Posted on 12/06/2007 12:33:12 PM PST by the_devils_advocate_666
IT'S 11:30am. Three of Harare's main roads have been closed down, as have several stores. The occasion is the "Million Man and Woman March" to show support for the ruling ZANU PF party leader, President Robert Mugabe.
A multitude of both the young and old, clad in a variety of ZANU PF regalia, is stampeding down the 10-km stretch to Highfield.
But by the time the crowd reaches its destination, Zimbabwe Grounds, many do not have anything left in them.
Hunger, ever present everywhere else in the country, is an integral part of the day's proceedings.
...
The march also gives a new insight into the open abuse of public resources.
The Machipisa bus terminus temporarily serves as a parking depot for buses and trucks emblazoned with familiar logos: the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, the Zimbabwe Smelting Company, ZESA, the National Railways of Zimbabwe, the District Development Fund, a host of district councils and other public agencies.
...
"I want to thank you for choosing me to represent you in 2008. I will never let you down, and you too must not let me down, " said President Mugabe to applause from weary supporters.
... political analyst Ibbo Mandaza was scathing in his remarks about the march. "I don't understand why people would march to celebrate failure," he said.
Former Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, was even less charitable.
"It was a farewell march," he said.
...
Nobody really knows what happened to the "million" marchers after they did the job.
...
Some were left stranded in the streets of Harare and at war veterans' offices along Fourth Street as they as they struggled to source cash for bus fares back to their homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at allafrica.com ...
I'd say either (A) they're on Mugabe's payroll or (B) they didn't have a choice.
stalinism alive and well ping!
A & B
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