In Zimbabwe, Malema Says He Will Continue With "Kill The White Man"
"You must say - "booo"to the white man," Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe (right) seems to be saying to Julius Malema (left), president of the South African Youth League when the two met at State House in Harare on Easter Monday (that's yesterday). Malema insulted the MDC-T of Morgan Tsvangirai, saying they had started it and also said he will continue to sing the song "Kill The Boer (White Man)" despite an outcry over it back in South Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe, April 06 2010
South African ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema, who has been in Zimbabwe visiting ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe says he will not stop singing the song "Kill The Boer"(Boer being a generic term for white people in South Africa).
Malema was responding to reports from South Africa that the killing of Eugene Tereblanche, of the South African White Supremacist organisation AWB, was linked to his singing of the song. "We will continue to sing that song, "he said.
For good measure, Malema also insulted the MDC-T of Morgan Tsvangirai, saying "they started it" by "calling a press conference in Sandton" (Johannesburg).
"I am visiting my friends,"Malema told local media, adding that the MDC-T can not "force me to visit you."
The ANC Youth leader also attended a rally in Mbare, a poor township in Harare, over the Easter holidays, where he sang the song that is causing so much grief for him back home. He says those who want to assassinate him will find him "ready".
During his meeting with Mugabe, Malema was told by the Zimbabwean president that he must not allow "imperialists"to ride roughshod over him and was praised for his stance of calling for the nationalisation of mines in South Africa.
Malema is a key ally of South African president Jacob Zuma, which gives the lie to the wishful thinking in Zimbabwe and elsewhere that Zuma is going to act tough against Mugabe any time soon.
The truth of the matter, as I have often pointed out, is that Mugabe's ally in South Africa is the ANC. It does not matter who is leading the ANC, the organisation remains tied with an umbilical cord to Mugabe and ZANU PF, as a fellow liberation movement.
Previously, when Mbeki was president, there were suggestions, including from analysts based in South Africa (such as Glen, whom I participated with in an interview on SW Radio), who insisted that Zuma would be harder on Mugabe than Mbeki was seen to be. I have always disputed this, and pointed to the fact that Zuma, before becoming president, told an audience in America that the "quiet diplomacy"policy was not a policy of Thabo Mbeki, but a policy of the ANC.
It is unthinkable that the situation is going to change any time soon, no matter what anybody tells you. Zuma is now being even more vocal in calling for the lifting of sanctions against Mugabe than Mbeki ever was.
But of course, telling Zimbabweans any of this is a waste of time. They take their wishes and make them horses, these Zimbabweans and will argue with you until they are blue in the face on a matter that is crystal clear, such as this one.
But time always proves some of us right.
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Finally, as you can tell, I am back, after some time off to take care of business.
I am, of course, very moved by the genuine interest expressed by so many of you in not only my welfare, but also the future of this blog. Messages were left on my Facebook wall, emails sent to me and even phone calls placed from London, Gaborone and Cape Town to check up on me!!
Like I said, all is well and I have been offline for two reasons, the first being what I have just mentioned above: taking care of some business. Secondly, I have been completely without internet access for some time now (since about the beginning of February). But that has now all been resolved and I hope to continue updating all those who had started to get withdrawal symptoms!
Till next time.
Thank goodness you are okay! I was just chatting to someone about your absence over the weekend!
ReplyDeleteMalema worries me. He worries me in that I simply don't know too much about him (except that a link on his website to my blog brought over 200 visitors on the weekend and he'll likely link to you too). But his brand of hatred scares me. I've heard all of this before and it resulted in many, many deaths.
I have also been very worried over not hearing anything from you in such a long time. Don't you do that again--okay?
ReplyDelete@ Emm, I agree with you that Malema is very disconcerting and it boils down to his "talk". But, unlike in Zimbabwe, the ANC as an organisation is really much more powerful than any leader it can ever have (and there is no doubt that at some point, Malema will play a very prominent role in the government there. We will never have a Zim situation, where one man overwhelms the party. The ANC as a broad alliance has too many disparate interests to shackle itself to the vision of one man.
ReplyDelete@ Fishhawk: I promise I will never do that again!! Good to be back in touch with you guys.
That is a really excellent point Denford. I never though about that. I have read a similar and related theory this week about how the most successful emerging economies have promoted national identity rather than pander to ethnic identities. South Africa has tried to a certain degree to promote that whereas in Zimbabwe, there is very much a split into the two main parties.
ReplyDeleteMay Terreblanche rest in peace. A man who never believed in equality of human beings. In his mind he was always singing "dubul iblack african". He was budgeoned for not paying hard working labourers and not because Malema was singing.
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back Denford - we missed your blog (we are so addicted arent we?).
ReplyDelete