SA Nobel Prize laureate and lifelong fighter for freedom, Nadine Gordimer, to petition against President Zuma’s “insidious attack on” press freedom; Guardian reports.
The “danger of the (ANC) government painting her as a wealthy white writer out of touch with the new political realities in South Africa,” is real.
During the dark years of apartheid the same ANC leaders who will castigate Nadine Gordimer today considered her a fellow traveller then in the fight for justice and freedom. Whilst they never believed in justice and freedom but only saw it as a useful vehicle to get them political power. Now that the black nationalists are in power they see justice and freedom as a serious threat to their exercise and enjoyment of power. And they have shown they will be ruthless in silencing any who opposed their desire for power.
Nadine Gordimer on the other hand believed passionately in the cause of a just and free SA. ANC leaders will want to discredit her and silence her too. That has clearly not work, and thank God!
One of the traps post independent Africa had to avoid was not to become complacence. After the nightmare years of the armed struggle and rioting to end white colonial rule it was tempting to sit back and leave everything to the new black leaders to deliver the “promised land” of freedom, peace, justice, human dignity and prosperity. Many African countries fell head-log into the trap.
As soon as they got into power the black leaders wanted absolute power for themselves and they became preoccupied with that forgetting their promise of building a free and democratic nation. All these who thought the fight for a free and democratic nation ended with independence were naïve and all those nations who did have paid dearly for it.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely; we all know that. The ruled must be vigilant at all times to ensure those in power do not become corrupt. It is impossible to see how society without freedom of expression and a free vote can rein in those in power. President Zuma’s media reforms are seeking to muzzle the press and end freedom of expression, nothing else.
7 comments:
Minister Biti says Zimbabwe needs US$ 200 m to run next elections.
A politician's job is never done and that is why they want to stay in power for ever! Still, this takes the biscuit: Zimbabwe's leaders have failed to bring about the much promised economic recovery and democracy to the point where the country is too poor to raise US$ 200 million for fresh elections although the country will get US$ 1 billion per year from sell of Marange diamonds alone!
Even if donors can step in and offer the US$ 200 m; there is one thing we can be sure of, that the money will be diverted to buy luxuries and, worse still, to pay for Mugabe’s electoral machinations to deliver yet another Zanu PF “victory”.
The GNU was something that Zimbabwe should have never got itself into. Mugabe was in a fix after the sham 2008 presidential run-off and the GNU got him off the hook. This has only helped the cunning fox to regroup and do what he does best – mischief. Mugabe has flatly refused to have any meaningful power sharing with Tsvangirai and MDC although they had let him off the hook. The tyrant has run rings round Tsvangirai and the idiot do not have the foggiest idea how to get the nation out of this mess. I curse Tsvangirai and his naïve MDC friends for dragging the nation into this mess!
@ Karikoga
“Shallow article indeed....”
The article is reporting the facts on the ground – Zimbabwe is now so poor that it does not have the money to run an election. The reporter correctly pointed out that Zimbabwe has a lot of money from its own sources, from selling diamonds for example, to pay for these elections; the problem is the money is siphoned by the country’s corrupt ruling elite. The Mugabe government has never ever held free and fair elections in the past anyway! It is naïve to think he will do so now even if some one was to give the money he is asking for now.
It is not the article that is shallow but Zimbabwe’s political leaders and idiots like you who want the corruption and abuse of power in Zimbabwe swept under the carpet. You can not bear to hear Mugabe called a ruthless dictator or Tsvangirai called an idiot – well they are, and you will have to get used to it!
A Herald report suggests that Zanu PF will not care either way, if MDC should vote YES or NO to the country’s proposed new constitution following the conclusion of the outreach programme on the matter.
MDC should have addressed the threat of Zanu PF violence which, as many people said, unless resolved once and once for all would make the drafting of the new constitution meaningless. Zanu Pf as expected hijacked the whole drafting process and now MDC are faced with the reality of a new constitution which is not different from the existing one. Of course Zanu PF have their bets hedged; head they win and tails they win too!
9999
SA will review the status of Zimbabweans in that country this coming week.
As a Zimbabwean I would like to thank the South African people for welcoming my fellow country men and women at this the darkest hour in our history. It is a great pity that the successive SA governments have not been so helpful; President Mbeki and Zuma's blind support of Mugabe has certainly given the latter added arrogance.
To my fellow Zimbabweans, wherever you are in the four corners of the world, we must redouble our efforts to end the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe that has forced us into abject poverty and the nightmare of tyrannical repression. Millions of us have left our beloved country whilst millions more are trapped in this hell on earth. All Zimbabweans must now work to end this nightmare. Those still in the country need to come up for air; those outside, must not over stay their welcome!
444
Kenyans voted YES to a new proposed constitution.
Even those who voted YES agree that the new constitution leaves a lot to be desired. After waiting for 50 years for a new constitution surely Kenyans should have waited for another year or whatever it was going to take to get a constitution the people deserve!
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting
that figure into some perspective in one of its press releases.
A.
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D.
A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E.
A billion Rand ago, was only 27 hours and 12 minutes,
at the rate our government is spending it!!!!!
The people of Mozambique used SMS messaging to mobilise themselves during the recent rioting that paralysed Maputo.
This gives credence to adage; where there is the will there is a way! There is hope of bringing even the most repressive regime to account. There is hope of a free and democratic Africa. Well done to the people of Mozambique for your courage and inventiveness. For once you have made the tyrants in Maputo seat up and listen.
@Bubba Tentoe
In the 1980s there were a number of South Africans in Zimbabwe – no way near the numbers of Zimbabweans in SA today – and some Zimbabweans wanted them sent back to Apartheid SA. I am glad no one was ever sent back. The situation in Zimbabwe today is in many respects a lot worse than it was in Apartheid SA. In many ways things should be a lot better now after the 2008 election that showed just unpopular Mugabe is and just how ruthless he is. After 2008 election MDC had the people’s mandate to rule but sadly Tsvangirai gave this away for a song!
I know SA has its own nation building problems after the years of repression and discrimination and need the space. That is why I am arguing my fellow Zimbabweans, wherever they happen to be, to redouble their efforts to end the chaos and repression in our country. What I am asking your sister’s “elderly housekeeper” her family & friends and all South Africans is for your patience.
Vice President Mujuru suggests that the Chinese Yuan should be added to the foreign currency basket in use in Zimbabwe.
Least we forget, we are in this situation because the Z$ became worthless after years of printing more and more Z$ to fuel the regime's reckless spending.
Tendai Biti says the Z$ will stay until 2012! What does Mugabe say? He is itching to have his blue-eyed boy, Gono, start his printing press again. If there is an election next year, the Z$ will be back soon thereafter; I bet you!
@Themba Khumalo on September 1, 2010, 4:12 pm
“Substitute black with white and you could be writing about the Nats or Ian Smith.” Sorry Themba, you missed the point completely.
We are talking about repression and corruption and ruthless tyrant like Robert Mugabe in independent Africa why should I talk bout whites, apartheid, Ian Smith, etc. When I talked of danger of people in post independent Africa being “complacent” I was talking of this sort of thing – being contend to talk of white oppression of the past but silent about the new black on black oppression.
The battle to end apartheid was fought, won and the crowning moment was when Nelson Mandela became president of SA. From that day the challenge was to build a free, democratic and prosperous SA. In my country, Zimbabwe, the battle for freedom, peace, etc. was lost years ago because the nation talked about the heroic exploits of the armed struggle – a subject Mugabe will gloat about endlessly and forced the nation to talk of nothing else. Well there are clearly some South Africans, like you Themba, who too can not resist this bit of navel gazing self-indulgence. SA had the great fortune of having great leaders like Nelson Mandela and, in this case, Nadine Gordimer who have so far kept the nation on the right track. It is my ardent hope that SA does not become just another failed African country ruled by tyrant whilst the majority suffer without hope.
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