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MDC calls for an end to police crackdown on civic society, private
media
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC)
November 21, 2011
The MDC condemns the recent calculated crackdown on civic society
members and media practitioners by the police and State security
agents. This week saw the arrest
of two Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition employees, Beloved Chiweshe and Maureen
Gombakomba, Nkosilathi Moyo of ZOYP in Kwekwe and two Standard journalists,
Nevanji Madanhire and Nqaba Matshazi in Harare on various false
charges.
In a separate
incident, Jestina Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project
was this week stalked around Harare by an unidentified man driving
in a black Rhino double cab truck. Such surveillances
in the past on human rights activists have led to kidnappings
and Mukoko was one such victim when she was abducted in 2008.
Madanhire, the
Editor of The Standard and reporter Matshazi were on Tuesday arrested
in Harare on charges of theft and granted a US$100 bail each on
Wednesday. They were charged with stealing documents belonging to
a Zanu PF sympathiser, Munyaradzi Kereke. On Thursday, police officers
visited The Standard looking for the same journalists, Madanhire
and Matshazi over a story written last month in which a Zanu PF
minister, Kembo Mohadi is evicting new farmers in Beitbridge in
order to pave way for Mohadi's son and nephew.
The MDC's position
is that the arrests on civic society members and journalists are
nothing but a calculated move by the police and Zanu PF politicians
to intimidate them ahead of possible elections next year. The MDC
finds it strange that any other opinions, analysis or news reports
that are deemed to be out of favour with Zanu PF and its politicians
are suddenly becoming matters of interest to the police.
The MDC condemns these
arrests as it is clear that desperate Zanu PF politicians are using
the police and other State agents for their personal vendetta against
the media and civic society members. The latest arrests and intimidation
of human rights defenders and independent journalists are very unfortunate
for they place Zimbabwe on the international map for entirely the
wrong and pointless reasons.
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