{"id":97282,"date":"2024-08-03T12:41:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-03T10:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance"},"modified":"2024-08-03T15:11:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T13:11:35","slug":"sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance","title":{"rendered":"SADC Summit Venue Must Be Changed From Zimbabwe, Says SA’s Democratic Alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa\u2019s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to move its 44th Summit from Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

The DA, which is part of South Africa\u2019s coalition government, made this call following the Zimbabwean government\u2019s intensified crackdown on democracy activists.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Friday, 02 August, the DA\u2019s spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, Emma Louise Powell MP, condemned the ZANU-PF government\u2019s repression of civil society.<\/p>\n

She argued that hosting the SADC Summit in Zimbabwe would be inappropriate given the country\u2019s deteriorating human rights situation. Said Powell:<\/p>\n

The Democratic Alliance calls on the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, to exercise South Africa\u2019s right as a member of SADC and urgently demand that the 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government \u2013 scheduled to be held on 17 August 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe, be moved to a different location.
\nThe DA makes this call following multiple reports of yet another state-sponsored clampdown on pro-democracy activists by a paranoid ZANU-PF regime, fearing public protests in the lead-up to the summit.<\/p>\n

The SADC\u2019s founding treaty mandates member states to act in accordance with the principles of \u201chuman rights, democracy and the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

ZANU-PF illegitimate regime in Harare has yet again violated these principles with impunity in the lead-up to the summit.<\/p>\n

Powell cited recent examples of the Zimbabwean government\u2019s crackdown on opposition and civil society.<\/p>\n

This includes the detention of CCC faction leader Jameson Timba and 77 other opposition activists since 16 June, who were charged with holding an \u201cunauthorised political meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n

Powell also pointed to the arrest of four democracy activists who were removed from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport and charged with disorderly conduct. She said:<\/p>\n

By abusing state machinery to violate the rights of Zimbabweans, the unrepentant ZANU-PF regime has demonstrated that it is prepared to go to any lengths to violate the law in order to entrench its authoritarian rule. South Africa, and by extension the SADC, have an obligation to hold the Zimbabwean government to account.<\/p>\n

Allowing the summit to proceed under the current circumstances will not only endorse ZANU-PF\u2019s flagrant abuse of international law but further undermine the principles upon which SADC was established.<\/p>\n

President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s upcoming SADC Chairmanship is a testament to the continued failure of regional leaders to hold these political thugs to account.<\/p>\n

South Africa, as a leading member of SADC, must now take a firm stand to uphold international law and advocate for the summit to be moved to a location that upholds and respects democratic values.<\/p>\n

This action would send a clear message that South Africa, as a member of the SADC, will no longer tolerate the suppression of democratic freedoms on our doorstep.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. South Africa\u2019s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to move its 44th Summit from Zimbabwe. The DA, which is part of South Africa\u2019s coalition government, made this call following the Zimbabwean government\u2019s intensified crackdown on democracy activists. In a statement issued on Friday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":97281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,35,12,2715],"tags":[17065,16824,17064,5897,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-97282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-head-lines","9":"category-homepage-english","10":"category-policy","11":"category-to-homepage","12":"tag-44th-sadc","13":"tag-da","14":"tag-democratic-allaince","15":"tag-sadc-summit","16":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nSADC Summit Venue Must Be Changed From Zimbabwe, Says SA's Democratic Alliance - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has urged the Southern African Development Community ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SADC Summit Venue Must Be Changed From Zimbabwe, Says SA's Democratic Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has urged the Southern African Development Community ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-03T10:41:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-03T13:11:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/08\/sm_1722676823.982444.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1149\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"766\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-summit-venue-must-be-changed-from-zimbabwe-says-sas-democratic-alliance\",\"name\":\"SADC Summit Venue Must Be Changed From Zimbabwe, Says SA's Democratic Alliance - 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