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Continued
rights abuses by law enforcement agents
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2006-29
Monday July 17th 2006-
Sunday July 24th 2006
THE government media’s deafening silence
on the continued rights abuses by law enforcement agents once again
exposed their reluctance to honestly discuss the problems bedevilling
the country.
For example, almost all 37 stories on
rights abuses, highlighting five new violations during the week,
appeared in the private media. The incidents included the seizure
of ousted Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri’s passport, the arrest of 19
Harare residents who were peacefully demonstrating against the government-appointed
Harare commission, including two journalists covering the event,
and the summary demolition of "illegal structures"
in Mbare by the police.
The other stories were either follow-up
reports on last week’s arrest of civic activists or discussions
on the country’s poor human rights record.
Although The Herald (18/7) reported
the confiscation of Mudzuri’s passport, it did not view it as part
of the authorities’ systematic curtailment of its opponents’ rights,
presenting it merely as a justified course of action. Similarly,
the Chronicle (19/7) reported the arrest of "squatters"
and vendors in Bulawayo as normal.
In a related development, Zim Online
(18/7) reported alleged attempts by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
to mask the authorities’ complicity in cases of political violence
that have marred the country’s elections since 2000.
The agency said that Chinamasa had written
to the Attorney General, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, "last month"
ordering him to "drop charges of political violence against
ruling Zanu PF party supporters and state security agents"
because prosecuting them would "confirm claims by the
MDC and human rights groups of rampant violence and victimisation
of the opposition".
Reportedly, the minister claimed he was
acting "on direct instruction from President Mugabe",
adding that "there would be ‘serious consequences’ for
the AG if he failed to comply".
Unnamed sources claimed Gula-Ndebele
had however, rejected the minister’s directive and instructed prosecutors
"to speed up work on all cases of political violence,
including those involving security forces and Zanu PF party supporters,
committed during the 2000 and 2002 elections".
The government media ignored this important
issue.
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