BNF condemns police brutality
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday August 10, 2016 15:39
“This is painful and the brutality used by the police is uncalled for. Picketing is an internationally accepted means of expressing disenchantment within democratic systems. However, the behaviour of the police this afternoon was appalling and indefensible. First, it was a clear assault at media freedom and the government of Botswana should be exposed for this intolerable attitude,” said the BNF vice president Prince Dibeela in a statement yesterday.
Dibeela said they are most upset at the provocation and violence meted against the youth.
He continued: “One of those who has been detained overnight on the frivolous charges of ‘public nuisance’ is the president of the Botswana National Front Youth League Khumoekae Richard. The youth president was simply arrested for giving a solidarity message. This is uncalled for”.
He said it was surprising when it became apparent that the police were in a state of confusion regarding the charges the detainees were supposed to be facing.
Dibeela said what was even more alarming was the claim by a certain officer Montshioa that nobody was arrested when they all knew that people had indeed been detained. “It is high time the Botswana Police start behaving like a community service organisation they claim to be. The hostility that we met today was uncalled for.
The police have to start accounting for their behaviour and stop hiding behind the claim that “they were simply following orders,” he said.
He said as professionals the police ought to be equipped to probe situations and take appropriate action rather than be used to execute actions that are clearly immoral.
The BNF vice president called on all progressive forces to increase pressure on the BDP regime to seriously address issues such as unemployment, the gap between the rich and the poor, poverty and corruption.
“Batswana should stand up and express their displeasure through marches and other public demonstrations. The BNF will not be intimidated nor discouraged by these unreasonable arrests on innocent Batswana until the poor citizens are freed from the undemocratic and gross corrupt BDP practices,” he said. Meanwhile, the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) expressed its dismay and deepest disapproval over the conduct of the Botswana Police in the manner in which they handled yesterday’s peaceful and harmless demonstrations by unemployed youths.
“These youths had gathered at the Parliament buildings, where their elected servants, being Members of Parliament, seat and legislate on important matters, one of which of course, is what they were complaining about, high rate of unemployment.
The police responded with force and brutality of unimaginable proportion assaulting these innocent youths leaving them with visible scars on their bodies and detaining them. This conduct of the police should be condemned with the strongest terms possible, as it does not only dehumanise these youths but also infringes on their democratic right of freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic,” said Johannes Tshukudu.
He also said they challenge the Botswana government to make their position known on this matter that threatens to regress the democratic tenants that this country has achieved thus far.
“In the same vein, we as BOFEPUSU would like to express our strongest condemnation of yet again the harassment and detention of journalists by the police during the course of their duties.
We learn that in the same incident, some journalists who were on duty covering the demonstrations by these unemployed youths were harassed and detained by the police demanding that they delete video footages of incidents when the police were brutalising these peaceful demonstrators.
We regard this as outright interference on the work of the media and infringement on media freedom and freedom of information,” he said. BOFEPUSU urged “the Minister of Defence and Social Security to investigate these incidents and take appropriate action against the perpetrators within the police force, least we be made to believe that such incidents that, we, in the past only heard about in other parts of Africa and the world are here with us in our beloved Botswana”.