By Phillip Thomson, The Canberra Times – December 28, 2013 | Thanks to Golden Age of Gaia.
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Australia has lashed out at the regime of President Robert Mugabe and is seeking a protection visa that will allow her to stay in Australia. Jacqueline Zwambila has asked the Australian government for asylum because she says she fears for her safety if she returns to Zimbabwe.
Ms Zwambila, who is politically aligned to Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, was recalled from her post without being offered another job after Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party won the country’s general election on July 31.
With four days remaining in the role, Ms Zwambila has moved out of her residence in the Canberra suburb of Red Hill. She has no intention of using the business-class plane ticket given to her by her government to return home on Tuesday.
Ms Zwambila will rely on a bridging visa after her diplomatic status is cancelled and a small number of family members who have been with her in Australia also hope to gain protection under her application.
On Friday, Ms Zwambila said Mr Mugabe and Zanu-PF had stolen the election and increased the number of arrests of MDC supporters on trumped-up charges.
The ambassador said she feared indefinite custody if she returned to Zimbabwe. She plans to pursue her activism from abroad.
Her request for protection and her public statement that the election was stolen ends a sunny period for Australia-Zimbabwe relations. During Ms Zwambila’s time as ambassador, Australia became a significant contributor of aid to Zimbabwe.
The ambassador’s criticism of the Mugabe regime comes as the Abbott government reviews foreign expenditure and plans to cut $4.5 billion in the projected increase of aid and development spending between now and 2016-17.
Since the Coalition took government in September, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has not updated Australia’s stance towards Zimbabwe.
The Coalition took a hard line under prime minister John Howard, who successfully lobbied for Zimbabwe to be excluded from the Commonwealth because of its human rights abuses, called off a cricket tour in 2007 and labelled Mr Mugabe a ”grubby dictator”.
Ms Bishop has front-line experience in Zimbabwe. In 2000 and 2002, as a federal MP, she visited Zimbabwe as part of a Commonwealth observer team and returned with stories of violence and intimidation by Mr Mugabe and his supporters.
”There was no freedom from fear,” Ms Bishop said in 2002.
Ms Zwambila’s father was an entrepreneur who started as a bookkeeper and became a developer. She said this was during an era when the highest an African could rise was to sell groceries, or become a teacher.
Ms Zwambila attended an elite multinational school, one which included white children. She said African students were excluded from taking part in sports such as netball. It was a lonely time, she said. There was no protection from racist teachers. She became a political activist, built a public relations business and is now a grandmother.
”I’ve had to fight the whole system,” she said when interviewed by Fairfax Media last year. ”I’m a fighter.”
Openhearted Rebellion 
Let me see – Zimbabwe – a once working country until kicking out the whites – for all we know she supported that action – and danced in the streets while it happened – as there were very, very few in her country that spoke out AGAINST it!.
She is now to return to a run down country with no future – run by uneducated people – failing infrastructure – an aging and incompetent leader – no basic amenities that work on a regular – poor medical – lousy transportation – high crime – and the beat goes on.
But wait!!
It would be far better to use her privileged position try and stay in good old OZ! Everything works and the life style is good.
Why am I not surprised?
Send her packing – she is not needed – just another opportunist and nothing more. She will add nothing to the country and cause nothing but grief. Put her on a boat if she does not want to use her ticket.
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Awaiting moderation?
LOL Censorship you mean
If truth is spoken and you disagree you will not post it.
If that is the case you should put up a notice that comments moderated so the writer knows not to waste his time here/.
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Hello Laughingatyou,
The purpose of moderation is to thin out spam and hateful comments. Sometimes, when people realize they can have a voice on another’s blog, they tend to express themselves in a hateful, patriarchal way. Likewise, spam comments get through every now and then that have no purpose on the blog.
There’s also the problem of paid shills who come onto websites and forums to start fights and, again, bring people down. You’ll notice that comments with genuine intent beyond starting arguments are let through with no change, and respect is all that’s asked of a commenter.
Much Love,
Wes 🙂
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