Monday, January 24, 2011

Zimbabwe Art Exhibit Banned

An art exhibit displayed at the National Gallery in Zimbabwe has been banned, and the artist charged with a crime, because it has insulted President Robert Mugabe. The art display revealed graphic depictions of the atrocities committed by Mr. Mugabe's presidency in its early days. The government's efforts to lay the past to rest has only provoked memories of the Gukurahundi, the name for the slaughter of civilians twenty five years ago. With another election season coming upon Zimbabwe, a poll shows seventy percent of individuals are terrified of political violence against them. A large number, however, are also willing to take the risk of voting against Mr. Mugabe because of a deep desire for democracy. The government has rubbed old sentiments raw, by proposing to base the North Korean soccer team there before the World Cup in South Africa in June. It was the North Koreans that equipped and trained the Fifth Brigade that killed an estimated 10,000 civilians in four years. The art exhibit was meant to explore the old wounds that have since healed over, but the artist has been detained, arrested and held in leg irons before being released on bail, and is awaiting his trial for insulting the president, and communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the government. Found guilty and he is liable for up to 20 years in prison.

by Margaret Nunne

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