ZIMBABWE finds itself under discussion again in the British parliament over the way the government treats its citizens and protesters.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
A British legislator pointed out that the Zimbabwean government should end human rights abuses and restore internationally accepted standards.
Predictably, the government will pour scorn over these remarks before bureaucrats go on long monologues talking about sovereignty and that Britain should not interfere in our domestic issues.
Undoubtedly, Zimbabwe is a sovereign country, but that does not give anyone the licence to abduct, assault or kill anyone.
The government should be embarrassed that it is being discussed in Britain over something that should be obvious to any person.
Officials can wax lyrical about sovereignty, but what use is it if the government cannot treat citizens with basic decency and respect?
The government’s propensity to resort to violence and force to make its point is anachronistic and has no place in a modern country.
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Zanu PF can tell the nation that it liberated them from the shackles of colonialism, but this government is acting as bad as the colonial regime, something that should embarrass them.
There should be no reason why protesters are assaulted and jailed for simply expressing themselves, as this is a right that is enshrined in the Constitution that was voted into place by the majority of citizens.
A legitimate question to ask is: Why then did President Robert Mugabe sign that Constitution into law if it is going to be violated at every turn?
It is not lost on Zimbabweans that activist, Itai Dzamara is yet to be accounted for, almost two years after his disappearance.
Zanu PF and the government have professed innocence, but State arms, like the police, are not doing nearly enough to account for him as instructed by the courts.
It is this languid approach to this matter that makes many suspect that the party or the government may know more than they are letting on about Dzamara.
The cowardly attack on Dzamara’s sibling, Patson and Ishmael Kauzani has all the hallmarks of a coordinated attack by people within the State security organs.
Not to say the State is guilty, but it would be extremely important that whoever carried out the attacks is brought to book, failure to which all fingers will remain pointed at the government.
If Zimbabwe does not want to be the subject of foreign discussions, it is such things that must be corrected.
Assaults and abductions of activists should have been buried with colonialism, but it seems the government carried over these dastardly acts, which put Zimbabwe in bad light and right at the centre of international discussions.
