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Strikes and Protests 2007- Save Zimbabwe Campaign
Statement condemns harassment and physical abuse by Mugabe government
Stephen Kaufman, USINFO
March 13, 2007
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Washington -- The Bush administration is calling for the "immediate
and unconditional release" of political opposition leaders
in Zimbabwe and urging the government of President Robert Mugabe
to allow its citizens the right to express their views without fear
of violence or intimidation.
In a March
13 statement, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice, currently traveling with President Bush
in Latin America, described the government's March 11 attack on
a prayer meeting attended by opposition leaders as "brutal."
She also repeated
that the United States holds Mugabe "responsible for the safety
and well-being of those in custody," leaders such as Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara from the Movement for Democratic
Change, and National
Constitutional Assembly leader Lovemore Madhuku.
Rice said the
recent events again have demonstrated to the international community
that Mugabe's regime is "ruthless and repressive and creates
only suffering for the people of Zimbabwe," and urged it to
"allow all Zimbabweans to freely express their views without
being subject to violence and intimidation."
In Washington,
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the attack on the
prayer meeting and subsequent detentions show "the lengths
to which [the Mugabe government] will go to try and keep people
from being able to participate in the political process."
"No one
should face harassment, intimidation and, as it increasingly appears,
beatings and physical abuse, simply for trying to get together and
meet and freely express their views and freely talk about political
issues," he said.
Casey said there
are also reports of individuals "not being provided with medical
care, and possibly suffering serious injuries that no one's been
able to account for," and that those detained have not been
allowed access to legal counsel as required under Zimbabwean law.
U.S. Ambassador
to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell, as well as some European Union (EU)
ambassadors attended courtroom hearings in Harare March 13 where
some of the opposition members were brought, reportedly to face
charges of incitement to violence. Casey said the ambassador tried
to meet with those in detention to check on their condition, but
"was not permitted to visit them."
"We certainly
are concerned. We're concerned that the police and the government
as a whole hadn't responded to a number of court orders on this
issue. We're concerned in the first place that these individuals
had been detained," Casey said.
The United States
will be discussing its concerns with EU countries, as well as other
African nations "to talk about what else we might be able to
do to support some positive change in Zimbabwe," he added.
"As we
approach the beginnings of an electoral campaign in Zimbabwe, as
well, we certainly want to see more openness and see a dialogue
go on between all the elements of Zimbabwean society. What we don't
want to see is an increase in repressive behavior."
A senior State
Department official said Rice's statement reflects "real concerns
raised about the condition and the potential safety" of the
opposition leaders who have been detained.
"[W]e wanted
to make it abundantly clear to people that we really are treating
this seriously and we really do hold Mugabe and the government responsible
for what happens to them," the official said.
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