Exiles plan worldwide demo at Zim Embassies

“While Zimbabweans were voting for a new constitution as part of putting the past behind us and moving to a democratic dispensation, dark forces were abducting Prime Minister Tsvangirai's officers, attacking MDC-T youths, arresting a human rights lawyer, and acting as if we were back in Ian Smith's days,” says the group in a statement released today. The statement continues:

Within hours of an overwhelming vote for a new constitution with an enhanced Bill of Rights, police arrested Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s senior legal advisor and three of his staff after searching his home without a search warrant.

We understand that the MDC-T officers were preparing a dossier on allegations of corruption involving Zanu (PF) ministers, but the regime has decided to put a stop to their investigation by charging them with impersonating the police.

We are taking our protest to African leaders and SADC, and expressing our disappointment that while this was going on in Zimbabwe a representative of the Chairperson of the SADC Organ Troika on Peace and Security, Tazanian Foreign Minister, Bernard Membe, was in Zimbabwe but said nothing to President Mugabe.

We are asking African leaders to show their responsibility by finishing what they started in 2008 when they refused to recognise Robert Mugabe's violent election. He is now threatening another violent election, and has locked up a human rights lawyer for demanding a police search warrant, but SADC is just quite.

Zimbabweans are taking our protest to Tanzanian Embassies so that hey can deliver the message to President Jakaya Kikwete, and to South African Embassies so that they can deliver our message to the SADC Facilitator, President Jacob Zuma.

The message is that we want free and fair elections based on the reform of the security services and the media, both of which are supposed to work in a neutral manner, not to campaign for Zanu (PF).

Prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was arrested when she asked to see the police search warrant and she was kept in a police cell in defiance of a ruling by the High Court – in effect a High Court Judge was overruled by a Magistrate.

The incident comes after a steady increase in high-handed behaviour by the police including the harassment of officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission investigating other Zanu PF ministers in this obviously corrupt government.

The government has not implemented any of the recommendations of the SADC to resolve the current crisis, but instead police are abusing their powers, leading Human Rights Watch to say the Zimbabwean government cannot expect to create a rights-respecting environment ahead of elections in the context of oppression, harassment and intimidation of civil society activists.

We are urging Mr Kikwete and Mr Zuma to insist that the police in Zimbabwe act within the law and respect the spirit of the Global Political Agreement and put a stop to violence against innocent citizens which has erupted in Zimbabwe ahead of elections.

Unlawful arrests of human rights defenders, NGO officers, journalists and opposition party members are on the increase soon after a successful referendum that will usher in a new constitution with human rights protection.

The road-map to free and fair elections that we have travelled for the past four years is now under severe threat from a regime that refuses to allow a democratic election to take place.

We uge all Zimbabwean citizens to stand up and denounce with one voice the loss of limb, lives and personal freedoms. Join us on Saturday, March 23rd as we demonstrate outside Zimbabwean Embassies worldwide to bring awareness to the world of the grave situation in our country.

In London the itinerary for Saturday. We suggest those participating get a day pass for tube and bus.

2 pm – set up Vigil, outside the Zimbabwean Embassy 429, The Strand (tube to Trafalgar Square or Charing Cross)

2.45 – 3 pm – move to Tanzanian High Commission, 3 Stratford Place, London W1C 1AS. (Bus route 6 from Charing Cross to Bond Street (approx 30 minutes) – Bond Street is 2 minutes from Tanzanian High Commission, or Bakerloo underground from Charing Cross to Oxford Circus (15 minutes) then a 10 minute walk or Buses from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus – 12, 3, 88.)

3.30 pm – deliver letter to Tanzania HC

4.30 pm – deliver letter to South African High Commission, Trafalgar Square

5 pm – back to Vigil to deliver letter to the Zimbabwe Embassy

Our Slogans:

Constitution

Means

Forward

Not Backwards

Democratic

Police

Arrest

Lawfully

Mbare

Police

Are Not

Democratic

Democracy

Is

Irreversible

SADC Observers

What Did You See

In Zimbabwe

We Will

Not Be

Disenfranchised