Mugabe is spooked by the letter Z

Submitted by Morpheus:

Mugabe is spooked by the letter Z

A Zimbabwean protest group has signalled defiance with a
logo appearing on everything from condoms to billboards.
by Andrew Meldrum

Sunday June 20, 2004

The Observer [UK]

A clever and daring under-ground movement has sprung up in
Zimbabwe that is stoking public opinion against Robert
Mugabe's government.

Zvakwana -- which means 'enough' in the Shona language --
has launched a bold campaign expressed through graffiti,
emails and condoms to encourage the Zimbabwean people to
rise up.

The clandestine campaign is building up steam just as the
progress of Zimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change, has stalled under the burden of torture
of its leaders and state violence against its supporters.

A black Z on a bright yellow handprint is appearing
mysteriously on the walls of bus stations, on busy streets
and over billboards across Harare and other cities.
Thousands of 'revolutionary condoms' have been distributed,
emblazoned with the letter Z and the double-entendre message
'Get up! Stand Up!'.

Matchboxes stuffed with resistance messages are left in
public places to be picked up by unsuspecting citizens.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are led to the Zvakwana website.

Zvakwana has compiled a CD of resistance songs featuring Bob
Marley, Hugh Masekela, Thomas Mapfumo and many Zimbabwean
musicians, which it has managed to distribute across
Zimbabwe. The messages are often humorous, but the Mugabe
government is taking Zvakwana seriously. Now a team of
senior investigators from the Law and Order section,
notorious for torturing scores of opposition politicians and
civic leaders, has been assigned to track down the
activists. The unit has in the past few weeks raided the
offices of the MDC and other civic groups and has arrested
and interrogated opposition politicians, civic leaders,
journalists and musicians.

'We are not linked to Zvakwana,' said MDC spokesman Paul
Themba Nyathi. 'But to the extent that the group fights for
political change, democracy and human rights, we share the
same values and we support its efforts. Police have raided
our offices hunting for Zvakwana because they believe any
group that advocates change and democracy is linked to the MDC.'

A police spokesman said: 'These people have been spreading
material and literature aimed at inciting members of the
public to lawlessness.' Zimbabweans report irate police
making house-to-house searches for tell-tale yellow paint or
piles of matchboxes. 'They kept asking me, "Who is Zvakwana?
Who is Zvakwana?"' said one Harare resident who was arrested
and later released.

Speaking to The Observer through the anonymity of the
internet, Zvakwana responded: 'It is no surprise that they
are hunting for us. This is because we are living under a
dictatorship. If we were living under a democracy, then the
government in power would allow voices of dissent. It is
clear that Zanu-PF wants to suffocate any glimmer of hope or
resistance. Hope is considered most dangerous by tyrannies.'

There is plenty to protest about. Inflation has hovered at
600 per cent for most of the year; unemployment is at 70 per
cent. Last week, the government closed the Tribune
newspaper, the third to be shut down in less than a year.
The Zvakwana spokesman said: 'The current situation in
Zimbabwe is bringing up the right conditions for revolution.'

Zvakwana carried out one of its trademark 'non-violent civic
actions' in Harare just before Zimbabwe's Independence Day
events on 18 April. Activists spray-painted lampposts and
the large pipes next to the main Tongogara Avenue, used by
Mugabe's 27-vehicle motorcade when he travels to the
National Sports Stadium, and 'Get UP Stand UP' appeared on
stadium turnstiles and walls. 'There was so much graffiti,'
crows the group, 'the regime couldn't repaint it before
Mugabe's trip, so he had to take a different route.'

The group also claims to distribute videotapes of a BBC
documentary exposing the government's militia camps, where
youths are trained in torture techniques to be used against
Mugabe's opponents.

Zvakwana's main methods of communication have been the
internet and email. It sends out regular newsletters about
events in Zimbabwe. In addition to encouraging
anti-government slogans, its website offers 'activist tips',
such as: 'Organise yourself in pairs. Keep an eye out for
your partner at all times. Make sure that you know their
personal details and who to contact in the event that they
are hurt or arrested.' It also advises on how to cope with
tear gas: 'Stay calm and focused . . . When your body heats
up (from running or panicking, for example), irritation may
increase.'

Its success in using the anonymity of the internet to spread
its message has made its website one of the most popular in
Zimbabwe. The government's frustration with Zvakwana has
resulted in draconian action to force all internet service
providers to censor all email correspondence.

'We are encouraging Zimbabweans to make that shift from
lives drenched in fear to a future where we can all live
more positively and with dignity,' said the group. 'Zvakwana
is asking Zimbabweans to stop waiting, and to Get Up!'