21 More Barotseland Nationals Arrested Secretly in Kalabo and Denied Visitors 21 more young men have been arrested in Kalabo over the last week after being suspected to be Linyungandambo sympathizers. It is further reported that apart from being tortured those arrested are also denied visitors. “What is surprising is that these arrests have continued, although the Zambian police is now no longer announcing the latest arrests, probably for fear of public condemnation” revealed an internal source. Officially, Zambia security officers have in the recent weeks announced to have arrested 54 people in connection with the recent swearing in of Rt. Hon. Afumba Mombotwa as Administrator General of Barotseland. This singular activity and his subsequent announcing of a new government over Barotseland sparked up wide spread celebrations and excitement in Barotseland as word spread that, finally, Barotseland had broken ‘free’ from Zambia. In response, however, Zambia went on rampage arresting everyone suspected to have participated either in the swearing in or in the eventual celebration of the swearing in of an administrator general, and the announcement of a government in Barotseland, calling it a ‘treasonable’ act of making of a “state within a state” contrary to Zambian Laws, punishable only by death upon conviction. It is however, feared that in fact well over 150 people may so far have been arrested as most of these arrests are not reported or officially acknowledged by the Zambian government. The problem over Barotseland emanates from a historical agreement that was entered into in 1964 between Barotseland, a protectorate of Britain then, and Northern Rhodesea which was a colony of Britain. Under the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, Barotseland was meant to be an autonomous region within the new independent state of Zambia, with her own ‘Barotse government’. However, the agreement was unilaterally abrogated by the new Zambian government, leading to periodic discontent over this abrogation by both the Barotse Royal Establishment as well as the majority of the ordinary people of Barotseland who more recently through the 26th – 28th March 2012, Barotseland National Council (the highest decision making body in Barotse governance system) unanimously resolved to accept the unilateral nullification of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 by Zambia, and also resolved that Barotseland immediately initiated all formal and necessary procedures and acts for the re-establishment of Barotseland Sovereignty and Independence, a de facto break away from its current underlying status within the Republic of Zambia. So far Zambia has always responded with military heavy handedness resulting in mass arrests, torture and in some instances, killing of people of Barotseland, although these atrocities are never always acknowledged officially by Zambia. - See more at: barotsepost/index.php/en/frontnews/local-news/470-21-more-barotseland-nationals-arrested-secretly-in-kalabo-and-denied-visitors#sthash.NND5XJvB.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 11:47:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015