Staff ReporterThe United States Tuesday slammed police repression in Zimbabwe, weeks after security forces crushed protests there.
Washington also urged all parties to take part in the national dialogue that opposition forces have sat out.
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino stressed US concern over “excessive use of force” by the government since country-wide protests have escalated against the doubling of fuel prices.
He said the crackdown had left at least “13 dead, 600 victims of violence, torture or rape, and more than 1,000 arrests.”
“The Government of Zimbabwe’s use of violence against civil society and imposition of undue internet restrictions betray promises to create a new Zimbabwe,” Palladino said.
And the United States urges all parties to come together immediately in national dialogue.
“The dialogue process must be credible, inclusive, and mediated by a neutral third party,” he stressed.
Police arrested more than 1,100 people, including leading trade unionists, lawmakers from Chamisa’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and some children in last month’s violent protests.