When South African Steve Biko protested against the tyranny of the state in the years before Freedom dawned, he was beaten to a pulp and he died. Many others who were prepared to face the callous might of state machinery suffered terribly after protesting bravely on behalf of fellow oppressed. Their suffering was not in vain. The international outcry made of Steve Biko a national hero and over time and the names of hundreds of others have entered the pantheon of South Africa's martyrs.
Why is it then that even in Africa the brutality of Zimbabwe's state machinery goes unchecked? Is it because Dafur, Afghanistan and Iraq are presently preoccupying the good people of the world who make it their business to intervene in severe cases of state tyranny? Where does the African Union stand on the recent state directed assaults on trade union leaders whose bravery in taking to the streets on behalf of their starving fellow citizens is as great as any in history? The AU is too weak to mount rescue operation - its ineffectual attempt even at peacekeeping in Dafur is proof enough of that.
There are a thousand Steve Bikos buried in Zimbabwe: murdered by fellow Zimbabweans, not by colonial oppressors or settler minority elites. If the United Nations is paralysed by Sudan's Bashir who `refuses' its intervention where are the resolutions on behalf of Zimbabwe's pitiable people? Why do we hear nothing but the sound of silence from the AU?
Read
No comments:
Post a Comment