The Zimbabwe government threatened to retaliate on Sunday against an opposition advertisement that names police officers allegedly identified by victims of assaults and torture.
Declaring the newspaper advertisement illegal, the government said it intended to incite hatred and undermine the rights and integrity of individuals in the security forces and were ”a serious breach of the law,” the state Sunday Mail reported.
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the privately-owned Weekend Tribune newspaper, usually a pro-ruling party weekly, gave the Movement for Democratic Change assistance that was ”unfortunate and totally unacceptable” by publishing the advertisement in its latest edition, the Sunday Mail said.
He described the Weekly Tribune as ”an accessory” in a crime.
”The publication by a newspaper that should know better of such a blatantly inflammatory, malicious and clearly unlawful advert is intended to incite and therefore constitutes a serious breach of the law,” Moyo said.
There were no immediate reports of arrests of Tribune managers or opposition officials in connection with the Tribune advertisement.
The full page advertisement lists the names of members of the police and the Central Intelligence Organization, the secret police, the opposition says were repeatedly mentioned by hundreds of opposition activists who have been either assaulted, unlawfully arrested or tortured in custody.
”We appeal to the families, relatives and friends of these officers to discuss with them the implications of such alleged actions,” it said.
Moyo did not respond when the same advertisement first appeared in the independent Standard newspaper on March 30.
This month, the opposition has stepped up an anti-government publicity campaign ahead of more protests it has promised against the rule of President Robert Mugabe.
Despite a crackdown on government opponents and the arrests of several opposition leaders since a nationwide strike last month, the opposition warned of public anger and retribution against officials, troops and police seen to be ”sustaining and oiling the dictatorship” of Mugabe.
In the independent Daily News, the opposition named several ousted African and foreign dictators who escaped their people’s wrath by going into exile, leaving behind their functionaries, supporters and beneficiaries.
”If you are supporting the dictatorship in Zimbabwe today, it is important to know you will be left alone to look after yourself and your family,” it said.
Other bold colour advertisements have shown photographs of victims of alleged beatings and torture by state agents and troops.
The opposition has vowed to hold more anti-government protests after Mugabe’s government ignored a March 31 deadline to begin democratic reforms.
Police have arrested more than 500 opposition officials and activists since the March 18-19 strike that shut down the economy.
Independent human rights monitors said at least 250 people were treated for injuries from assaults and beatings in the initial days of the crackdown — which was strongly condemned by the US State Department for what it called unprecedented violence sponsored by the Zimbabwe government against domestic opponents. – Sapa-AP