| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa: Southern |
| Zulu warriors surround SA leader |
| 2004-01-30 |
| Scores of supporters of a mainly Zulu party carrying their traditional weapons have confronted South African President Thabo Mbeki. Armed police and bodyguards cleared a path for the president after he was surrounded by some 50 opposition supporters with spears and shields. Very sharp stabbing spears, the classic Zulu weapon. Mr Mbeki is in KwaZulu-Natal province ahead of elections due this year. Tensions are rising between the ruling ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party, which controls the province. The incident was condemned by the ANC. "Put those spears down, you could put an eye out!" "These actions are a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of movement which all South Africans, including the President, enjoy," a party statement said. Earlier this week, Inkatha leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi accused the ANC of trying to stop them campaigning and attacking its supporters. Thousands of people died in clashes between supporters of the two parties in the province in the 1980s and 1990s, and clashes have broken out again ahead of the forthcoming elections. Mr Mbeki urged both parties not to return to the battles of the past. "During the elections the two parties must agree that they will work in such a way that the people in KwaZulu-Natal are able to vote for any party without fear of being intimidated," he said. "As long as they vote for the ANC" At the weekend, a march of Inkatha supporters degenerated into violence leaving several people injured. KwaZulu-Natal is one of the two provinces not controlled by the ANC. Think I’ll put a couple bucks on the Zulus. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 #2 Here's an idea: let's complain about our "rights" being violated (rights which can only be achieved through civilized behavior and reasoned discourse between free peoples) while dressing up like brutal, tribal, anti-intellectual, bloodthirsty savages brandishing spears and making threatening gestures. Thanks for coming out of your tea-party to tell us that, Unmutual. Mind giving us your opinion on the quaint ANC custom of "necklacing". and the rapidly-growing (and imported from Zimbabwe) sport called the "white-farmer hunt"? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-1-30 9:24:00 PM |
| #4 Damn Rhodesiafever... I'm gonna have to read a few books it looks like. All I got is Richard Harris in me mind. BTW Faisal... I recommend Zulu for all angry Moslems. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-30 3:42:04 PM |
| #3 Unmutual, what I think happened is that the Zulus are related to the Matabele as an off-shoot by about 150-200 years. After the Second Chimurenga, (The Rhodesian War), about 40,000 Matabele were slaught, and who did it? Bob Mugabe and the Wailers, aka Green Bombers. Who other than Mbeki is saying that Bob is a good guy, apart from some Nigerians? Now who is pissing who off. I knew both Mashona people (Bob's tribe) and Matabele and some Zulus, and I know who I'd trust even with pointy spears. Mbeki is a stinker, and there's more to follow |
| Posted by: Rhodesiafever 2004-1-30 2:37:34 PM |
| #2 Here's an idea: let's complain about our "rights" being violated (rights which can only be achieved through civilized behavior and reasoned discourse between free peoples) while dressing up like brutal, tribal, anti-intellectual, bloodthirsty savages brandishing spears and making threatening gestures. If you want to join the rest of the free world, you'd best understand that it is only logic, reason, and civil discourse which can solve your political woes, and that behaving like backward savages can lead to nothing more than the destruction of a civilized society. Whether or not SA leadership is corrupt, behaving like tribal relics of 10,000 years ago will do nothing to further your cause. |
| Posted by: Unmutual 2004-1-30 10:41:17 AM |
| #1 Assegai (I think that's the spelling) were developed from spears, and share some construction details, but they're used more like short swords. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-1-30 10:35:16 AM |