07-29-2018, 10:34 PM
*** 30-Jul-18 World View -- Operation Gukurahundi genocide becomes major Zimbabwe election issue
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Operation Gukurahundi genocide becomes major Zimbabwe election issue
****
![[Image: g180729b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180729b.jpg)
Operation Gukurahundi grave from 1984 (bulawayo24.com)
For years, it was forbidden in Zimbabwe to talk about Operation
Gukurahundi genocide of the 1980s, and if you did, then you risked
being arrested, beaten and tortured by the security forces of
president Robert Mugabe, head of the Zanu-PF party, dominated by
Mugabe's tribe, the Shona.
But last year Mugabe was ousted and replaced by Emmerson Dambudzo
Mnangagwa, another Zanu-PF Shona, the man whom Mugabe had fired as
vice-president just weeks early. After becoming the new president,
Mnangagwa said, "The people have spoken. The voice of the people is
the voice of God. Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and
unfolding democracy."
On Monday there's a new presidential election with 75 year old
Mnangagwa facing, as a principal challenger, Nelson Chamisa, head of
the main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
representing the interests of the Ndebele tribe, historic tribal
enemies of the Shona tribe. Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF are expected to
win, either by popularity or election-rigging, depending on whom you
ask.
If Chamisa does better than expected it may be because Mnangagwa was
a major architect of Operation Gukurahundi, the bloody genocide of
tens of thousands in the Ndebele tribe conducted by the Shona tribe in
the 1980s.
Operation Gukurahundi was mostly based on the historical enmity of two
tribes -- Mugabe's Shona tribe, and his enemies, the Ndebele tribe.
Genocidal warfare occurred between these two tribes in previous
generational crisis wars -- the Mfecane war that climaxed in 1828, the
Matabele Wars that climaxed in 1897, and the Rhodesia civil war,
climaxing in 1979. It was the last war that gave Zimbabwe
independence, making Mugabe the President.
Mnangagwa received military training in China in the early 1960s as a
teenager. As Mugabe's right-hand man, Mnangagwa is widely blamed for
leading the genocide against the Ndebele tribe. "Operation
Gukurahundi" (The rain that washes away the chaff before the spring
rain) was accomplished with the help of the army's 5th Brigade of
3,000 élite Shona troops, which had been trained by North Korea. Tens
of thousands from the Ndebele tribe were tortured and slaughtered,
under orders from Mugabe and Mnangagwa. Some families were pushed
into huts that were set on fire and they either burned to death or
were shot dead when they tried to escape.
That wasn't the end of it. Since the 1980s, Mugabe and Mnangagwa have
systematically won every election by marginalizing, jailing and
torturing opposition politicians, marginalizing the members of the
Ndebele tribe, and rigging elections. This has continued to the
present time, and few opposition politicians believe that it will end
now.
Mnangagwa has refused to apologize for his part in Operation
Gukurahundi. According to one opposition politician, "What we need
from Mnangagwa is an admission of what happened, an apology and
communal reparations for the victims of that time."
Both Mugabe and Mnangagwa for decades worked together on Mugabe's
"indigenization" program, which threw out farm and business owners who
knew how to run a farm or a business, and replaced them with thugs and
cronies from Mugabe's and Mnangagwa's Shona tribe who didn't know how
to run a farm or business. Over three decades, Mugabe and Mnangagwa
turned Rhodesia, which was a wealthy country and the breadbasket of
southern Africa, into today's Zimbabwe, which is an economic basket
case. They turned Zimbabwe's stable currency into a worthless
hyperinflated currency, with an inflation rate reaching over 231
million percent, so that the only trustworthy currency in Zimbabwe
today in the American dollar.
Because of the economic self-destruction, investors have abandoned
Zimbabwe. With all of his talk of a "new Zimbabwe," Mnangagwa's
principal objective to get international money to flow into Zimbabwe
for him to spend. Guardian (London) and Newsday (Zimbabwe) and AP and Reuters and Bulawayo News (Zimbabwe)
****
**** Robert Mugabe endorses the opposition candidate
****
In a bizarre twist on Sunday, ousted president Robert Mugabe
unexpectedly gave a speech saying that he could not support the man
who had ousted him, Emmerson Mnangagwa. He did not say whom he would
vote for, but expressed some support for the main opposition leader,
Nelson Chamisa, the leader of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"I cannot vote for those who tormented me," said Mugabe.
It's hard to believe the enormous irony of that statement. Mugabe is
a war criminal, and has tormented, tortured, jailed and slaughtered
his tribal and political opponents for decades, and now he's whining
because he no longer has sufficiently palatial living quarters.
However, this is the kind of self-serving attitude we expect of all
politicians at all times in all countries.
Mnangagwa responded with an equally self-serving statement, implying
that a vote for the opposition would indicate evil intentions: "It is
clear to all that Chamisa has forged a deal with Mugabe, we can no
longer believe that his intentions are to transform Zimbabwe and
rebuild our nation." BBC and Reuters and The Citizen (South Africa)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Zimbabwe, Zanu-pf,
Robert Mugabe, Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa,
Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, Nelson Chamisa,
Rhodesia, Shona, Ndebele, Operation Gukurahundi,
North Korea, 5th Brigade
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Operation Gukurahundi genocide becomes major Zimbabwe election issue
- Robert Mugabe endorses the opposition candidate
****
**** Operation Gukurahundi genocide becomes major Zimbabwe election issue
****
Operation Gukurahundi grave from 1984 (bulawayo24.com)
For years, it was forbidden in Zimbabwe to talk about Operation
Gukurahundi genocide of the 1980s, and if you did, then you risked
being arrested, beaten and tortured by the security forces of
president Robert Mugabe, head of the Zanu-PF party, dominated by
Mugabe's tribe, the Shona.
But last year Mugabe was ousted and replaced by Emmerson Dambudzo
Mnangagwa, another Zanu-PF Shona, the man whom Mugabe had fired as
vice-president just weeks early. After becoming the new president,
Mnangagwa said, "The people have spoken. The voice of the people is
the voice of God. Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and
unfolding democracy."
On Monday there's a new presidential election with 75 year old
Mnangagwa facing, as a principal challenger, Nelson Chamisa, head of
the main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
representing the interests of the Ndebele tribe, historic tribal
enemies of the Shona tribe. Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF are expected to
win, either by popularity or election-rigging, depending on whom you
ask.
If Chamisa does better than expected it may be because Mnangagwa was
a major architect of Operation Gukurahundi, the bloody genocide of
tens of thousands in the Ndebele tribe conducted by the Shona tribe in
the 1980s.
Operation Gukurahundi was mostly based on the historical enmity of two
tribes -- Mugabe's Shona tribe, and his enemies, the Ndebele tribe.
Genocidal warfare occurred between these two tribes in previous
generational crisis wars -- the Mfecane war that climaxed in 1828, the
Matabele Wars that climaxed in 1897, and the Rhodesia civil war,
climaxing in 1979. It was the last war that gave Zimbabwe
independence, making Mugabe the President.
Mnangagwa received military training in China in the early 1960s as a
teenager. As Mugabe's right-hand man, Mnangagwa is widely blamed for
leading the genocide against the Ndebele tribe. "Operation
Gukurahundi" (The rain that washes away the chaff before the spring
rain) was accomplished with the help of the army's 5th Brigade of
3,000 élite Shona troops, which had been trained by North Korea. Tens
of thousands from the Ndebele tribe were tortured and slaughtered,
under orders from Mugabe and Mnangagwa. Some families were pushed
into huts that were set on fire and they either burned to death or
were shot dead when they tried to escape.
That wasn't the end of it. Since the 1980s, Mugabe and Mnangagwa have
systematically won every election by marginalizing, jailing and
torturing opposition politicians, marginalizing the members of the
Ndebele tribe, and rigging elections. This has continued to the
present time, and few opposition politicians believe that it will end
now.
Mnangagwa has refused to apologize for his part in Operation
Gukurahundi. According to one opposition politician, "What we need
from Mnangagwa is an admission of what happened, an apology and
communal reparations for the victims of that time."
Both Mugabe and Mnangagwa for decades worked together on Mugabe's
"indigenization" program, which threw out farm and business owners who
knew how to run a farm or a business, and replaced them with thugs and
cronies from Mugabe's and Mnangagwa's Shona tribe who didn't know how
to run a farm or business. Over three decades, Mugabe and Mnangagwa
turned Rhodesia, which was a wealthy country and the breadbasket of
southern Africa, into today's Zimbabwe, which is an economic basket
case. They turned Zimbabwe's stable currency into a worthless
hyperinflated currency, with an inflation rate reaching over 231
million percent, so that the only trustworthy currency in Zimbabwe
today in the American dollar.
Because of the economic self-destruction, investors have abandoned
Zimbabwe. With all of his talk of a "new Zimbabwe," Mnangagwa's
principal objective to get international money to flow into Zimbabwe
for him to spend. Guardian (London) and Newsday (Zimbabwe) and AP and Reuters and Bulawayo News (Zimbabwe)
****
**** Robert Mugabe endorses the opposition candidate
****
In a bizarre twist on Sunday, ousted president Robert Mugabe
unexpectedly gave a speech saying that he could not support the man
who had ousted him, Emmerson Mnangagwa. He did not say whom he would
vote for, but expressed some support for the main opposition leader,
Nelson Chamisa, the leader of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"I cannot vote for those who tormented me," said Mugabe.
It's hard to believe the enormous irony of that statement. Mugabe is
a war criminal, and has tormented, tortured, jailed and slaughtered
his tribal and political opponents for decades, and now he's whining
because he no longer has sufficiently palatial living quarters.
However, this is the kind of self-serving attitude we expect of all
politicians at all times in all countries.
Mnangagwa responded with an equally self-serving statement, implying
that a vote for the opposition would indicate evil intentions: "It is
clear to all that Chamisa has forged a deal with Mugabe, we can no
longer believe that his intentions are to transform Zimbabwe and
rebuild our nation." BBC and Reuters and The Citizen (South Africa)
Related Articles
- Zimbabwe president Mnangagwa blames Grace Mugabe for bomb blast at rally (28-Jun-2018)
- Thanksgiving euphoria in Zimbabwe as Emmerson Mnangagwa replaces Robert Mugabe (23-Nov-2017)
- Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe sacks the VP so that his wife can succeed him (07-Nov-2017)
- Zimbabwe bans food imports as new 'bond note' currency crashes (21-Oct-2017)
- Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Puerto Rico - three amigos in Marxist economic destruction (01-Jul-2016)
- Zimbabwe's President Mugabe says 'go to hell' to EU (02-Aug-2010)
- 'Liberation Hero' Robert Mugabe now destroys Zimbabwe with cholera (08-Dec-2008)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Zimbabwe, Zanu-pf,
Robert Mugabe, Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa,
Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, Nelson Chamisa,
Rhodesia, Shona, Ndebele, Operation Gukurahundi,
North Korea, 5th Brigade
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
