Zim Online
COSATU DELEGATION DEPORTED
Tue 26 October
2004
HARARE - The government has deported a Congress of South
Africa Trade
Union (COSATU) delegation that was in Zimbabwe on a
fact-finding mission on
the country's deepening economic and political
crisis.
Armed police and immigration officials ordered the COSATU
delegation
to break a meeting they were having at a Harare hotel with
Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions officials and immediately leave the
country.
COSATU second vice-president Violet Seboni and her
14-member team are
now at Harare international airport waiting for the next
flight back to
Johannesburg.
Harare had late last night
appeared to back down on its objections
against the COSATU mission,
reluctantly allowing Seboni and her delegation
into the country even after
the COSATU officials refused to guarantee they
would not meet with certain
civic groups the
government says are opposed to its rule.
Commenting on the deportation Seboni said: "That (deportation) has
proved
beyond reasonable doubt that democracy is endangered in Zimbabwe.
This
crisis needs to be addressed. It is a clearest indication yet that
there was
no sign of democracy or rule of law in Zimbabwe."
Seboni and her
delegation had planned to stay in Zimbabwe until Friday
meeting several
stakeholders including the ruling ZANU PF and opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change parties in a bid to establish the state of
the country
ahead of a crucial parliamentary election next year.
The COSATU
officials were meeting in the morning with representatives
of ZCTU affiliate
unions at Harare's Quality International hotel when about
10 police officers
some of them armed and immigration officials arrived and
ordered them to
stop the meeting.
The state agents said President Robert Mugabe and
his Cabinet were
discussing whether to let COSATU stay in the country and
the trade unionists
could only continue with their meeting after Cabinet had
decided on the
matter.
A short while later, the police said
they had received an instruction
that the COSATU officials had to leave the
country and they promptly ordered
the South Africans into a waiting police
truck to be taken to the airport.
Seboni and her delegation refused
to board the police truck and drove
to the airport in a ZCTU
vehicle.
ZCTU acting secretary general, Collin Gwiyo, said: "This
is a most
unreasonable decision. It is not normal for a government that
purports to be
democratic to deport people who merely wanted to gather
information. We hope
the regime will one day reflect on this and see that it
acted out of its
senses."
A spokesman for the National
Constitutional Assembly that campaigns
for a new and democratic constitution
for Zimbabwe, Jesie Majome said: "The
deportation must have cleared any
doubts which South Africans, especially
President Thabo Mbeki, had on the
nature of the regime. It is anti-democracy
and is not open to any form of
dissenting voices.
"The action by Mugabe's regime shows that there
is no freedom of
association and of assembly. The NCA laments the failure of
the government
to guarantee the workers rights of assembly." -
ZimOnline
These guys are being deported now? For more infor, contact
ZCTU. They were picked up the Quality International Hotel in Nelson Mandela
Avenue. Immigration, CIO, riot police, everybody is involved.
TW
COSATU Flies into Zimbabwe inspite of Zim Govt
Ban.
Cosatu put out its own information release about its intentions to
flt into Harare inspite of the much publicised Zim govt ban of its intended fact
finding visit to meet a diversity of organisations most of which are targeted by
the new NGO bill.
Amai Matibenga and I went to the airport to meet the
gelegation. Lucia Matibenga is the 1st woman to hold the post of First Vice
President of ZCTU, She was there in that caapacity to meet the delegation. The
flight arrived at the expected time of 9pm. Passengers disembarked and left the
airport, except for a group of 13 who we identified as the Cosatu delegation
members. There was a lot of movement and cellphoning by some of them, we
thought, the delegation leadesrship to negotiate their entry into Zim.
The welcome team on the Zim side was a motley crowd of ZCTU, press, NGO
leaders, We spent an hour and a half or so, taking bets among ourselves on
whether cio would let them in or not, and anxiously awaiting the outcome of what
seemed to be serious discussions between the delegation and the Zim cio who were
also at the Zim immigration arrivals area which is restricted, the entry point
into Zim at the airport.
The remnants of the Zim press corps were there
at the airport in full force to wiitness the Cosatu arrival event into Zim. Dr
Godfrey Kanyenze the ZCTU economist was inside the restricted arrival area
negotiating for the entry of the Cosatu delegation. Gwiyo from the ZCTU
international relations committee was communicating with his colleagues by cell
phone to find out about the latest development. Dr Maduku the NCA chairperson
was present with his cellphone stuck to his ear, shuffling from point to point
at the airport to discover what was going on.
Eventually Dr kanyenze left
the arrival area inside and went out side of the restricted area. Most rushed
to meet him to hear the news. He was informed that the delegation would be
allowed in. The delegation members began to take their bags from the still
moving baggage arrival's rack and going back inside to the cio who were still
hard at interrogating each member of the delegation, a bad sign we all
concluded. .
Eventually all Cosatu delegation member's cellphones were
tucked away and the Cosatu International officer walked out of the restricted
arrival's area into where we were all now waiting, a good sign. Eventually all
the Cosatu delegation were allowed. They met an anxious welcome committee of
the ZCTU international relations representatives as they emerged into Zim
space. The Committee was made up of Tabitha Khumalo and Mlotswa who had been
preparing for any outcome since their arrival from Bulawayo that morning.
Finally around 10.45 pm we were able to go back to our homes..
By
Sekai Holland
A personal Account