Why Ignore Zimbabwe?

Bush said he bombed his way throught the Middle East to fight terrorists and Saddam the Dictator- why is the American government so quiet on the greatest dictator of our time- Mugabe?

Why is the situation in Zimbabwe largely ignored by the rest of the world?

More attention is paid to the Middle East, Chad, Sudan, Kenya (at the moment), but very, very little to Zimbabwe- Why?

Talking 'bout a revolution

Zimbabwe: Unions Mobilize to Stop Weapons

allAfrica.com
21 April 2008

(..) The An Yue Jiang left its anchorage outside the South African port of Durban on Friday after a court granted church activists a temporary order preventing the weapons from being shipped to Zimbabwe overland through South Africa. Beeld reported last week that the ship's cargo included three million rounds of small arms ammunition, 3,500 mortars and mortar tubes and 1,500 rocket propelled grenades.

Sprite Zungu, a representative of the International Transport Workers' Federation, told Agence France-Presse in Durban on Monday that the body was attempting to prevent dockers elsewhere in the continent from unloading the cargo.

"I am still seeking tangible information on the destination of the ship," Zungu told AFP. "As soon as I get the exact information... I will travel to the country and ensure I mobilize workers not to offload it... Our objective is to mobilize and organize unions in Africa to take a firm stand and try to stop the ship from offloading these dangerous weapons which could be used to kill Zimbabweans."

NY Times report on Zimbabwe:

(..) Earlier on Thursday, a Chinese ship carrying armaments made by a Chinese state-owned company and bound for Zimbabwe headed back to China without unloading its cargo of bullets and mortar bombs, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry confirmed at a briefing Thursday.

"The Chinese company has already decided to send the military goods back to China in the same vessel, the An Yue Jiang," the spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, said.

The arms shipment has been a particularly contentious issue in Africa and abroad because of widespread concerns about politically-motivated violence in the wake of disputed elections in Zimbabwe last month.

China's decision to turn the ship around was welcomed by the dock workers, trade unionists, religious leaders, Western diplomats and human rights workers who have been campaigning since last week to block delivery of the weapons to Zimbabwe.

They had said the weaponry could be used to carry out an even more violent crackdown on Zimbabwe's political opposition, which is allied with the country's unionized workers.

"This is a great victory for the trade union movement in particular and civil society in general in putting its foot down and saying we will not allow weapons that could be used to kill and maim our fellow workers and Zimbabweans to be transported across South Africa," said Patrick Craven, spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which represents 1.9 million South African workers. China's strategic retreat in delivering the weapons also allows it to avoid Zimbabwe-related protests over its human rights record before it hosts the Olympic Games this summer. The months leading to the games have already been marked by anti-China protests over its suppression of protesters in Tibet and its supply of arms to the government of Sudan.

The Ship of Shame

A real, radical, human CHANGE.

I am not a Judge nor I wish to qualify myself
to be the judge of other's view.

You could ask Mr Obama and his opponents what they thought of Mr Mugabe's Independence Day speech.

That's where I would start.

The best, most comprehensive plan for change in our country will include your ideas and your feedback. America needs a president with a mandate from the people, and everyone deserves a voice in shaping our next president's agenda.

Take a moment to share your ideas. Over the coming months the best ideas will be featured and incorporated into the campaign's policy proposals. Be as broad or specific as you want.

Good idea. This might be useful for American citizens (who are voters, after all), in particular.

Let Obama, and Hillary, and John McCain know that you care about what's happening in Zimbabwe. That you want to know what they think of it, and that you want to know what they propose to do as President to help bring about change in Zimbabwe.

Yes, it's a drop in the ocean. But politicians are more likely to push for issues that they feel many of their voters care about than for issues that nobody ever writes or calls them about.

Dont expect a personalised reply or anything, but maybe if they get lots of messages about this subject, at least it will get through that people care, and they'd better come up with something about it.