Zimbabwe Groups Slam `Shocking’ Statements by President

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwean human-rights activists criticized President Emmerson Mnangagwa for ordering the arrest of individuals suspected of helping people injured in protests last month.

Mnangagwa told supporters at a ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front rally in southern Zimbabwe on Saturday that law-enforcement agencies will detain doctors, lawyers and human-rights activists who provided the assistance. At least 17 people died and hundreds of others were injured when police and men in military uniforms opened fire on crowds during the demonstrations that began Jan. 14.

The authorities’ crackdown on dissent has forced scores of civil-society and opposition activists into hiding, according to Amnesty International, the London-based advocacy group. More than 1,000 people have been arbitrarily detained since last month’s protests, it said Feb. 8.

The president’s statements are “unfortunate and shocking,” Jestina Mukoko, head of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said by phone Monday from Harare, the capital.

Mnangagwa also accused foreigners and non-governmental organizations of “sponsoring” violence in the country and warned the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance to “stay at home peacefully” or face the force of the state during any future protests or strikes, according to the state-controlled Herald newspaper.

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights defended the response by medical practitioners to victims of the violence during the protests.

“Our records show that our doctors didn’t only treat people who were allegedly assaulted by security forces, but also treated people who were allegedly assaulted by protesters,” it said in an emailed statement. “As doctors, our ethical obligation is to treat anyone who needs medical services.”

Source: Bloomberg Business News