SW Radio Africa (London)
Violet Gonda
18 September 2008
Arrests and beatings continue in Zimbabwe barely three days before the ink has dried on the power sharing agreement between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.
10 students from Bindura State University were arrested on Wednesday during protests calling for a conducive learning environment. Three student leaders Chiedza Gadzirayi (22), Laswet Savadye (24) and Respect Mbanga (21) were allegedly beaten up while in police custody.
Chiedza Gadzirayi told Newsreel they were arrested at 10am on campus and were only released at 7pm the same day after being charged with criminal nuisance. The students were made to pay a fine of $20 each. She said: "They beat us up saying we are over excited and not recognising the whole issue of the talks...they also said we are part of the MDC and that we were trying to incite students."
The students were protesting against the decision by the University to charge top up fees for this semester of $380 trillion and $420 trillion for science students. Gadzirayi said this was exorbitant, given the fact that the students had already been made to pay $85 trillion when colleges opened on 13th August. The top up fees are required by the 30th September.
According to the students, since the University opened there has been no improvement in the environment and no learning as the lecturers are also on strike for better salaries.
We could not get a comment from Bindura police, but the students maintain their demonstration was justified. They say the police have shown they are really not respecting the talks by continuing with the brutality. "Our demonstration was justified and the police were not justified to do what they did to us yesterday, especially the harassment and the torture and the humiliation that they made us go through," added Gadzirayi.
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said in a statement: "This is a negative development, taking into consideration that the deal was signed to bring sanity to the political terrain in this country."
Observers say repression in Zimbabwe is now a political culture such that this 'coalition' has to put security sector reform and the judiciary as top on its agenda if it is to work.
The MDC has to demand that action be taken decisively against the perpetrators. They are now part of the system, and it's either they are viewed as culpable or they show that they will not tolerate such behaviour.
Meanwhile ZANU PF official Patrick Chinamasa was quoted by the state media claiming his party supporters were "being victimised across the country." He said: "It's unfortunate that these violent attacks are happening just when we are starting a new era in Zimbabwe."
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