Liu Xiabo was awarded the Nobel Peace price his struggle for human rights in China this year. Liu Xiabo is currently a political prisoner for "counter revolutionary behaviour" after calling for political reform and the end of Communist one party rule in China. China has also strongly reacted to the announcement of of the award to Xiabo.
In Harare, media remains silent on the issue. It appears as if events taking place beyond the Zimbabwean borders are not as important as the the country's own problems. Yet, there are many similarities between the situation for members of the opposition in China and the treatment of political opponents in Zimbabwe. Though it is true that media is far from free in Zimbabwe one would expect the discussion to take place on the streets. The fact remains that most Zimbabweans have stopped following the news. As a Zimbabwean friend of mine once said, news are "allegations". It is unfoortunately quite a good description of the media available to describing real or fictional stories about the offences committed by individuals.
Those that dare to contradit the powerful remains to be silenced by government actors in China as in Zimbabwe. Members of the opposition are still imprisoned without a trial. Fear amongst the peeople is widespread. Most Zimbabweans chose to remain silent. On the other hand there are also brave people such as Liu Xiabo risking their life for the rights that every human being are entitled to. People that after spending over 20 years in prison are still able to say "I have no enemies."
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