Zimbabwe -- Zanu PF propaganda blitz backfires

Zimbabwe Standard ^ | May 4, 2003 | Walter Marwizi

[Clive]

RUFFLED by the two successful protest stayaways that paralysed business in the country recently, the department of Information and Publicity in the President's Office has launched a propaganda blitz on the state owned media which is, ironically, sending a contradictory message to a battered Zimbabwean audience.

The propaganda blitz, meant to rubbish the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), appears to be doing the exact opposite - it is now even endearing the opposition party more with the long suffering masses of Zimbabwe who have endured hardships during the past two to three years.

The set of adverts, flighted on national television on a daily basis, incidentally popularise MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai who is shown making strong political statements to a nation that is battling with the reality of a President who refuses to leave office in the face of an economic meltdown.

In one of the adverts, Tsvangirai is shown addressing a rally in Gweru where he predicted something that Zanu PF failed to do: food shortages after the widespread grabbing of commercial farms.

A fired up Tsvangirai is shown on the ZBC adverts forewarning Zimbabweans of impending food shortages spawned by the chaos on the farms.

The crippling food shortages, which were felt hardly two months after Tsvangirai's "prophecy", were denied by Zanu PF officials, chief among them agriculture minister Joseph Made, who lied to the nation that he had seen, while overflying farming areas, vast hectarages of maize enough to feed a country of over 12 million people.

In a clip played relentlessly on ZBC, the MDC leader is given prime television space to try to portray him as a leader without the interest of Zimbabwe at heart, but that again backfires.

Tsvangirai is seen telling a huge audience: "Munoti munoshaiwa chikafu... (interjections)...Mati madiyi, Muchashaisisa" (You are talking about food shortages, you shall completely run out of food supplies)."

While Zanu PF propagandists hoped that showing this clip over and over again would convince people that Tsvangirai rejoices when people suffer, it has emerged that the opposite is the truth.

Many Zimbabweans who have struggled to survive during the past few years yesterday hailed Tsvangirai for being brave enough to forewarn the nation about the looming disaster.

"Tsvangirai, like a fearless modern day prophet, did his bit well. He warned everyone including the government and unsurprisingly though, the Zanu PF regime chose to ignore this warning pretending that everything was OK," said Johannes Makonya of Warren Park 1.

Virginia Moyo, a vendor in Samora Machel Avenue said thanks to Moyo and his department, everyone could see Tsvangirai tried to wake them up to the reality.

"Tsvangirai like anyone else with common sense knew that after we grabbed farms from real farmers and after giving them to lazy Zanu PF cronies, soon we had to run out of food. At least now anyone who did not attend the rally now sees that Tsvangirai is a pragmatic man who tells bitter truth unlike these ruling party crooks who say there is fuel when all the service stations are dry," said Moyo, who confessed that she hated Mugabe's regime.

In another clip, Tsvangirai is shown making a speech which, contrary to the official viewpoint that it is subversive, is viewed by many Zimbabweans who have borne the brunt of violence perpetrated by war veterans, the Zanu PF militia, the army and now the police as an act of courage .

Tsvangirai said: "What we want to tell Mugabe today is that please go peacefully. If you don't go peacefully, we will remove you violently." After the speech, grainy images of excited youths running around the streets, which do not resemble any town in Zimbabwe, appear.

A small sign inscribed with the words "DRC" which a casual observer might not notice, also appears near the tree branches barricading the roads, betraying the true location of the street protests.

"Jonathan Moyo or whoever cobbled up these images must know that by showing Tsvangirai talking about violently removing Mugabe who has boasted of his several degrees in violence is psyching-up people to implement the idea," said one psychologist who preferred to remain anonymous.

[Clive]

"Jonathan Moyo or whoever cobbled up these images must know that by showing Tsvangirai talking about violently removing Mugabe who has boasted of his several degrees in violence is psyching-up people to implement the idea,"

[Clive]

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[Cincinatus' Wife]

Amazing.