We are saddened by and deeply concerned about Tutwa Ngulube’s call on the police to break the bones of protesters.
And this is in line with the threats and other intolerant pronouncements made by Stephen Kampyongo and Edgar Lungu himself.
Urging the police to break people’s bones is disturbing and unacceptable.
Police abuse and excessive use of force during peaceful protests is inexcusable at any time but it is especially distressing when demonstrators are precisely calling for accountability.
Breaking protesters’ bones will not silence them.
It only reaffirms the urgency of the struggle to defend our human rights and political freedoms.
Protests play an important part in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural life of our country.
Historically, protests have often inspired positive social change and the advancement of human rights, and they continue to help define and protect civic space. Protests encourage the development of an engaged and informed citizenry. They strengthen representative democracy by enabling direct participation in public affairs. They enable individuals and groups to express dissent and grievances, to share views and opinions, to expose flaws in governance and to publicly demand that the authorities and other powerful entities rectify problems and are accountable for their actions. This is especially important for those whose interests are otherwise poorly represented or marginalised.
It is therefore not right to treat protests as either an inconvenience to be controlled or a threat to be extinguished.
The right to protest formally involves the exercise of numerous fundamental human rights, and is essential for securing all our human rights.
Protests constitute a fundamental pillar of democracy and complement the holding of free and fair elections.
Protests offer us the opportunity to stand up for our civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights, struggle against repression, fight against poverty, protect the environment or demand sustainable development, and thereby contribute towards progress.
Participating in protests enables us to individually and collectively express dissent and seek to influence and strengthen government’s policymaking and governing practices, as well as the actions of other powerful entities in society.
It is very important to understand that the right to protest embodies the exercise of a number of indivisible, interdependent and interconnected human rights, in particular the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to strike, the right to take part in cultural life, as well as the rights to life, privacy, liberty and security of the person, and the right to freedom from discrimination.
We therefore call on all Zambians of good will to voice out their abhorrence at this government’s threats of brutal repression of protests, including the unnecessary, excessive and unlawful use of force to break protesters’ bones.
We are deeply concerned by legal, policy and law enforcement measures that deter, prevent or obstruct protests, including detention, harassment and intimidation, and disproportionate criminal, administrative and civil sanctions against protesters.
This government must fulfill its obligation to respect, protect and facilitate the enjoyment of the right to protest without discrimination of any kind, to avoid unlawful, unjustified or unnecessary restrictions, and to ensure accountability for violations.