B r i t a i n Z i m b a b w e S o c i e t y
OF Report Section 8
APPENDIX III
PRESS RELEASE 13 SEPTEMBER 2006
Raymond Majongwe, one of the speakers invited to address the forth-coming Open Forum on Zimbabwe, has been refused an entry visa for the UK. Organizers of the event learned about the visa refusal from Majongwe`s organization, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), on Friday and are deeply concerned by the decision.
Raymond Majongwe, who has frequently come into conflict with authorities in Zimbabwe, was due to address the UK forum on issues such as the need for skills in the promotion of democratic governance, human rights and socio-economic recovery in Zimbabwe. For the UK authorities to deny such a prominent civic leader the chance to be heard seems totally counterproductive.
The rationale behind the refusal is unclear as Raymond`s circumstances are very similar to those of other invited speakers who have been granted a visa. Whatever the reasons, his contribution to the debate on skills and reconstruction in Zimbabwe will be sorely missed by many in the Diaspora.
Open Forum 2006, which will take place at University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1 on Saturday 16th, is the third in a popular series of networking events held annually in the UK. The Open Forum brings civic leaders and commentators from Zimbabwe to analyze and debate key issues with Zimbabweans and the wider Southern African community in the UK. This year’s forum will focus on the loss of skills in the Diaspora, especially in the health and education sectors as well as the wastage of human resources through inappropriate employment, the flight of urgently needed skills from Zimbabwe and the potential of the Diaspora to promote and support reconstruction.
Back Story:- Similar line-ups of civic players from Zimbabwe, the region and the wider international constituency of support have spearheaded previous Open Forums. In 2004 Moeletsi Mbeki director of one of South Africa's leading television production companies and Thoko Matshe, women’s activist and former National Constitutional Assembly chair were amongst those who addressed a debate on the relationship between Zimbabwe and South Africa and last year author and academic, Elinor Sisulu joined Ahmed Motala, Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in South Africa, in contributing to a discussion on supporting human rights in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Statement on the unlawful arrest and ill-treatment of the ZCTU
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum condemns the arrest, detention, and savage ill-treatment of members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), and calls for their immediate release.
180 members of the ZCTU around the country were arrested on Wednesday, 13 September 2006, prior to their beginning peaceful protest marches. In Harare, 15 members of the ZCTU, including their senior management, among them the president, Lovemore Matombo, vice-president, Lucia Matibenga, and secretary-general, Wellington Chibebe, were violently arrested and taken into custody. Lawyers acting for the ZCTU were denied access to their clients, and neither were the lawyers able to get independent medical attention for them.
Subsequent reports, confirmed by medical examination, validate the earlier reports, and it is clear that Matombo, Matibenga, and Chibebe had been subjected to serious torture, suffering severe injuries in the process. They were transferred from Matapi Police Station to Harare Central Police Station, where the Law and Order Section refused to accept their custody due to their having been tortured and insisted on their return to Matapi.
Further, elsewhere in the country members of the ZCTU were arrested and it has been confirmed that some of the members of the groups have been severely tortured as well.
Since the ZCTU and other groups announced that they would protest the economic mismanagement of the country there have been intemperate and unwarranted statements by the Zimbabwe Government that any dissent would be met with force. These statements have been made against explicit undertakings by the ZCTU and other groups that all protests would be peaceful and constitutional. Statements threatening force have the effect of encouraging the use of force by the security agencies, and are out of keeping with responsive governance.
The Human Rights NGO Forum has issued numerous statements condemning the violent behavior of government agencies and the Zimbabwe Republic Police in particular, as well as pointing out that it is out of keeping with responsible government for members of government to make statements threatening violence. It is clear from the evidence before the Human Rights Forum that torture is rampant within the ZRP and that persons in detention are at significantly greater risk of being tortured. The Human Rights Forum recently issued a report to this effect and an abbreviated copy was carried by The Standard on 13 August 2006.
The Human Rights Forum sought to bring the matter of police ill-treatment and torture to the attention of the authorities through the release of this report. As the Human Rights Forum has previously pointed out, torture in Zimbabwe is both widespread and systemic, demanding both a national and an international response. The Human Rights Forum demands the release of all the detained members of the ZCTU, the immediate investigation of all allegations of torture, and the prosecution of all those guilty of torture.
Inserted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, a coalition of 16 human rights NGOs.
15 September 2006.
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
Press Statement 15 September 2006
Torture and Denial of Access to Treatment of ZCTU Members
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) unreservedly condemns the assault and torture while in Zimbabwe Republic Police custody, and prolonged detention of seriously injured Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) members and supporters from Wednesday 13 September 2006 until the evening of Thursday 14 September 2006.
In particular ZADHR is concerned about the medical condition of Lovemore Matombo, ZCTU President, Wellington Chibhebhe ZCTU Secretary General, and Lucia Matibenga ZCTU Vice President whose lives were threatened by lack of adequate medical attention. ZADHR condemns the initial refusal by the police to release the injured from Matapi Police Station to a medical facility, for urgent treatment.
ZADHR is also very concerned that other ZCTU members may be in grave medical condition, in other police stations in Zimbabwe, and calls for their release of those in need of medical attention, and for them to be assisted to get immediate medical assessment and treatment as required.
Dr Douglas Gwatidzo (Chairperson, Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights)
Dr Greg Powell (Treasurer)
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
6th Floor, Beverly Court, 100 Nelson Mandela Ave
PO Box CY 2415, Causeway
Harare
Tel: 708118, 251468
Fax: 705641
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