Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Report on violence against peaceful protestors in Harare By 9.30 the police officer in Central Avenue was handed a High Court Order which made the march legal. He threw it onto the tarmac. The police instructed about 20 demonstrators to disperse from Central Avenue near the Causeway Post Office or face police action. The police did not tell the demonstrators what law they had allegedly contravened. Many of the demonstrators were wearing MDC or NCA tee shirts and were shouting party political slogans. About 50 sat down on the tarmac and refused to move. A group of about 20 riot police, reinforced by a truckload of uniformed policemen moved in on the seated demonstrators and arrested journalist Grace Kwinjeh and architect Mick Pearce and about five others, dragged them up from the ground and pushed them into a police truck. The rest of the demonstrators toyi-toyed into the city centre singing revolutionary songs and shouting anti-ZANU (PF) slogans. The police did not follow this growing group who went down Second Street, into Samora Machel, Julius Nyerere and on until they made it back to Causeway Post Office. There was no violence, no threats, and the demonstration was at this stage noisy and good-natured. There was no police escort except for a lone police truck, which followed slowly behind the crowd which had grown by this stage to about 2000. Back at Causeway, the NCA leadership announced that the police accepted the High Court order. NCA spokesman Brian Kagoro addressed the demonstrators and emphasized that proceedings should be peaceful. He gave directions for the route for the second stage of the march. The demonstrators followed the designated route with a limited police escort. The marchers sang antigovernment songs but there was never any threat nor sign of violence. Traffic came to a standstill on some of the roads. MMPZ estimates there may have been 3 – 4 000 demonstrators at this stage. Meanwhile other MMPZ monitors went to ZANU (PF) headquarters where there was a group of about 200, (with ZANU (PF) flags and banners,) preparing to leave. War veteran leader Chenjerai Hunzvi was among them. Some pulled down branches of trees, others already had sticks and umbrellas. This crowd ran towards town, brandishing weapons and singing revolutionary war songs. When challenged on BBC Focus on Africa on Monday April 3, information minister Chenhamo Chimutengwende said reports that the armed crowd began their march at ZANU PF headquarters were “a lot of lies.” Initially NCA demonstrators appeared to believe the group, armed with dangerous weapons, were part of the peace march. The NCA marchers paused after they realized the new group was not part of their demonstration. As the group of war veterans and ZANU (PF) supporters approached the peace demonstrators on the corner of First Street and Union Avenue, they began throwing stones, and beat up several peace marchers and damaged a car parked nearby. It appeared as though, in proportion to the numbers of whites and blacks involved in the peace march, more whites were attacked than blacks. MMPZ is not as convinced as the foreign press that whites were specifically “targeted” by ZANU (PF) supporters and war veterans. However several black and white people who were attacked were not part of the NCA demonstration. MMPZ is not sure how many people were attacked but saw at least four wounded taken away by ambulance. Several more, maybe up to 20, were seen with bleeding faces and limbs after the attack by ZANU (PF) supporters and war veterans. A blind beggar on the corner of First Street and Union Avenue was attacked by ZANU (PF) supporters and war veterans . The blind man’s guitar was broken. A woman who went to the assistance of the disabled man was herself attacked. A correspondent from a British newspaper was attacked with a large stone by ZANU (PF) supporters. - 13 -