After the news that the ZCTU’s Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo will need to wait another month for their trial in Harare, keeping them silenced on unfair bail conditions that prohibit their addressing public gatherings, there are now worrying reports of another way the Mugabe regime is trying to shut up the embattled Zimbabwean union movement.

Ben Madzimure is the editor of the ZCTU’s journal, The Worker. He has been arrested after getting into a scuffle with a group of policemen. Apparently he witnessed the men indecently searching a female currency dealer in Central Harare, and when he protested this, they arrested him. After being taken to Harare Central Police Station, he is now being accused of writing falsehoods. ZCTU lawyers are trying to secure his release.

Given that anything Zanu PF claim as a falsehood is likely to be true, you can check out Ben’s latest piece at The Worker, describing the background the the current crisis, the MDC/Zanu PF talks, and recent calls by the ZCTU for a rejection of Thabo Mbeki’s attempts to negotiate a Government of National Unity (GNU). They believe the GNU idea runs against the wishes of the Zimbabwean people, who should be given the freedom to vote again from scratch, but this time in a genuinely fair election.

You can add your own note of support for the ZCTU at this critical time at the new ITUC website www.wearezctu.org