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Africans must stand united against the neo-colonial onslaught on Zimbabwe
Monday, September 24, 2007
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Deborah Gabriel

We may not live on the continent but as people of African descent we have a vested interest in seeing that Zimbabwe retains its sovereignty and independence.


In an earlier commentary (June 25 2007), I warned against the tendency of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to hanker after the heyday of the British Empire. A time when Africans – even after liberating themselves from the shackles of chattel enslavement were still socially, culturally and economically oppressed; violently dispossessed of their land and expected to defer to the white British colonial administrators.

But just as African freedom fighters fought to gain liberation from slavery that many take for granted today – especially those of us living in the Diaspora; so too did brave Africans make a stand against white settlers in order to fight to preserve their way of life and for the land and liberty that was rightfully theirs. In Southern Africa, one of those freedom fighters that fought to retain the dignity and sovereignty of an African nation was one Robert Mugabe.

Lest we forget the past that the British Prime Minister seldom refers to in his tirades against the Zimbabwean President – the British government showed no sense of morality or the “humanity” that they say is lacking in Zimbabwe when they reneged on the Lancaster House Agreement. There was no sense of fairness displayed when in drawing up the agreement and insisting on the ‘willing buyer-willing seller’ land programme,they expected Africans to buy back land at greedily high prices set by white farmers who did not purchase the land in the first place.

Again, in defiance of the neo-colonial strategy of European nations dictating to African leaders how to govern their own countries, Robert Mugabe stood firm. As a means of punishing the defiant black leader who dared to behave like a self-determined African man, the Europeans imposed economic sanctions. Since Africans were enslaved for the purpose of the economic enrichment of Europeans, it is no surprise then, that when they do not get their own way they use money to force compliance.

But neo-colonialism is far from a thing of the past – it is very much in existence today. Why is it that Britain and the United States of America predominantly disagree with the governance in African or other non-white countries? Why is it that Britain and America are always criticising and displacing the leaders of black and other non-white nations? Why is it that European countries are always imposing economic sanctions on non-white nations? From where I am standing it is a clear case of assumed superiority over people of colour – white supremacy.

What gives Gordon Brown or George Bush the right to police the world? The answer is nothing – nothing gives them the right. After the all the human rights abuses they have committed and wars they have created around the world they are in no position to point the accusing finger at other countries. Zimbabwe does not belong to Britain or America or any other European nation – it belongs to Africa and its people. For those of us in the African Diaspora who have retained a sense of our African identity and consciousness – Zimbabwe belongs to us also.

We may not live on the continent but as people of African descent we have a vested interest in seeing that Zimbabwe retains its sovereignty and independence. We therefore stand united with our fellow Africans on the continent in demanding that African leaders be left to resolve their own problems without western interference. We also call upon the leaders of African nations to resist the dictatorial demands of the British Prime Minister. Brown said "It's him or me." Tell Brown it's a united African Summit or no summit at all.


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