Zimbabwe protests: Crackdown is just a 'taste of things to come'

[JacksinPA]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46938679

The Zimbabwean government says the security forces' response to this week's protests in which a number of people have reportedly died is just "a foretaste of things to come".

News of a violent crackdown has emerged despite the government blocking social media sites.
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At least 12 have been killed by security forces & many more beaten.

The price of gasoline has doubled to $13/gal as a result of shortages & black market diversion. Many can't afford bus fare to their jobs.

The new government, elected last year in a disputed election, has been 'struggling to revive the economy, which is experiencing high inflation while wages have stagnated.'

This is a likely example of the turmoil & chaos that S Africa is headed into.

 

[TheParser]

1. When Dictator Mugabe left last year, people in Zimbabwe had some hope for a better future.

2. Of course, as we all knew in our hearts, things would NOT be better. (In fact, the election for the new president was probably rigged, too.)

3. If you want to know about the brutality and sheer inhuman cruelty of the "security forces," read the "Diary" section in the 7 March 2019 print edition of the British liberal magazine London Review of Books. It was written by one Diana Stone. I assume that you can find it on the Web. (I do not know how to link anyway.)

4. Ms. Stone writes these plaintive words: "Zimbabwe doesn't need to be poor; that's what's so devastating. It has copious minerals, well-managed water resources, an educated and ambitious population, a safari park the size of Belgium, and some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. It's poor in part because of theft on a grand scale: Zimbabwe is being looted by its own government."

*****

I shall not comment on what I learned from the article, for I do not trust myself to stay within the strict bounds of forum rules. I guess that I am allowed to say that I am sickened and disgusted -- but not surprised.