The European Parliament has urged the government of Zimbabwe to immediately withdraw the military from civilian residents as part of a raft of its joint resolutions passed yesterday.
The resolutions are informed by among others, the European Election Observer Mission report which pinned the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for running an election whose results were contaminated with numerous errors and lacked adequate trace-ability, transparency and verifiability.
The developments throws the government‘s offensive international re-engagement agenda under the bus with the European parliament yesterday saying President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration must observe rule of law for the protection of human rights before any economic and political ties with Europe.
“Reminds the Government of Zimbabwe that the support of the European Union and its Member States in the context of the Cotonou Agreement, and for trade, development, and economic assistance, is conditional on its respecting the rule of law and the international conventions and treaties to which it is party,” reads resolution number 16.
EU further urged government to withdraw military personnel deployed across the country, allegedly on assignment to terrorize dissent.
“Urges the Government of Zimbabwe to withdraw urgently all military personnel and the youth militia deployed across the country that are terrorizing residents in clear violation of the Zimbabwean Constitution;
“Believes that freedom of assembly, association and expression are essential components of any democracy; stresses that expressing an opinion in a non-violent way is a constitutional right for all Zimbabwean citizens and reminds the authorities of their obligation to protect the right of all citizens to protest against their deteriorating social and economic conditions; calls on the government to put an end to the specific targeting of leaders and members of the ZCTU;
“Underlines the fundamental role that the opposition plays in a democratic society; Urges the Zimbabwean authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners,” part of the joint resolution reads.
The European parliament also advised the government to institute an independent inquiry into the recent disturbances that were characterized by human rights violations across the country as security forces went on a rampage beating and torturing suspected opposition activists and followers.
“Calls on the Zimbabwean authorities to undertake a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including rape and sexual violence by security forces, and to bring those responsible to justice; demands that access to medical services should be universally provided to the victims of such sexual violence without fear of retribution,”
