are apolitical. We should therefore stand behind our commander-in-chief … If you have other thoughts, then you should remove that uniform.”32 Although Human Rights Watch cannot link the JOC directly to specific acts of violence, our interviews of more than 20 victims and eyewitnesses from separate incidents named at least 10 senior ranking police, prison and army officers who report to the heads of the JOC as inciting or participating in abuses. Their participation could not have occurred without the knowledge and acquiescence, if not direct participation, of the JOC. The Role of Police and Prison Service Officers Human Rights Watch has also gathered information that some senior ranking police officers are ordering or inciting subordinates to commit politically motivated violence. Human Rights Watch interviewed two police officers who reported that from May 6 to 9, 2008, different teams of senior police officers from Police Headquarters addressed members of the police force at all police camps in Harare province.33 The Officer Commanding Harare Province, law and order police Boyson Mathema reportedly called for the meetings, dubbed “Police Project Meetings,” which were addressed by senior police officers. According to the officers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, the message sent to the police camps was basically the same: MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai would never rule the country and that the police should be ready to go to war if Tsvangirai won a second round of elections. They said that senior officers threatened the lower ranking officers and told them that they were aware that a significant percentage of the police forces had voted for the MDC, but they would not be allowed to “sell out” the country. According to the officers, this message was replicated at similar meetings throughout Harare. As described below, members of the police force have been implicated in widespread post-election abuses around the country, including politically motivated arrests, beatings and torture. Victims informed Human Rights Watch that senior 32 “Troops 'must back Mugabe or quit,’” BBC news online, May 31, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7429238.stm (accessed June 2, 2008). 33 Human Rights Watch interviews with police officers and prison services officers, Harare, May, 2008. 19 Human Rights Watch 2008