SW Radio Africa (London)
Tererai Karimakwenda
22 April 2008
People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (Passop) is a South African organisation that has embarked on a campaign to demand the restoration of democracy in Zimbabwe.
The group is also demanding an end to what they called a "Mugabe coup", making reference to the refusal by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce results from the Presidential poll.
Braam Hanekom from Passop said they will organise protest actions consistently until they achieve their goal. He told Newsreel that the campaign started on April 17 with a demonstration at the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting that was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last Thursday.
The event was a gathering of parliamentarians from all over Africa. Hanekom said the speaker of South Africa's National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, chaired the IPU meeting. He praised Mbete for her recent comments acknowledging that there is indeed a crisis in Zimbabwe, adding to the list of African leaders who are beginning to speak publicly about the abuses of the Mugabe regime. But they chose this occasion for their demonstration to send a strong message to other African parliamentarians.
Hanekom criticised the government of President Thabo Mbeki for failing to deal with the problem of so many Zimbabweans fleeing from the chaos, into South Africa. Simply deporting them is not a solution.
Passop was especially appalled by the xenophobic attacks that took place in the Diepsloot area of Cape Town this month. At least 30 shacks were destroyed and more than 100 people displaced. Of even greater concern were reports that a meeting took place between the police, a local councillor and the community ahead of the attacks.
At the meeting the South African locals allegedly declared that the attack would follow. But the police took no action. In fact they responded several hours after the attacks had started. Witnesses said the police were laughing at the scene and they apparently arrested 20 Zimbabweans for being undocumented, and not the South Africans who were attacking.
Next on the agenda for Passop is a demonstration at the Angolan Embassy. Hanekom said this was decided after hearing reports that Angolan troops are on standby to go to Zimbabwe to assist Robert Mugabe. Passop want the Angolans to know there is no war in Zimbabwe and therefore no need to send troops.
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