Action Alert (updated 11.30pm): Morgan Tsvangirai detained by the police in Zimbabwe
Updated: 4 June 2008 ~ 11.30
Morgan Tsvangirai has been released. More information on the BBC here (thanks for the tip True Grit, Dave).
This update via an MDC Press Statement:
President Tsvangirai, Vice President Thokozani Khupe, National Chairman,Lovemore Moyo and other leaders of the MDC, who had been unlawful detained for nine hours by police and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation at Lupane police station have just been released.
President Tsvangirai was charged under the Public Order and Security Act, on a spurious charge of attracting a large number of people around him at Lupane growth point. He was then released after being made to sign a warned and cautioned statement.
The police and the members of the Central Intelligence have also seized one of the security vehicles that form the President’s Tsvangirai’s motorcades.
The MDC takes very strong exception to both the unlawful and long detention, as well as the seizure of President Tsvangirai’s security vehicle. It makes absolutely no sense that a Presidential Candidate in an election is arrested for attracting crowds of people. On the seizure of the security vehicle, this may compromise, and obviously raises concerns about the security of President Tsvangirai.
This is yet another shameless and desperate act of this illegitimate regime to try and subvert the will of the people of Zimbabwe. We remain committed to change, change we can trust and on the 27th of June, we will finish off Mugabe and his cronies. It will be a new beginning, and a new Zimbabwe.
Updated: 4 June 2008 ~5.45
This short Press Release from the MDC (sent at 4.35pm today) confirming that Morgan Tsvangirai is being held at Lupane Police Station.
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai continues to be unlawfully detained at Lupane Police Station. He was moved to the poilice station after his convoy was stopped at a police road block. Mr TSvangirai had addressed supporters in Lupane and was on his way Tsholotsho when he encountered the roadblock at 13.30. Also being detained are the MDC Vice President Thokozane Kupe and Chairman Lovemore Moyop among other party officials.
4 June 2008 ~ 4.45pm
Via the BBC:
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been detained by police during campaigning for the country’s presidential election, his party says.
The Movement for Democratic Change leader was stopped at a roadblock north of Bulawayo at 1000 GMT, party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
Armed police surrounded an MDC convoy and refused to let them leave their vehicles, said Mr Chamisa.
“It appears they want to disrupt our campaign programme,” he said.
It comes as Zimbabwe prepares for a run-off election between Mr Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe on 27 June.
Mr Chamisa called for Mr Tsvangirai’s immediate release, adding that without the intervention of the United Nations and the international community it would be impossible to hold free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean government has also come under criticism for restricting the work of aid agencies operating in the country.
The operations of one of the largest groups – Care International – have been suspended amid allegations the group had been campaigning for the opposition.
Care denies that it “has encouraged or tolerated any political activity”.
Mr Mugabe is currently attending a UN-sponsored summit on the global food crisis in Rome, where he blamed Western sanctions for Zimbabwe’s economic woes.
Phone Lupane Police Station
We believe that Morgan Tsvangirai is currently being detained in Lupane Police Station. Please call the police station and alert them to the fact that the world is watching.
+263 (0)898 592 (Command Centre Communal Lands Lupane)
+263 (0)898 284 (Officer in Charge Communal Lands, Lupane)
+263 (0)898 585 (New CID Office, Communal Lands, Lupane)
+263 (0)898 511 (ZRP Kusile, New Council Hall, Lupane)
+263 (0)898 249 / 442 / 369 / 355 (Other ZRP numbers in Lupane)
Please communicate with the police politely
Remind them that Tsvangirai won the majority of the Presidential Vote on March 29th. Ask them to keep in mind that the votes cast on the 29th clearly showed that person they have in their charge is extremely popular among the people of Zimbabwe appears destined to be the next leader of the country.
Warn them to consider everything they do very carefully: they must be careful that they are not one day held accountable for crimes committed by their seniors. Advise them that under International Law, the excuse “I was just following orders” is not accepted and will not protect them.
Tell them that we have every confidence that the police in Zimbabwe can act professionally, and that the rest of the world sympathises with the fact that their jobs have been corrupted by politics and difficult for them to do and that they work under terrible pressure. But ask that they stand strong and stay extremely professional with regards to the man they have in their custody. He must be treated with respect and fairness and given full access to legal respresentation as is his human right.
Tell them them that the world will not tolerate a repeat of the abuse and ill treatment Morgan Tsvangirai received while in Police Custody in March 2007. If they are being manipulated by senior officers to do things that violate the law and human rights, they must do all they can to communicate this to the outside world.
Tell them that they and Morgan Tsvangirai and all of Zimbabwe are in your prayers.
Email SADC
Please email the National Contact people for SADC and tell them that this sort of thing is unacceptable and a message must be sent to the Zanu PF regime to release Morgan Tsvangirai immediately, and he must be allowed to campaign freely and fairly, and the Zimbabwean people must be allowed their right to vote and listen to representatives of their choice.
Email addresses for SADC National Contact people (their full names and addresses available on our Action Contact Database)
differmu@nkwazi.gov.zm;
tmothae@sadc.int;
registry@sadc.int;
bmorias@minplan.gov.ao;
learao13@yahoo.com;
foreign@malawi.net;
fernandes@consadc.co.mz;
dasadc@minec.gov.mz;
ndishishi@mti.gov.na;
johanna@mti.gov.na;
duartej@foreign.gov.za;
madumanem@foreign.gov.za;
mamabolol@foreign.gov.za;
directorj@sadchrd.org.sz;
mcusis@yahoo.com;
zjmasanja@yahoo.com;
foreignlsk@zamtel.zm;
fmaonera@mweb.co.zw;
sadczim@yahoo.com;
gumbezererata@yahoo.com;
wmandlebe@gov.bw;
amadikwe@gov.bw;
rdcongo@lantic.net;
plannoff@dec.planning.gov.ls;
mrakhoba@finance.gov.ls;
angelanirina@yahoo.com
Spread the word
Ask people everywhere to take action and add their voices and emails to this. It must be made abundantly clear to this regime and to regional leaders that we are all running out of patience. They must know that harrassing, arresting, or generally trying to obstruct a democratically elected senior politician will not be allowed to happen without comment from ordinary people around the world. They must not think they can get away with lawlessness and they must be made aware that they are being watched very very closely.
Use the ’share this’ button below; get ‘Twittering’; write up comment on your blogs; make as much cyber-noise as you can.
Please do all you can to help keep Morgan Tsvangirai safe.
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June 4th, 2008 17:10
Where is the mediator to get the immediate release of Morgan implemented ??!!!!It really is so disgusting, I am stumped for words !
June 4th, 2008 18:16
What a desperate move by Mugabe’s regime. The world is watching, though – thank you again for the information and contact info. Great work!
June 4th, 2008 18:37
The world in general, and I for one, can only thank and salute Morgan for his enormous courage, and can only imagine how difficult it must be to run yet another campaign in such a politically hostile environment. This incident only serves to underline yet again how Mugabe’s forces use tactics to try and ensure his personal survival by flouting the rule of law, and using illegal acts of detention to try and prevent a free and fair election.
Cheer up, folks! At least we know where Morgan is, and where he is going. Mugabe, on the other hand, will soon be leaving for an unknown destination. And not before time! With already a majority in parliament, this is the strongest challenge to the Zanu-PF one-party rule that could ever be mounted, and short of genocide, pre-election violence and election irregularities will not prevent regime change from happening this time. The national consensus will prevail, whatever the cost.
June 4th, 2008 19:27
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/04/zimbabwe.aid/index.html
This is real madness. When will this end nhai?
June 4th, 2008 19:41
Why doesnt the EU hold Mugabe too if he is still in Europe until he releases Morgan. I wish things were is easy. How come Mugabe was allowed to campgain. Shouldnt Mbeki be saying something now. Let him stand and be counted.
June 4th, 2008 20:30
I have phoned all of those numbers given and just cannot get through, I am phoning from the USA ..so I dial 011 first and the the numbers as you have written them ..and it tells me the number or code that I am dialing is incorrect !!! any suggestions ?
June 4th, 2008 20:59
I wish that there will be a time when African leaders will start seeing their fellow Africans as their own sisters and brothers and that oppression and violence will not be justified means of maintaining political power.
I wish also that those in power will know that they have no absolute power and that they should not think they are irreplaceable.
I love all Zimbabweans and I want to see that what they are going through stops immediately. It is enough. I really don’t understand that Robert Mugabe’s regime can make such a sad history!
June 4th, 2008 21:35
Re concerned NY USA, if you’re dialling internationally don’t dial the (0), so 011 263 898 284 for example, should work? Does Lupane have an area code?
June 4th, 2008 23:04
Tsvangirai Released..
Link to BBC post: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7436904.stm
June 4th, 2008 23:06
Morgan has been released without charge after having been delayed for four hours at the side of the road, and four hours in the police station. Meanwhile, the MDC says that now 65 of their supporters have been killed by government forces.
June 5th, 2008 00:33
What mediator? The ‘mediator’ will do something when hell freezes over.
Anyway, forgive the little rant. We should all be glad, MT has been released.
I salute our online friends, from across the globe, for helping in so many ways. May we inspire each other in the days ahead.
June 5th, 2008 03:32
We thank the lord that Morgan is ok.
I think Mugabe may try some more stunts back home while he is in Rome. A perfect ruse to distance himself from direct involvement. He’s a cunning devil.
And while he’s in Europe, I continue to send emails to the FAO re their inappropriate invitation of a despicable despot, and the UN re their lack of balls to do something about the election process in Zimbabwe.
contact page for all UN agencies
http://www.un.org/av/unfamily/contactus.htm
June 5th, 2008 09:05
Dear Sokwanele,
I just want to congratulate you for the superb work done yesterday in alerting the world and in giving them such fast, practical advice. If only we had had this type of expertise and technology during the Gukurahundi – we would no doubt have saved the lives of thousands. I am confident that Morgan Tsvangirai’s relatively early release happened becausse the regime became aware of how the world was watching. Because of your fine work the regime now knows that there is indeed no place to hide.
Best wishes,
Senator David Coltart
June 5th, 2008 11:07
Thank God that Morgan Tsvangirai has been released.
I hope that it was an international outcry that did it.
If only the outcry could end the despicable reign of terror that is being inflicted on MDC supporters.
I salute your courage and hope that a new era of peace and prosperity will dawn for Zimbabwe on June 27th.
June 5th, 2008 18:55
Hi Sokwanele
I am happy to see that there was a tremendous response and Morgan Tsvangirai was liberated from detention. I wish him well campaiging and I sincerley hope Zimbos come out in their numbers and cast their votes.
I am still very much with you in thoughts, support and prayers. Next week I hope my internet issues are resolved because I very much missed being kept up to date and contributing however I can to a free Zimbabwe.
Nana
June 5th, 2008 20:09
Breaking News on the UN Special Envoy.
links is:-http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=555&Itemid=1
text is :-
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has gained Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s permission to send a high-ranking U.N. envoy to help the nation try to hold a free and fair June 27 runoff election, U.N. officials said Thursday.
Ban met with Mugabe on the sidelines of the U.N. food summit in Rome earlier this week and highlighted the need to stop the violence and to deploy neutral international observers, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told The Associated Press.
While talking with Mugabe, Ban suggested sending Haile Menkerios, a Harvard-educated diplomat and former Eritrean ambassador, to Zimbabwe to discuss ways of how the United Nations can help in the election process, Okabe said.
Mugabe agreed to Ban’s request, she told the AP.
Ban now plans to send Menkerios, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for political affairs, to Zimbabwe within days, as soon as Menkerios obtains a visa.
June 5th, 2008 23:54
@ Fish Eagle re UN envoy
This is good news. However having worked closely with Zimbabwean civil society and affected communities after Murambatsvina I am very skeptical of the UN and the real practical implications of this mission. What would be important is to get the violence to stop immediately but also have a plan to ensure that the violence will not erupt again after June 27. This would mean ensuring a peace keeping presence as well as mechanisms for the smooth and peaceful transision of power. This needs to be done with haste as I fear that by the time this envoy has been back and forth to Zimbabwe more lives will have been lost. It is increasingly obvious that MDC will not be allowed the space to campaign at all as evidenced by the recent arrests of Morgan and Aurthur. We need a peace keeping mission yesterday.
June 12th, 2008 04:52
I am a white african, I was born and raised in africa in a predominantly black nation. Until my family emigrated all i knew was africa,it was home i considered myself an african and I was proud. My first gripe is that to be racist almost immediately people envision that you must be white. Mugabe is black he is blatantly racist yet we stand by and watch almost scared to label him or his regime racist. what would the world do if it was the other way around and he was a white dictator? we wouldnt stand for it. Society needs to wake up and realise this, it is disgusting.
The man is 84 years old he has utterly and completely destroyed his country yet he stands there day after day with his black wrinkled fist in the air spouting his hate message aimed at britain and the us, and we stand by and watch. He changes laws at will conjuring up farcicle legislation that stamps out anything at all that may threaten him or his regime. Mugabe has absolutely no care for his people, his country, and where he is taking Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has suffered an unparrallelled fall from grace, i just wonder what goest through Mugabe’s head when he thinks back to wehre Zimbabwe used to be. Is he blind to the ruin he has caused. He calls it patriotism, Mugabe commits blatant racism and blatant evil and we stand by and shake our heads. He is almost a billionaire, a billionaire 84 year old who cares about his country. He is a criminal, a corrupt,evil, disgusting little old man and we stand by and watch him destroy millions of peoples lives, purposefully starving whole districts to force a vote while he and his wife enjoy 5 star treatment in europe and live in a gold encrusted palace? if people do not see that this is disgusting there is something wrong, He is not a victim he is not a saviour of his people he is not a hero. and that little moustache only confirms what he is, he is the Hitler of the African continent and we stand by and watch. He must fall