In previous posts I've been highly critical of the autocratic government of Comrade Robert Mugabe, who rules the African almost-failed state of Zimbabwe with an iron hand. To call "Uncle Bob" a dictator is not overstating the case.
Comrade Bob and his cronies and hangers-on are understandably nervous -- OK, afraid! -- of the present unrest in northern Africa. Zimbabwe is not a Muslim country, but the demonstrations and uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and now Bahrain, Algeria and Libya, are not about religion so much as economics. The protesters are fed up with misrule -- the incompetence and corruption which are impoverishing all but the rulers, and over which the ruled have no say.
Dictatorships around the world are doing their utmost to keep their subjects from following the lead of the Arabs. They are clamping down on the media, not that the press was ever free in places like China. And above all, they are trying to shut down the Internet, which has been the most powerful Voice of Change in the events of the last month.
The lords of misrule reason that if they can keep people from talking about democracy and "government of the people, by the people and for the people", the seeds of revolution will not germinate. Thus the campaign of Mugabe's government to keep people from talking about the events "up north". Not only must the people not speak, they must not listen, or even think about such things!
Earlier this week, about four dozen Zimbabweans who had gathered to watch the news on a satellite TV hookup were arrested for doing just that -- watching the news. On Wednseday, these "political activists" were charged with nothing less than treason!
What did they do? According to the police, they were "plotting anti-government protests". While watching the videos, it is alleged, they discussed organizing similar demonstrations in Zimbabwe.
The charge carries a punishment of death by hanging. In Zimbabwe such sentences are actually carried out, and strange fruit hangs from the trees.
Defence lawyers have said the accused -- trade unionists and student leaders for the most part -- were in an academic debate on African politics when police arrested them. They will plead not guilty to the treason charges and hope that they will receive a fair trial. Meanwhile, the sound of hammers and saws is heard in the jailhouse courtyard.
Footnote: The arrests have been reported in American and Canadian newspapers. However, NewsDay, the leading (well...only) independent daily in Zimbabwe, has been silent [silenced, surely. Ed.] on the matter.
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