Cosatu member tells of ordeal

2004-10-27 16:17

Polokwane - A member of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) delegation to Zimbabwe that was thrown out of the country on Tuesday night has talked of their seven-hour ordeal at Harare's airport.

The 13-strong delegation, which went to Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission, arrived back in South Africa on Wednesday after being deported from Zimbabwe.

Simon Boshielo, Cosatu's international affairs secretary and a member of the delegation, said the Zimbabwean government kept them at the airport for seven hours without food while they expected to be taken to their hotel in Harare.

"They (Zimbabwean police) attempted to beat us when we asked for food and they told us that this is not South Africa. They told us that we were not going to get food. They said they wanted to take us back to our country," Boshielo said.

Government letter said 'don't talk'

He added that when they arrived at Harare airport on Monday they were shown a letter from the Zimbabwean government warning them not to talk to "organisations like Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights, the Crisis Coalition and churches" if they wanted to remain in the country.

"The problem started when we defied the rules and organised to talk to those organisations. Then we were told that we would be taken back to our country by force. And we refused to leave the country instead we demanded that they better arrest us.

Demanded government meeting

"We demanded to meet with the government to explain to them but it was fruitless. Later we were told that the cabinet has decided to take us back to our country," Boshielo said.

He said that when they were meeting the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) that a large contingent of police arrived and escorted them out of the building to a bus.

"While were on the bus we were under the impression that we were being taken to our hotel, only to find that we are being taken back to South Africa. And we were dumped at the Beit Bridge border at 05:00 and it was then that we took taxis to Pietersburg (Polokwane) Airport," Boshielo said.

- SAPA