Mugabe steps up crackdown on dissent, critics charge

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe’s government continues to step up its crackdown on dissent, using new repressive laws and state-sponsored violence to create a pervasive atmosphere of terror, critics said yesterday.

Archbishop Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe’s western Matabeleland, told a news conference that the new repressive laws show “Mugabe’s regime has made sure they can beat anyone into submission.” Ncube, The Rev Kumbukani Phiri of the Zimbabwe Pastors Conference, Jonah Gokova, of the Ecumenical Support Services and Jacob Mafume of Lawyers for Human Rights urged the international community to pressure Zimbabwe to restore the rule of law.- Nampa-AFPNcube, The Rev Kumbukani Phiri of the Zimbabwe Pastors Conference, Jonah Gokova, of the Ecumenical Support Services and Jacob Mafume of Lawyers for Human Rights urged the international community to pressure Zimbabwe to restore the rule of law.- Nampa-AFP

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