Pressure group leaders arrested and beaten

Africans

1. The Zim case is very sad for the people of Zim and a mockery, insult and disgrace to Africa.

2. Power hunger seems to be at the fore in the negotiations. How long will our countries be governed by this excessive thirst for power? Why why fight bitterly fight to lead people? Is it that exciting to lead people? Is it a career to lead? Why can't people learn to accept to be led. Mugabe, Thsvangrai, Mutambari and all need to shake their heads and start putting the interest of the Zim at heart.

3. If the media stories about Zim are true(not cooked), surely Mugabe is the main culprit in the crisis in Zim and the people of Zim must vote against him. Unfortunately if they vote him into power there is jack we can do about it cos the people of Zim want him. In that case if he leads them to the grave let it be so. Let them all die and new generations that would vote correctly will rebuild Zim. I may sound hush but if voters waste their votes like that let them pay for that just like we will all pay for our sins one day.

3. Mbeki and South Africa have done everything they could but now the decision rests with the people of Zim.

Friend,

Mbeki and South Africa have done everything to protect Mugabe through three stolen elections since 2002.

1. Mbeki allegedly covered up a report of massive vote-rigging, violence and intimidation in 2002.

2. Mbeki protected Mugabe from being criticised and sanctioned by the UN several times.

3. Mbeki supplied Mugabe with free electricity for years to prop up his illegal regime.

4. South Africans' response to the plight of Zimbabweans fleeing chaos and hunger was to slaughter them in xenophobic attacks.

5. The media stories are true. Go and visit that country and witness children dying of hunger. A few days ago my family in Zimbabwe told me that people are now eating cow dung to survive.

The blood of Zimbabweans is on all our hands. You are right that Zimbabwe is a disgrace to Africa. So are most African countires. We are also a disgrace to Africa, with our continued protection of Mugabe.

Ask yourself why our own leaders keep protecting Mugabe, including Zuma, who defended Mugabe in Washington last week, saying that sanctions were to blame for the economic collapse. He conveniently ignored the fact that the TARGETTED sanctions only affect around 130 people in Zimbabwe.

Then, Friend, ask yourself why you continue to support a government that has been complicit in the death of our neighbour.

Be Els

1. Well you have your views about South African leaders, those are your views and I respect that. I am a member of the ANC and will always vote ANC until Jesus comes back. I don't want to comment on your South African leaders views, but lets go back to Africa.

2. Brother Be Els I think we can start doing something to save our beloved continent Africa from poverty, greed, disease, wars etc. Education + education + education coupled with hard work + hard work should help us. I think we are lazy to work and lazy to think here in Africa. We seem to want cheap things, we seem to enjoy other peoples sweat why?. We just want to work for lazy governments that are lazy to deliver that to go out there and dirty our hands with fertilizer and seedlings. Instead of working hard we Africans want to party and go to the stadiums to watch rugby, soccer, cricket etc. Where are the work ethics.

3. We need to be educated and I am not refering to acquiring certificates. Certificates are a very shallow and lazy definition of education. We need all citizens to be informed. If we are to ensure that this happens all of us, schools, churches, media, libraries, governments, work place, factories, playgrounds etc shall be centres of learning centres of education. Media must be very responsible cos they are in the centre of everything. We know media makes money by being listened too. Well media would argue that the truth does not sell and so that is why it is hell bent to report lies and blue lies most of the time because it makes money for them. This is crab, very irresponsible. It is the biggest contributor to the failures of Africa because we are not told about any good that Africa does but only how bad African leaders and governments are. Can't media look for the positives in society just once. Are we all that bad. You will find that Mugabe is not the animal they want to make us believe he is. Media can still make very good profits but reporting responsibly. Believe you me I can work with media to achieve this. I don't subscribe to the weak and lazy thinking that bad news sell better than good news, we can change that around.

4. I love Africa, I love Zim, I love SA. I don't know of any other place I belong to than SA. Well I have stayed outside Africa for a few 5 years but realy Africa is my home and I have to make it work. Lets all make it a better place

Not a word of protest from Motlanthe [another lame duck] Mbeki, Tsvangirai, Matambara, Mugabe or Zuma. Whilst the talks were going on at the hotel, the Zimbabwean police thugs were beating up on protesting women outside. Not one of the present SADC politicians protested. These power grabbing Zimbabwean politicians are merely out to enrich themselves. They definitely are not suffering and are nearly as bad as the despicable South African politicians, who exist on pure greed.

Friend,

Well where ever you are safe and sound with lots to eat and access to your own money in the bank good luck to you. The main thing is that you havent a clue what you are babbeling on about so stop writing to this forum. Come to Zimbabwe for a week where you can only draw Z$10,000.00 a day of your own money which will buy you one cabbage. Bank transfers are cancelled and no one wants to accept cheques anymore. So ask yourself how does anybody buy anything apart from Mugabe and his cronies (Mbeki being one of them) Mugabe is still murdering his opposition (one this week in ZANU PF Headquarters) whilst these talks are going on so how serious is he? Its not a case of who wants the most power, it's a case of proper sharing. If you take away all the forced votes of the military and convicts you will see that Zimbabweans don't want Mugabe at all except for the cronies. So please don't comment on things you are clueless about because it makes us people living here very angry and forces us to write back to tell you to shut up.

Peter Macklyn
Front line
Harare
Zinbabwe

When we saw the headline we thought it was all about the special interest pressure groups in Washington DC