Zimbabwe's three unity government principals are expected to speak out against political violence and intimidation on Wednesday in launching a long-delayed constitutional revision public outreach process.
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were to attend a launch ceremony at the Harare International Conference Center with Cabinet ministers and members of the Harare diplomatic corps, parliamentary sources said.,
Co-Chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Revision told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that some members of Parliament who had threatened to boycott the exercise over what they say are inequities in daily expense allowances have agreed to participate pending discussion of the issue.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches urged the principals - all three signed the 2008 Global Political Agreement for power sharing - to hold joint rallies in all 10 provinces to speak out against violence in the outreach phase.
Council of Churches spokesman Rev. Solomon Zwana said the churches have pledged pastoral support during the outreach phase of the constitutional rewrite, and will also monitor the process.
Elsewhere, police in Mutoko, Mashonaland East province, arrested about 10 members of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on robbery charges in connection with their complaints their property was looted by ZANU-PF militants in the 2008 election period.
MDC officials said the arrests were intended to discourage public participation in the outreach process, as VOA Studio 7 correspondent Irwin Chifera reported from Harare.