Daily Archives: April 26, 2008

Angola Pressures Zimbabwe on Arms – New York Times

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Thank God, this seems to be confirmed. It’s so weird reading about these details in blog comments before the mainstream news picks it up. Although it can backfire – an air transport company was getting tons of activist mail, and they got pretty irritated about it and tracked down at least one activist blog to complain. Basiccally, they were saying “call your people off, we’re not transporting the arms” OWTTE

Angola Pressures Zimbabwe on Arms – New York Times

Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the opposition, welcomed the news that Angola had refused the Zimbabwe shipment, saying, “Mugabe is finally being routed by his own set.”

The announcement about the ship, which was posted Saturday on Angola’s official news Web site, was displayed in a way sure to enrage Mr. Mugabe. The article was placed immediately beside a photograph of Angola’s president, José Eduardo dos Santos, warmly shaking hands with Jendayi E. Frazer, America’s top diplomat for Africa.

On Thursday, Ms. Frazer declared that Mr. Tsvangirai had beaten Mr. Mugabe, perhaps by an outright majority. Her statement was denounced by Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister as proof of “the Western axis” behind what he called illegal efforts to topple Mr. Mugabe, according to Zimbabwe’s state-owned newspaper.

Zimbabwe: Images Of Protest

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zimpeace.jpg

BBC NEWS | Africa | Civil society’s triumph on Zimbabwe
Image: South African church groups protest the Chinese arms ship An Yue Jiang at Durban harbor last week.

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UN Move on Robert Mugabe as police round up MDC
Image: activists arrested from in front of the Chinese embassy in South Africa. One of these activists is a young man who still had his cell phone with him. The pastoral sponsor of the youth organization is the Rev. Mufaro Stig Hove, who runs a plethora of Zim blog sites. The activists may already have been deported by now. The sign says “China — Mugabe Lost The Election.”

Sokwanele Street Pamphlet

Image: Street pamphlet/newspaper ad produced by Zimbabwe Democracy Now, whose site is filled with activist tools, images, and political cartoons.

Image: This is from South Africa’s premier cartoonist, Zapiro.

Image: “We Have Done It”
Here’s another one, sent to Sokwanele/This is Zimababwe blog: it’s their blog post, reformatted for readers that don’t have Internet access that someone printed up and was handing out in Harare.
Since uploaded to Flickr. Their Flickr stream is constantly being updated with news photos and images sent to them via cell phone and email.

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Image: The probable-rightful President of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangarai. Note raised open right hand; this is the salute of the Movement for Democratic Change. The symbol for Mugabe’s party ZANU-PF is a closed fist. Recently, reports have surfaced that thugs are cutting off the right hands of suspected MDC activists.

And then there’s this, An entire set of protest signs is here.
Image: a pre-election blimp (!) sent up by South African activists.

They do this in spite of a long history of police repression. Here are images from an October, 2007 rally for a new constitution:

Before:

After:

40 hospitalised as police attack NCA demo in Harare

By Tererai Karimakwenda
16 October, 2007

Riot police attacked a group of NCA members who had gathered for a demonstration on 2nd street in Harare on Tuesday, and injured 40 of them. The NCA (National Constitutional Assembly) reported that approximately 400 members had come to protest against Constitutional Amendment 18 Bill, which passed in parliament earlier this month. The group intended to march peacefully to the parliament building, but they were rounded up at Herald House where the police took turns beating participants.

The NCA had announced there would be a peaceful demonstration in the capital this week, but did not reveal the exact date of the protests fearing the police would react in just such a brutal manner. A statement by the NCA said that the injured, including a man who sustained a deep cut on the forehead, were taken to a private hospital for treatment.

NCA spokesperson Madock Chivasa told newsreel the marching activists had just turned onto 2nd Street when they were blocked by police and ordered to sit down on the sidewalk. Some immediately fled for safety and others sat down. Police then assaulted them severely, causing chaos and many of them got up and escaped. Chivasa said it appears the police just wanted to assault and intimidate the activists because no arrests were made.

A statement released by the group said in part: “We urge all pro-democratic forces in Zimbabwe to include all stakeholders in fundamental issues such as constitutional making.”

Fears of the end-game are rife. The parlieamentary recount is finished, showing MDC is still the winner, but the presidential returns are still MIA.
The UN Security Council will talk some more on Tuesday. Meanwhile, ordinary people will keep coming up with information and clever ways to protest, get the word out, and shame the world into taking action.
Nothing will change, however, unless the supporters of Mugabe’s regime stop getting their payoffs in cash, food, and confiscated farms. The low-level thugs are drunk on power, booze, and blood – they’ll keep going as long as they get their “fix.” The mid- and high-level guys, who fear democracy (and a working judicial system) won’t leave until they have nobody to beat people up on their behalf.
The Mugabe regime is morally, politically, and financially bankrupt. Once everybody realizes there’s no more cash to be had from the cow, it’s all over.