who perpetrated the acts
of violence.
Visit the LRF
fact sheet
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