DA calls on Minister Pandor to break SA Government's silence on Zimbabwean turmoil
27 August 2019
After a protracted period of clashes between the police and protestors, violent crackdown of opposition voices and news of food shortages - the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, and the South African Government have remained deafeningly silent over the turmoil, violence and unrest in Zimbabwe. Reports have repeatedly indicated great suffering and several instances in which the basic human rights of Zimbabwean citizens have been abused.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to Minister Pandor to break her silence and inform the nation of government’s official stance on the degenerating situation in the country. In terms of Rule 133 of the Rules of the National Assembly, a member of Cabinet can request the Speaker for an opportunity to make “a factual or policy statement relating to government policy, any executive action or other similar matter”.
It is clear that things in our neighbouring country are getting progressively worse, and that Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is merely a continuation of Robert Mugabe’s era of repressive, violent brutality. In January this year, protests erupted with regards to the economic crisis the nation faced. President Mnangagwa responded to these protests with repressive state action, which resulted in the death of seventeen people, while an additional 954 citizens were jailed nationwide.
This repressive state response has resurfaced over the past week, when the opposition, Movement for Democratic Chance (MDC), and civic activists were prevented from marching against the rapid deterioration of Zimbabwe’s economy. Zimbabwe has since been engulfed in political and economic turmoil, with reports of abductions and the beating of a political satirist.
These escalating levels of violence have also been accompanied by reports that the country is facing severe food shortages.
South Africa cannot continue to remain silent in this matter, as we have a moral obligation to speak out against human rights abuses – irrespective of historic ties to the offender.
The ANC government must put its loyalties to President Mnangagwa’s tyrannical dictatorship aside and put the interests of the Zimbabwean people first. Zimbabweans deserve to be governed by fair democratic principles, which enshrine the protection of human rights, including the right to protest and freedom of speech, without fear of experiencing coercive violence at the hands of those in power.
Issued by Darren Bergman, DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, 27 August 2019
