JG - Zimbabwe, African liberation and decolonisation

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

Zimbabwe, African liberation and decolonisation

published: Sunday July 6, 2008

Robert Buddan POLITICS OF OUR TIME

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is faced with sanctions from the west, mediation by Southern Africa and a call for a government of national unity from the African Union. The African Union opposes western sanctions being organised by the French leadership of the European Union (EU) and the American leadership of the UN Security Council with the British in tow.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Mugabe was leader of the liberation movement, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which had fought for independence against the apartheid-like policies of white-ruled Rhodesia, a country that had relied on the support of apartheid South Africa.

In fact, Zimbabwe's 17-year liberation war paralleled that of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) and both leaderships (Mugabe and Thabo Mbeki) remain close today.

The former Rhodesia became independent as Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980."

&

"Colonisation began when Cecil Rhodes, with the backing of the British, took over land that is now mostly Zimbabwe.

The Shona and Ndebele people fought their first liberation war in 1896/97 to get their land back but white power only grew.

White agriculture flourished and the Shona and Ndebele were shunted off into 'African reserves', the dust bowl of Zimbabwe.

Even when the war for liberation won independence it was a highly compromised independence.

Rhodesia's whites had made up less than five per cent of the population but held 95 per cent of the votes and 70 per cent of the Africans' land.

An agreement for independence reserved as many as one-third of the parliamentary seats for these whites, 20 Assembly seats and 10 seats in the Senate, and whites remained in control of the police, army, air force judiciary and civil service.

Mugabe's liberation government abolished the reserved assembly seats at the first chance in 1987 and the Senate seats in 1990."