The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded the immediate release of Mr. Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary-General of ITUC-Africa, arrested by the Zimbabwean authorities in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said the congress condemned in the strongest terms the arrest and repatriation to the airport preparatory for possible deportation of Mr. Amankwa.
The NLC, beside seeking the release of the labour leader, equally demanded that Amankwa should be given free and unfettered access to members of ZCTU, officials of the Ministry of Labour, Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe and other organisations with whom he was scheduled to meet.
He said, “The arrest of Mr. Amankwa, who was in Zimbabwe on an international solidarity meeting with the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), represents the height of intolerance and repression.
“It is bad enough that the ZCTU members lately were victims of government’s high-handedness through arbitrary arrests, detentions and other acts of intimidation, all of which drew international condemnation.
“That government, in spite of the global outrage against its ill-advised behaviour, could arrest Mr. Amankwa, a diplomat in his own right and without any stated offence, signifies how far it is prepared to go in its mission of repression.”
The NLC warned that the government of Zimbabwe was clearly biting more than it can chew/
“We once again advise it to retrace its steps and hold meaningful dialogue with the members of its trade unions for industrial harmony and development of the country. Zimbabwe deserves fresh air,” the NLC general secretary said.
