| South Africa protest in London Monday 4th July 2005 outside Guildhall |
||||||||||||||
Photographs by Jill P. Mott
|
||||||||||||||
| As international pressure mounts for
African leaders to get involved in the Zimbabwe crisis, Zimbabwean
exiles and human rights campaigners in the UK have launched a campaign
to boycott South African products. As the big brother of the southern
African region, President Thabo Mbeki's support of the Mugabe regime
has come under heavy fire. Members of the Zimbabwe Vigil group trampled South African fruit into the pavement and poured South African wine down the gutter at a demonstration outside the Guildhall in London on Monday. The location is the venue for a one day meeting organised by the New Partnership for Africa's Development, or NEPAD as it is known. The partnership is largely an Mbeki initiative, aimed at boosting investment and aid in Africa, with good governance and peer review mechanisms at the core. Vigil organiser Dennis Benton said Zimbabweans are angry that South Africa has again accepted rigged elections in Zimbabwe and are appalled at the treatment of Zimbabwean exiles fleeing to South Africa. Benton also expressed shock at the recent sale of South African military spare parts to Zimbabwe for equipment used in the recent demolition of homes and businesses. |
||||||||||||||
