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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Marange, Chiadzwa and other diamond fields and the Kimberley Process - Index of articles
Maguwu a sacrificial lamb
Movement
for Democratic Change
July 09,
2010
The MDC condemns
the continued persecution of human rights activist Farai Maguwu
who continues to be harassed and incarcerated at the notorious Harare
Remand Prison.
The dramatic
arrest, detention and continued persecution of Maguwu, the director
for the Centre
for Research and Development, is a major blemish on the rule
of law and the reputation of the inclusive government.
It is ironic that the
investigating officer in this sad case has threatened that the human
rights activist will spend two years in jail if he does not provide
access codes to his laptop. It is a reprehensible indictment on
our judiciary that a mere investigating officer, and not the magistrate,
can threaten a prisoner with a sentence. It represents what is very
wrong with this case which has been highly and unnecessarily politicized.
The MDC stands
for the rule of law and not the rule of men. It is clear that Maguwu's
crime is that he exposed illegal diamond transactions and human
rights abuses by some senior Zanu PF officials at the Chiadzwa
diamond fields in Marange in Manicaland province. Rampant looting
and reckless plunder of national resources is taking place in Marange,
with little or no benefit to the country and the local villagers.
The
MDC calls for the urgent release of Maguwu
We urge the inclusive
government to immediately stop the needless persecution of human
rights defenders. We call upon the government to ensure that those
who are looting national resources be prosecuted and not civic activists
representing the interests and the conscience of a helpless nation
and the defenseless villagers of Chiadzwa.
We again restate our
position and our resolution of the national council of 16 May 2010
that what Zimbabweans need is not persecution of activists but transparency
in the goings-on at Chiadzwa. The interests of the people of Marange
in particular and Zimbabweans in general, must be at the forefront
of our actions.
The needless persecution
of human rights defenders is an unnecessary diversion from the murky
deals in Chiadzwa where sharks and tigers are making a fortune while
the country fails to pay decent salaries to hard-working civil servants.
This persecution must simply stop.
Email mdcnewsbrief@gmail.com,
mdcpress@mweb.co.zw
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