Anti-Mugabe chants at Human Rights demo in South Africa

By Tererai Karimakwenda
21 March, 2007

Zimbabwe became the focus of a Human Rights Day demonstration in Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday as hundreds gathered to mark this national holiday. On March 21st every year South Africans celebrate the rights enshrined in their constitution by commemorating the Sharpeville Massacres which occurred in 1960. On that day South African troops opened fire on innocent civilians leaving 67 dead. This year hundreds of activists at a demonstration organised by the Social Movement Indaba are reported to have acknowledged the human rights abuses taking place in Zimbabwe and to have chanted slogans against the government of Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwean activist Solomon “Sox” Chikowero, who was a guest speaker at the demonstration, said he talked about the appalling violence that had been experienced by opposition leaders and supporters and the shocking refusal by South Africa’s government to condemn the government responsible for it. Describing the recent attack on MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai as an attempted assassination, Chikowero said his speech was well received by South Africans who chanted anti-Mugabe slogans.

The Social Movement Indaba brings together several social organisations that fight for the basic rights of citizens, such as housing, clean water and electricity. Chikowero said as such, they understand the plight of the Zimbabwean people during the current economic crisis and showed a very mature understanding of the issues at stake. Chikowero explained: “South Africans now know what is happening on the ground in Zimbabwe. I always thought they were xenophobic but today their response was moving and they showed a great deal of maturity.” Chikowero said it was encouraging that some government officials in South Africa had at least noted the serious situation next door, although they had not yet condemned it.

South Africa’s official opposition party the Democratic Alliance issued a statement which said in part: “As we celebrate our achievements, this is the very time when we should take our own history and our new democratic values into the thick of the fight for a more just and democratic world. The hard question which South Africa needs to answer on this Human Rights Day is profound. ‘Do we defend the oppressed in other countries; do we fight for the protection of human rights across the globe?’ Looking at our current foreign policy, the answer to this question is regrettably too often in the negative.”