ZIMBABWE- HARARE- The MDC calls upon region continent , SADC and the African Union and the international community at large to impress upon Zanu PF to reveal the whereabouts of 16 detained MDC activists including a two-year old baby as well as that of human rights defender, Jestina Mukoko.
It is now 38 days since the predawn arrests of 15 MDC supporters in Banket, but Zanu PF, through the Zimbabwe Republic Police has been defying court orders to release the victims.
Early yesterday, Zanu PF went a step further when suspected in an unmarked vehicle abducted Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, from her Norton home. Mukoko and ZPP are well known for their brave stance of highlighting the brutality and deaths that were brought upon the MDC supporters by Zanu PF militia and state security agents in the run up to the June 27 presidential run-off.
Over 200 MDC supporters were murdered by the regime while thousands had to seek medical attention following brutal attacks by Zanu PF thugs or had their homes and property destroyed.
We call upon the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, President Kgalema Motlanthe and the African Union (AU) chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, to urgently intervene and make sure that the MDC activists and Mukoko are released before any further harm is done to them.
We fear for the lives of these people. Zanu PF's brutal acts are a violation of the Global Political Agreement which guarantees individual freedoms and human rights. The AU and SADC, as the guarantors of the transitional arrangement, should at least speak out against these sad acts of brutality and thuggery. We respect SADC and the AU as they have always stood by the side of the people of Zimbabwe.
We are certain that they will not let us down in these dark times when Zanu PF has chosen to brutalise and illegally detain innocent people of Zimbabwe. In the case of Zimbabwe, the caretaker government led by president-elect Mr. Robert Mugabe has clearly abrogated the duty and functions to protect the citizens.
Mumbai in India, it is the terrorists that are the centre of abductions and threats of citizens but in Zimbabwe it is the Zanu PF caretaker government that is involved terrorising the citizens. Under the circumstances where the security of the people is threatened the necessary statutes and mechanisms should be triggered to safeguard the people's rights.
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