MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti has slammed ZANU PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa for labelling the opposition party a terrorist organisation.
Addressing journalists in Harare this Wednesday afternoon, Biti said ZANU PF is was the ruling party that deserved the “terrorist organisation” tag and it has to account for the whereabouts of political activist Itai Dzamara, who was abducted by gunmen in broad daylight several years ago.
Biti asserted that the opposition party has, since its formation in 1999, eschewed violence and sought peaceful democratic change in Zimbabwe. He said:
We are concerned about the deepening human rights crisis and the labelling of our party as a terrorist organisation by Chinamasa.
The attempt by Zanu PF to liquidate our party is regrettable. We’ve remained loyal to the value of democratic change.
If anything, it is Zanu PF that has conducted itself as a terrorist organisation that hounds and abducted citizens including Itai Dzamara, the MDCT trio and others. We remain loyal to the value of peaceful transformation of our nation.
We remain committed to the need for sincere dialogue to restore the social contract despite the increased temperature. We remain loyal to peaceful, constitutional change.
Biti said the MDC Alliance fully supports citizens who have planned anti-corruption protests for July 31st, saying it is a constitutional right for Zimbabweans to demonstrate peacefully.
He also demanded the release of prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition activist Jacob Ngarivhume who were both denied bail on charges of inciting public violence.