The government should respect the rights of protesters and restore access to social media, internet and telephone services, according to U...
The government should respect the rights of protesters and
restore access to social media, internet and telephone services, according to Unites
States Senators Chris Coons and Cory Booker.
Coons and Booker, who are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement, “We
are deeply troubled by reports of deaths, widespread arrests, beatings, and
harassment of protestors by security forces of the Government of Zimbabwe. The
Zimbabwean people have the constitutional right to protest peacefully and
express themselves regarding developments in their country.
“Government officials and security forces must respond with
professionalism and respect for human rights and the rule of law. We also call
on the Government of Zimbabwe to rescind the directive ordering communication
service providers to cut or restrict access to social media, internet, and
telephone services. Such abrogations of constitutional and basic legal rights
are not what the people of Zimbabwe were promised under President Mnangagwa.”
“… Instead, the government should work to meet the basic
economic and social needs of its people. We strongly urge the Zimbabwean
authorities to resolve the current situation through dialogue and non-violent,
fully legal means, and for protesters to exercise their constitutional rights
peacefully. Under no circumstances should the Zimbabwean government disregard
the constitutional rights of its citizens, engage in the illegal suppression of
expression and assembly, or employ the disproportionate use of force or
extralegal violence to respond to the current situation.”
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