zimfinalpush
The voice of a nation
Polite lobbying of the South African government for action against Robert Mugabe has had no effect; now it is time to get more vocal.
October 30, 2006 9:11 AM | Printable version
President Mugabe of Zimbabwe has murdered more black Africans than even the South African apartheid regime. In just one region of Zimbabwe, in just one decade - in Matabeleland in the 1980s - he was responsible for the massacre of 20,000 civilians. This is the equivalent of a Sharpeville massacre every day for more than nine months.
There was a global campaign against apartheid. I was part of it for more than 20 years. Why isn't there a similar global campaign against Mugabe's murderous tyranny? Ooops, silly me. The killer is the wrong colour. He's a black murderer, not a white one. Besides, it is racist and neo-imperialist for anyone in the west to criticise the leader of a developing country, even a bloody butcher like Mugabe. Well, that seems to be the perspective of some (not all) of my colleagues on the left.
It also appears to be the view of the South African government, judging from the pitiful performance of the South African foreign minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in London on Wednesday night.
Speaking at the London School of Economics, she failed to address the two biggest crises facing southern Africa - the HIV pandemic and the chaos and brutality in Zimbabwe.
I was there and heard Dr Zuma speak about the importance of international solidarity. She rightly praised the late ANC leader Oliver Tambo, stating that he was an "ardent internationalist" and a person who believed in "true solidarity".
This was stomach-churning stuff coming from a foreign minister who, together with the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, does nothing while Zimbabwe burns.
It was also too much for the Free Zim Youth (FZY) activists in the audience.
"We were sickened to hear Dr Zuma talk about international solidarity when her government is refusing to show solidarity with the persecuted people of Zimbabwe," said Alois Mbawara, one of the organisers of FZY.
He led the disruption of Dr Zuma's lecture, in protest at her government's failure to do anything meaningful to pressure Mugabe to hold free and fair elections, and to halt his regime's policies of detention without trial, rape, torture and murder.
During the 1970s and 80s, I remember well the ANC's call for international solidarity against apartheid. The world responded and the ANC has since said that global support helped the victory over white minority rule.
Despite having benefited from an international solidarity campaign to win black freedom, the ANC is now refusing to show solidarity with the freedom struggle of the people of Zimbabwe. The ANC had a Freedom Charter for South Africa. Don't Zimbabweans deserve a freedom charter too - and shouldn't the ANC be helping them win it?
I hate to criticise my friends in the ANC but the truth is that President Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" has failed. Mugabe's abuses have increased, not diminished, with millions at risk of starvation because they are being denied food. Why? They don't get food because they live in regions of the country that voted for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. I call it political cleansing.
The ANC once led a heroic liberation struggle. Now it seems to be turning its back on the ideals of liberation and internationalism. Some of its leaders have become complacent and corrupt, suddenly accruing fabulous wealth. The government in Pretoria spends vast sums on armaments, while claiming there is not enough money to combat HIV, fund land reform and treat Zimbabwean refugees humanely.
With these concerns in mind, I joined the protest; jumping up onto the stage behind Dr Zuma and holding up a placard reading: "Mbeki's shame. ANC betrays black Zimbabwe." It wasn't long before I was fingered by PC Plod: "Mr Tatchell, it's time to leave," he said. Next thing I knew I was put in a restraining grip, my wrist forced back and my fingers crushed to pinch the nerves. I was powerless to resist. That was the end of my protest.
Soon afterwards, more black Zimbabweans erupted from the audience. After a few minutes, we all were either ejected or left of our own free will. We had made our point. Dr Zuma was able to complete her miserable lecture.
Although Dr Zuma was greeted by warm applause when she arrived, by the time she finished her speech she had alienated much of the audience. They were riled by her arrogant, heartless refusal to express even a few words of concern for the Zimbabwean people. Particularly reprehensible was Dr Zuma's parting shot: that Zimbabweans in Britain had no right to speak out about the situation in their homeland. This is a bit rich coming from Dr Zuma, who spent much of the apartheid era in exile in the UK.
While we continued our protest outside the LSE, Dr Zuma was humiliatingly smuggled out of a side exit to a waiting unmarked car. She scuttled away like the shamed foreign minister she is.
Polite lobbying of the South African government has got us nowhere. The ANC ignores all cries for help from Zimbabwe. That's why we had to stage this protest.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, MPs and civic leaders have been brutalised while peacefully demonstrating for fair wages, against rocketing prices and mass evictions, and for basic human rights.
We have seen South Africa blocking calls for the UN to investigate Mugabe's abuses. It has endorsed Zimbabwe's flawed elections, even though they were conducted in an atmosphere of violent intimidation by Mugabe's henchmen.
We have seen South Africa blocking calls for the UN to investigate Mugabe's abuses. It has endorsed Zimbabwe's flawed elections, even though they were conducted in an atmosphere of violent intimidation by Mugabe's henchmen.
"We salute Cosatu and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Unlike the ANC, they have spoken out against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. They stand in solidarity with ordinary Zimbabweans. Mbeki, Zuma and the ANC see nothing, hear nothing and do nothing," said FZY protester, Wellington Chibanguza.
"The Zimbabwean people supported South Africans in the fight against apartheid. Now it is time for South Africa to support Zimbabweans in the fight against Mugabe's dictatorship," he said.
Mugabe has killed tens of thousands of Zimbaweans, but he cannot kill a nation and its yearning to be free. The old rally cry of the ANC is more relevant than ever to Zimbabwe: "Amandla! Awethu!" - Power! To the people!
NB...THE FULL DEBATE POSTED ON www.zimdebate.blogspot.com
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