The first duty of the army and the police is to the people of the Zimbabwe. They cannot and must not side with tyranny.
This was said by the Daily News in May 2003 when it urged the security forces not to use strong-arm tactics against demonstrators who were going to participate in an anti-government protest that had been called for by the Movement for Democratic Change.
The week-long protest was aimed at forcing President Robert Mugabe to step down.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 03HARARE1080, MEDIA REACTION MASS ACTION IN ZIM; HARARE
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
300956Z May 03
UNCLAS HARARE 001080
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: N/A
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION MASS ACTION IN ZIM; HARARE
¶1. Under headline “First duty of army, police is to the
nation” the independent daily “The Daily News” dedicated
its May 30 editorial to urging Zimbabwe’s uniformed forces
not to use strong-arm tactics against demonstrators who may
participate in next week’s possible anti-government
protests. Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), has called for a week-long
series of marches and protests aimed at forcing Robert
Mugabe to step down. These protests are slated to begin on
June 2. Editorial excerpts follow:
¶2. “. . .The first duty of members of the army and the
police, whatever their orders, is to the people of
Zimbabwe, regardless of their political affiliations. They
cannot and must not side with tyranny. History will not
look kindly on those State security agents who lose sight
of this fact.”
SULLIVAN
(21 VIEWS)
