ED must heed UN counsel on demos
OVER the past few days, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has twice issued valuable counsel to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, urging him to allow citizens to freely exercise their right to peacefully assemble and protest.
These rights, according to the global human rights body, constitute the very foundation of a democratic society that the second republic purports to be or yearns for.
However, the use of brute force by State security agents to crush yesterday’s planned protests point to a regime yet to reform and still steeped in violence with no regard to human rights or lives.
It is very worrisome that Mnangagwa, with less than three years in power, has resorted to the discredited and failed Mugabeism while at the same time seeking to gain acceptance into the family of nations to be able to bail out the country’s free-falling economy.
Since we have opened ourselves to public scrutiny in a bid to gain global acceptance, we ought to conduct ourselves in a manner that suits best international practice especially on governance issues.
Yesterday’s road blockades, arrest of activists, business closures and general intimidation of citizens by State security agents was a sad reminder of the dark old days of the late former President Robert Mugabe when expressing divergent views was always viewed as an act of insurgency.
Besides stifling dissent, the heavy handedness of the security forces also negatively affected business as most shops were forced to shut down after employees were blocked from travelling to their various workplaces.
As the UN agency correctly observed, the generalised references to public order or public safety, or an unspecified risk of potential violence are not solid grounds for governments to prohibit and crush peaceful assemblies.
Government needs not be reminded that any restriction on participation in peaceful gatherings should be based on a differentiated or individualised assessment of the conduct of participants.
Blanket restrictions on participation in peaceful assemblies are an affront to democracy.
Security forces deployed to enforce the lockdown measures and maintain peace must respect the rights of the public and seek to facilitate peaceful assemblies where necessary instead of just rushing to conclude that every gathering is illegal.
We believe it’s time government shakes off its rogue State tag and walk the democratic path where citizens can freely exercise their rights without fear of reprisals.
As things stand, it appears the post-Mugabe government has used the COVID-19 pandemic to further undermine democratic freedoms and reforms it promised on assuming power.