In Southern Africa, all eyes are on Zimbabwe, as the country is due to host the SADC summit in its capital on 17 August. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is then due to take over the rotating presidency of the regional institution. But several waves of arrests of opponents ahead of the event have prompted various voices to call for a response from SADC. In South Africa, one government party is even calling for the summit to be moved.
1 min
with our correspondent in Johannesburg, Claire Bargelès
Although the Democratic Alliance, the DA, is now part of the coalition in Pretoria, it does not have control over the foreign affairs portfolio, and it is in this sense that it is calling on the ANC minister, Ronald Lamola, to put pressure on the Zimbabwean neighborand to find another place to host this summit of the SADC.
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A suggestion dismissed by Nelson Mandela’s party, which prefers to favour dialogue with its ally ZANU-PF, in power in Harare.
This debate around the non-respect of human rights and democracy follows new arrests of opponents in recent days, with four activists intercepted before a plane took off, and a dozen others arrested in a northern city. They are in addition to more than 70 protesters who have been imprisoned since June.
Zimbabwe’s interior ministry has accused opposition groups of stepping up their actions to provoke a heavy-handed response from the government and cast a shadow over the summit.