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Statement on the arrest of MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
January 23, 2008

The NCA is distressed by the news of the arrest of MDC's President, Morgan Tsvangirai. The arrest comes hours before he was to lead his party's protest march for a 'free and fair' election. It undermines all efforts and arguments for a credible election and exposes the deepening structural repression in the country. It is an act designed to provoke the nation.

The arrest vindicates the NCA and the broader civil society's distrust of the so-called talks and the 'reforms' the negotiators have been making on behalf of Zimbabweans. As seen with the ban on the MDC rally and the subsequent arrest of Mr. Tsvangirai this morning, the 'reformed' Public Order and Security Act (POSA) remains as fascist and repressive. The amended version of the Act, ignorantly rushed through Parliament, erodes freedom of association and expression.

Despite the rhetoric of the proponents of these reforms, they serve to give a veil of morality to bad laws. They have given 'legal' basis for repression. These 'reforms', and those said to be in the pipeline, should be rejected. Proponents of the reforms want to dose the world with explanatory legalistic statements that ignore the unwritten policy of the State: to undermine spaces of resistance wherever they occur.

A democratic and people driven Constitution would not allow for such extremes of State heavy-handedness to be visited on a citizen. The freedom of people to mobilise themselves to express demands for a free and fair election would not be met by blatant brutality.

The NCA reiterates that there is no possibility of a free and fair election with the current Constitution in place. A new people driven Constitution should be realised before any election. We however understand that some political parties have their reasons and hopes, however misplaced, on participating in the poll.

The arrest of Tsvangirai, whilst disturbing and calling for unconditional empathy, should make us all aware that the Zanu PF government is not about to change its means. The MDC should be encouraged to revisit the moral underpinnings of the democratic struggle: the need for a people driven democratic Constitution.

We call on the Zimbabwean government to, without condition, release Mr. Tsvangirai. His arrest is unwarranted and must not have a place in Zimbabwe . We encourage Zimbabweans to remain focused on the goal of democratising the country and not be swayed by the regime seeking reason to justify its thuggery.

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