Where are the police?

This was the question that the Financial Gazette asked as increasing acts of banditry continued amid silence from President Robert Mugabe and lack of action by the police in dealing with the hooligans.

“Looting of property, assaults of countless individuals and the rape of women and young girls are all rising, courtesy of the same militia which has decided to eradicate the ‘scourge’ that is known as the MDC,” the paper said.

“As well as the President’s silence, we must ask: Where is the police force whose first duty is to maintain law and order. . .? While the police force repeatedly pours its members onto the streets to crush peaceful protests by opposition groups, we see no demonstrable same sense of zeal and urgency in cracking down on the mindless political violence blighting the land.”

Full cable:

Viewing cable 02HARARE1001, MEDIA REACTION ELECTION AFTERMATH; 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.

UNCLAS HARARE 001001

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX AND ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR KRAFT AND

SCHLACHTER, AF/RA FOR DIPALMA, INR/R/MR, NSC FOR

JENDAYI FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ELECTION AFTERMATH; HARARE

¶1.   Under headline “What price freedom?” the

independent financial weekly “The Financial Gazette”

dedicated its April 25 editorial to calling on Robert

Mugabe to publicly condemn “the increasing acts of

outright banditry by his supporters” in the aftermath

of the disputed March presidential poll. Excerpts:

¶2.   “. . .Mugabe’s absolute silence on the increasing

acts of outright banditry by his supporters is not only

a cause for deep concern but begs the question of how

far the terrorism will be allowed to go on before it is

ended. The terrorism is not just confined to MDC

followers or those suspected to be so, scores of whom

have been brutally slain and tens of thousands of

others displaced in their own country in the past two

years. . . Looting of property, assaults of

countless individuals and the rape of women and

young girls are all rising, courtesy of the same

militia which has decided to eradicate the

‘scourge’ that is known as the MDC. As well as the

President’s silence, we must ask: Where is the

police force whose first duty is to maintain law

and order. . .? While the police force repeatedly

pours its members onto the streets to crush

peaceful protests by opposition groups, we see no

demonstrable same sense of zeal and urgency in

cracking down on the mindless political violence

blighting the land. . . Are Zimbabweans asking too

much from Mugabe that he not only publicly condemns

these acts of madness by his supporters but that he

orders the entire police force to crush the armed

rebellion – violently if need be? Are Zimbabweans

asking too much when they clearly and repeatedly

make the clarion call that they have had enough?”

SULLIVAN

(16 VIEWS)