Protestors released on bail

Zambian police have released 68 civil society and opposition party members arrested on Monday for participating in an "illegal" demonstration. The demonstration was being held to pressure the Zambian government to enact a new constitution before elections in 2006. Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesman Patrick Chisanga told IRIN on Tuesday that all those arrested on Monday "were released on police bond last night and appeared in court this morning". The 68 were "charged with unlawful assembly and entered a plea of not guilty, and the case has been adjourned to 21 January for trial," he added. In a statement released on Monday, the Zambian police said the UPND had failed to notify the authorities about the protest action. But Chisanga countered that the police had been informed and this would be detailed in court proceedings relating to the arrest of the 68 protestors. Zambia's new constitution is currently being drafted by a commission appointed in 2003 by President Levy Mwanawasa. The NGOs and the opposition both want the constitutional review to be undertaken by a more representative Constituent Assembly (CA), rather than the current Constitutional Review Commission (CRC). Their rejection of the process is largely due to concerns that most of the CRC commissioners are presidential appointees, and that the president has the power to reject the commission's recommendations. Mwanawasa's government has repeatedly dismissed the proposed CA as overly "expensive, cumbersome, and lacking the legitimacy" that the government enjoys by virtue of being elected. Chisanga said the UPND would go ahead with countrywide protests next week. "And our officials have been advised to notify the police in accordance with the law," he said.