‘Catriona Laing’s tweet of shame’

The People’ Democratic Party is irked by Catriona Laing’s unrepentant nauseating conduct, that coming from a diplomat and one from a country which is known for strong democratic practices.

In a shocking move she liked a tweet from a shady character, one Ali Naka who suggested that too many freedoms have been extended for Zimbabweans and they needed to be trimmed.

She unashamedly liked the tweet and then lied with a straight face that the action was a matter of “clumsy finger scrolling”.

The world knows that all the actions on tweeter are deliberative when one likes, re-tweets or blocks someone it is a matter of choice in which case Laing made a choice, one which she is however unable to defend.

We believe the international community has a role to play in the strengthening of our democracy not in weakening it , we also support intervention as opposed to interference.

We find Laing’s conduct in the past few years to be continuously excessive, deliberately offensive, extremely biased and retrogressive. She is always offside.

The people of Zimbabwe are only enjoying that which is provided in a bill of rights which millions of Zimbabweans voted for in a referendum. To suggest that constitutional rights are excessive is totalitarian and fascist.

An individual of her standing must be advocating for the strengthening of these rights specifically the ones that are under the threat of being taken away by autocrats.

Democrats are in court fighting against an imposition of a blanket ban on demonstrations, these are rights at risk of being taken away, to then suggest that rights are excessive is an insult to the spirit and letter of our constitution.

Laing must just come out in the open and tell Zimbabweans that she is rooting for ZANUPF, she is the same person who donned the ED Scarf arguing that it is the Zimbabwean flag, the same person who was at the centre of the LIMA plan with intentions of not only violating Zimbabwean debt laws but also international laws particularly on uniform treatment of creditors.

At some point she Laing called the United States state department in Washington directly skipping the local ambassador in an attempt to get support on her agenda, we find this unrepentant behavior unacceptable.

The British Embassy was also at the centre of lies around the voters roll changing their statement many times , these features are uncharacteristic of a neutral player.

After events of November 2017, Zimbabwe is fragile and facing too many risks, the world must be assisting in guarding against degeneration; reckless behavior from diplomats can however lead into chaos.

A credible election is one step towards answering many national questions specifically one vaccinating the country from yet another episode of military tanks being rolled back into the streets of major cities.

Energy must therefore be directed in demanding transparency and fairness in the ongoing electoral process including affording the opposition equal access to public media.

The call for stability over democracy is mistaken and meddling with internal democratic processes is also not a place for a foreign head of mission, we urge Laing not to stoop that low.

Together Another Zimbabwe is Possible
PDP Communications