UK Accused Of Downplaying The Excessive Use Of Force By Soldiers, Want Chamisa To Take Some Heat
The United Kingdom allegedly insisted that the joint statement released by the European Union, the United States, Canada and Switzerland, should not describe the shooting of civilians by the army as an excessive or disproportionate use of force. Instead, the United Kingdom insisted that the statement should condemn “the eruption of violence” as they wanted Nelson Chamisa to take some of the heat. The statement has been described in some quarters as benign compared to statements from the Commonwealth Observer Group and the Australian Embassy.
United Kingdom publication, The Times wrote,
The statement, released yesterday, failed to attribute the deaths of six civilians to the army, which turned live fire on unarmed demonstrators after the disputed ballot. Instead, the heads of missions of EU states in Zimbabwe and those of the US, Canada and Switzerland urged President Mnangagwa’s government to respect the rights of citizens and to ensure that the defence forces “act with restraint”.
Piers Pigou, an analyst with the International Crisis Group also told The Times,
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I think that any statement that highlights the MDC role in any violence is irresponsible if at the same time there is a downplaying of the excessive use of force by the security apparatus. There is clear evidence of assaults, abductions, torture and sexual violence being used right now against MDC supporters and any view that points to the party’s culpability in inciting any state-sponsored violence will be seen by Zanu (PF) as just a green light to continue these actions.
British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Catriona Laing has repeatedly been accused of being partisan towards President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
More: The Times
