NCA Harare & Gweru offices sealed off by heavily armed police
By Violet Gonda
27 July 2007

The headquarters of the National Constitutional Assembly in Harare, and provincial offices in Gweru, were still under police guard on Friday, two days after police embarked on a violent crackdown on the organisation. The pressure group reports that the offices are still closed and guarded by heavily armed police and soldiers and NCA staff are barred from entering the premises. NCA coordinator Tapera Kapuya said arrests are still continuing as more activists are being hunted down countrywide.

Many people were beaten and arrested on Wednesday during countrywide demonstrations for a people driven constitution. Scores of activists were arrested in Mutare, Gweru, Masvingo, Bulawayo and Harare. NCA chairperson Dr Lovemore Madhuku said more than 170 people received hospital treatment in Harare after they were assaulted while in police custody. Those beaten included elderly women and nursing mothers. Several people are still in Hospital at the Avenues, Dandaro and West End Clinics.
The NCA coordinator said the atmosphere was extremely tense, especially in Harare on Friday, where there was a heavy presence of members of the police and military. Describing the situation at the NCA office he said: “In the morning there was a tanker, one of those riot police tankers and a military van. There are a number of police and military personnel who remain at the gates of the NCA headquarters in Harare. This is the same scenario at the NCA Gweru office.”

The group said it’s apparent, given the display of force, that this is all about intimidation, but the NCA said there is nothing that will “put the breaks into their resolve to ensure that Zimbabwe becomes a democracy.”
The violence and arbitrary arrests continue against the backdrop of a SADC initiative to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. Observers say the actions of the Zimbabwean government clearly show the regime’s contempt for regional institutions and many believe African leaders have taken sides and are backing the regime, not the people of Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe himself was quoted by the New African Magazine in March saying South African President Thabo Mbeki backed his government. He said, “And in Dar-es-Salaam President Mbeki put it very clearly. He said, `The fight against Zimbabwe is a fight against us all. Today it is Zimbabwe, tomorrow it will be South Africa, it will be Mozambique, it will be Angola, it will be any other African country. And any government that is perceived to be strong, and to be resistant to imperialists, would be made a target and would be undermined. So let us not allow any point of weakness in the solidarity of the SADC, because that weakness will also be transferred to the rest of Africa.”
Mbeki later said that statement was taken out of context but critics say the ‘deafening’ silence by SADC leaders is shameful as the brutal oppression of anyone perceived to be an opponent of the Zimbabwe government continues.