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International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy
Statement Condemning the Crackdown on Activists in ZimbabweOctober 2003The International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy, a coalition of international parliamentarians dedicated to the defense and promotion of democracy around the world, condemns the recent arrests of trade unionists and the crackdown on the press in Zimbabwe. On October 8, 2003 more than 100 trade union members were arrested across Zimbabwe before a planned protest in Harare. Included in the arrest were 41 leaders and more than 100 members of the Zimbabwe Conference of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zimbabwe's trade union umbrella group. The ZCTU had urged its members to leave work and protest, but before the march could begin, it was broken up by riot police armed with guns, batons, and tear gas canisters. The protest was to highlight the country's economic collapse and its record of human and union rights abuses. We condemn these actions which violate the International Labor Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work to which it is a signatory. We specifically refer to Conventions no. 87 and 98 on the Rights to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining. Additionally, Zimbabwe's only independent newspaper, the Daily News, was shut down on September 12th by the police. The government sealed the Daily News' office, confiscated computers and other equipment, and charged the newspaper's staff with working without accreditation. On September 18th, a high court official ruled that the Daily News should be allowed to resume operations and ordered all equipment returned. The Daily News was closed after losing a court battle to overturn a 2002 media registration law, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which requires all newspapers and journalists to register with a state-appointed media commission, disclose their political affiliations, and hold journalists liable for reports that the commission judges to be inaccurate. Since AIPPA's implementation, 11 journalists and editors have been charged under the law. The IMPD calls on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the rights of its citizens to freedom of speech and freedom of association, to respect its obligation under the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and to respect the decision of its court to allow the publication of the Daily News.
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