Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai Beaten By Police 5
Reports are coming out of Zimbabwe that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is in rough shape in a jail cell after receiving a rather thorough beating at the hands of Mugabe’s finest.
With his imprisonment, along with about 100 others, and the subsequent ban on demonstrations by the Mugabe government the MDC seems to be once again a more united opposition front, following a few years of infighting.
If the reports about Tvangirai are true I wonder what our government’s response will be considering our own past with police brutality.
Whatever the response, I do not expect it to be of much use.
This kind of brutality has been going on for years – going back to the slaughter in Matebeleland in the early 80’s. The ANC is very loath to interfere, in spite of calls by other African countries (most recently Zambia) for action.
It might make a difference is he dies.
Hopefully that will not have to be the case. But this worsening situation in Zimbabwe is making Mbeki’s foreign policy, which is supposedly is his forte’, look a little bit lacking.
Which makes his stance that Zimbabwe must sort its own problems out all the more strange.
I wonder whether there is perhaps some secret agreement from the time of the struggle, not to interfere, to support one another, whatever happens? Mbeki has called for Zimbabwe’s re admittance to the Commonwealth since 2003, resisting calls for sanctions by other Commonwealth countries. I can understand his ire at non-African commonwealth leaders calling for sanctions, but not his resistance to fellow Africans doing so. Add to this the whitewash of Zimbabwe elections by SA government observers.
Quiet diplomacy. Silence.
Quiet diplomacy? I don’t think so. This clearly is tacit approval. It demonstrates to us that our Government doesn’t give a continental about the poor and downtrodden in Zimbabwe. South Africa’s poor and downtrodden, take note: you’re next.
Hex -
I fear you could well be right.