Pretoria,– South Africa’s opposition party, The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, to leverage South Africa’s influence within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to relocate the upcoming 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for August 17, 2024, in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The DA’s appeal comes in response to numerous reports of a state-sponsored crackdown on pro-democracy activists by Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF. The regime’s actions, which appear motivated by fears of public protests ahead of the summit, have drawn widespread condemnation.
The SADC’s founding treaty commits member states to uphold “human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.” However, the DA argues that the ZANU-PF regime has repeatedly violated these principles with impunity.
Recent incidents underscore these violations:Jameson Timba, an opposition politician, and 77 activists have been detained in dire conditions and repeatedly denied bail following their arrest for allegedly holding an unauthorized political meeting.
Four democracy activists were forcibly removed from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport and charged with disorderly conduct for protesting the prolonged detention of the 77 opposition members, who have been in pre-trial detention for over six weeks.
The DA asserts that by exploiting state machinery to suppress the rights of Zimbabweans, the ZANU-PF regime is flagrantly violating the law to maintain its authoritarian rule. The party stresses that South Africa, and the SADC by extension, have a duty to hold the Zimbabwean government accountable.
“Allowing the summit to proceed under these circumstances will not only endorse ZANU-PF’s blatant abuse of international law but will also undermine the principles upon which the SADC was established,” the DA stated. The party added that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s impending SADC Chairmanship exemplifies the regional leaders’ ongoing failure to address political oppression.
As a key member of the SADC, South Africa must now take a decisive stand to uphold international law and advocate for relocating the summit to a venue that respects democratic values. Such a move would signal that South Africa, and the SADC, will no longer tolerate the suppression of democratic freedoms in the region.
The DA’s call for action aims to reinforce the message that adherence to democratic principles and human rights is non-negotiable, urging the SADC to demonstrate its commitment to these values through tangible measures.