SA Based Zimbabwean Youths Call for Mugabe's Arrest

JOHANNESBURG - A South African-based human rights organization is calling for the arrest of the Zimbabwean President and his cronies. 

The Zimbabwe Youth Wing on Monday handed over a petition to the United Nations Security Council Office in Pretoria. In their demands the Zimbabwe Youth Wing calls for the arrest of Zimbabwe’s JOC (Joint Military Command). This comprises of the high ranking officials from the army, the police, the air force, the prison and the Central Intelligence Organization. The organization further calls for the arrest of the President Robert Mugabe, some war veterans and the Zanu (PF) militia for human rights abuses. 

The group’s president, Ishmael Kauzai, said: “The Zanu (PF) regime perpetuates the abduction, torture and killing of Zimbabwe's citizens to this very day. Those responsible remain unaccountable. We want these people to be arrested and tried in the International Curt of Justice. They have been doing this for a long time. They committed human rights abuses during the Gukurahundi era, land invasion, operation Murambatsvina and when the Movement for the Democratic Change was formed. They continue to do so. This will increase next year as we approach the elections.”

The organization accuses Mugabe of militarizing the parastatals.  Former military personnel aligned to the president have been appointed to head parastatals like the Grain Marketing Board, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. 

Ishmael said the youth had lost faith in the regional organizations like Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union (AU). He accused SADC and AU of inactivity when the Zimbabwean government was butchering their citizens and called on the UN Security Council to intervene in the Zimbabwean crisis.


* The Zimbabwean