Urban dwellers were relocated to the rural areas to work in collectives as Pol Pot attempted to reinvent civilisation from year 0. As utopian and impossible as this sounded, Cambodia lost millions in a four-year orgy of state-sponsored violence and experiments sanctioned from the very top. A major target of Pol Pots killing fields were students and academics as they were suspected to be the hub for any dissent. On flimsy grounds, many were killed and brutality on the population continued unabated by a regime whose mindset and criminal intent was very costly to the world. Cambodias people lived under sanctions for four years, not imposed by anyone but their own heartless leadership.
Assault on academic freedom
As Zimbabwes president Robert Mugabe celebrated his 87th birthday and his party Zanu (PF) stumbles to 31 years in power on April 18, all is not well for students and academics. Paranoid by the possible emergence of new brooms at Munhumutapa and all other government offices, Zanu (PF) has stepped up its assault on academic freedoms, making sure that the academic factories, colleges and universities do not function. Students are now also being singled out to pay the penalty for harbouring ideas different from those of the revolutionary party. Of the 45 arrested and charged with treason for attending the ISO organised discussion are 10 students. Welcome Zimuto, Prolific Mataruse, Trevor Chamba, Willie Hlatshwayo, Ian Muteto, Pride Mukono, Tinashe Chisaira, Trust Munyama, Peter Garanewako and Tashinga Mudzengi stand accused of treason for having attended the meeting. They are now being sanctioned by the state because of their belief that open discussions on issues such as those happening in the Middle East and North Africa have lessons for Zimbabwe.
For about 10 years now, Zanu (PF)s mantra has been that of sanctions and their deleterious effect on the country. Correspondingly, in those 10 years Zimbabwean students have borne the brunt of true Zanu (PF) sanctions as education standards have deteriorated.
As the sanctions hymn continues to be repeated by the state-controlled print and electronic media, Zimbabweans have been put under more severe sanctions by a ruthless and brutal security sector under the directions of the revolutionary party.
Barbaric displacement
On 19 May 2005, an estimated 700 000 people were displaced from their urban dwelling in an operation cynically code-named Murambatsvina. A large student population could not continue with school due to this untimely and barbaric displacement. For four years now, the biggest university in the country, University of Zimbabwes halls of residence have been closed to students. This has given rise to many vices such as prostitution and petty crime as students try to make ends meet.
The sanctions on Zimbabweans by Zanu (PF) enforced by the security sector are far worse than a list of a couple of hundred being denied the luxury to waste Zimbabwes resources. Instead of sulking and clamouring for an opportunity to visit the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the lyse, Italys Pizza parlours and the expensive Harrods, the debate should include sanctions that have raised unemployment to more than 80 per cent, deterioration of infrastructure in health and education, looting of resources and stifling of dissenting voices.
That the sanctions are hurting Mugabe and his cabal is apparently becoming clear looking at all the efforts being put to force for the removal of these sanctions. Due to heightening propaganda around this subject the people of Zimbabwe have been made to believe that they are suffering because of the so-called illegal sanctions. If this was true then everyone is supposed to be suffering including those on the list of the sanctions. The whole has nothing to do with the people, but it is about greedy individuals who had ransacked the economy and brought it to its knees. At some point in our history Rhodesia under the Smith regime was put under sanctions and the Smith regime never complained about the measures hurting the people. Blaming everything on the sanctions is cheap politicking that will not get us out of this mess, neither is forcing people to sign an anti-sanctions petition going to help.
Post published in: News