treatment. The unionists sustained injuries ranging from fractured limbs to extensive bruising, deep cuts to the head, and perforated eardrums. The hospital admitted two of the unionists for treatment for extensive injuries including multiple fractures. President Mugabe commented on widespread condemnation of the assaults by stating that, “when the police tell you to move, you move, otherwise you are inviting the police to beat you”. 34 The President thus condoned the assaults and went on to suggest falsely that beating had occurred when the ZCTU members had refused to move from the road. While various other implausible excuses to explain the demonstrators’ injuries were offered for the benefit of the international community, as Mugabe’s statement makes clear, the government was content for the public to take note of the assaults upon the demonstrators and to learn a salutary lesson. In November 2006, a non-governmental organization advocating constitutional reform , the NCA, tried to stage a demonstration to protest against a statement from President Mugabe that there was no need to have a new constitution. The head of the organization was arrested and taken away. He says he was told that the rest of the protestors were going to be punished by being beaten. The rest of the demonstrators remained seated on the ground, surrounded by the police in Africa Unity Square in the middle of Harare City. In full view of the public, the police officers set upon and the unarmed and unresisting protestors, beating them all over their bodies. There is video footage of this beating. The police then ordered the protesters to run away. In July 2002, Amnesty International issued a report entitled Policing to Protect Human Rights.35 This report accuses the government of transforming the Zimbabwe Republic Police into a partisan force, which had become little more than a party militia. It alleges that the ZRP was perpetrating human rights abuses by using repressive methods; it was using excessive or unjustified force to suppress peaceful protest and was arbitrarily detaining government opponents. The report says: “In Zimbabwe, the undermining of professional and impartial policing has taken an extreme form in the past two years. Police have been directly involved in the torture, ill treatment and arbitrary arrest of members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). They have also been complicit in nationally widespread acts of violence, arson and rape committed by state-sponsored militia against supporters of the MDC.” 34 Addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe embassy in Cairo,Egypt, September 23, 2006 President Mugabe said about the criminal assaults by the police upon unarmed and peaceful protesters: We cannot have a situation where people decide to sit in places not allowed and when police remove them they say no. We can’t have that. That is a revolt to the system. Some are crying that they were beaten. Yes you will be thoroughly beaten. When the police say move you move. If you don’t move, you invite the police to use force. 35 See Policing to protect human rights A survey of police practice in countries of the Southern African Development Community, 1997-2002/ Amnesty International Who guards the guards? Violations by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, 2000 to 2006