Africa, BREAKING NEWS
–
THE United States of America based Freedom House has condemned the arrest of protesters in Zimbabwe and the blocking of social media by the government.
“Freedom House condemns the unlawful arrests of peaceful civilians in Victoria Falls, Masvingo, and other locales, as demonstrators show their dissatisfaction with the government’s economic policies,” said Lynn Fredriksson, director for Southern Africa programmes.
In a statement made available to Realnews on Wednesday, July 6, Freedom House in response to Zimbabwean authorities arresting a growing number of protesters, as well as the government temporarily blocking access to the communications app WhatsApp said: “We are also concerned by the government’s efforts to limit citizens’ ability to communicate and share information freely, by temporarily shutting down WhatsApp access.”
Realnews reports that protests have erupted in Harare and other cities as a result of the government’s failure to pay its civil servants and a new government ban on the import of basic commodities. The government has responded by paying salaries for security sector employees, and announcing plans to pay others in coming weeks.
Zimbabwe is rated partly Free in Freedom in the World 2016, and Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2016.
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
- July 7, 2016 @ 10:50 GMT
|
Tags:
