A “Loveless” day: WOZA update

A couple of links to give you an update on the WOZA march (following on from my post yesterday). But first, I was extremely amused to see an article in The Horrid (The Herald – Zimbabwe) via zwnews which described arrests of 355 people in Harare. I’m not sure if this is WOZA related, but the operation, apparently part of “intensified campaigns to thwart illegal activities in the city centre” was codenamed “Operation Valentine”. The arrests are not funny at all, but this is: the Harare provincial police spokesperson who gave details to The Horrid is an Inspector Loveless Rupere . How appropriate!

Anyway, this is what happened to the brave women of WOZA (via Independent Online):

Zimbabwean police on Tuesday charged 181 people, most of them women, with causing a breach of the peace after they held a demonstration for “affordable food” in Bulawayo, a lawyer representing them said.

Lawyer Perpetua Dube said that the 181, who were arrested on Monday after a march organised by rights group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) spent the night in police custody and were expected to appear in court later on Tuesday.

Initial estimates put the number of arrested at around 130.

Most of the arrested were women, but there were also seven men, Dube said.

The arrested were all charged under the Miscellaneous Offences Act for causing a “breach of the peace”.

Well known WOZA activist Jenni Williams and three others face an additional charge under security laws for organising the march, the lawyer said.

WOZA, a vocal anti-government group of women’s rights activists based in Bulawayo frequently stages peaceful street demonstrations against deteriorating living standards in the southern African country.

Monday’s demonstration, which was dubbed the “bread and roses” demonstration ahead of Valentine’s Day, was intended to press for “the need for affordable food and the need for dignity”.

Ordinary Zimbabweans are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, with the prices of basic goods going up on a weekly basis.

According to new figures released on Monday, Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate is now 613,2 percent, making it one of the highest levels of inflation in the world.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights today condemned the arrests:

Johannesburg(A.N.D)Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights have come down on the Zimbabwean police for human rights violations in conducting yesterdays arrests of female protesters and their infants.

Following the arrests of at least 181 women, some carrying babies on their backs, the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have issued a press release condemning the arrests.

The women, belonging to the human rights group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), were dispersing from a peaceful march when they were arrested and charged with contravening section 24 of the Public Order and Security Act for “participating in an unsanctioned procession”.

According to the press release, the arrested women were held in an open police courtyard and “exposed to heavy rains and the harsh elements” for hours before being moved to holding cells.

The ZLHR has described the treatment received by the detainees as “inhuman and degrading”, disregarding “basic fundamental rights that are due to all human beings” and in contravention of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as well as the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990).

Fourteen infants have also been arrested with their mothers. According to ZLHR, there is no indication that the authorities followed the proper procedure which states that “no female detainee who is breastfeeding a baby shall be detained without the authority of the Officer Commanding the Province, who must examine each case and decide on the necessity of detention”.

The ZLHR has called on the Zimbabwean Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police to acknowledge, with respect to these pre-trial detentions, that Liberty is the rule, to which detention must be the exception; Respect the right of accused persons to be promptly informed of reasons for arrest and detention, and of any charges against oneself; Acknowledge and respect the right of the detained to access to and assistance of a lawyer; To take heed that in the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons; Acknowledge and respect the rights of the human rights detainees to assemble, associate and freely express their opinions without hindrance.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, WOZA, protest, peaceful protest, non-violent action, women, gender

This entry was posted by Hope on Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 at 6:15 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.