Greetings, beautiful and dear friends,

It is not my intention to use Lightworkers as a forum for polical debate, but I want share this story as it is about hope, love, peace, and the power of ordinary people.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead.

Civil society's triumph on Zimbabwe

By Peter Greste BBC News, Johannesburg

Friday, 25 April 2008 12:59 , UK

For full report: http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/africa/7366599. stm

It has been reported that China has finally recalled the An Yue Jiang, the ship allegedly loaded with arms for Zimbabwe. Church groups in South Africa demonstrated against the shipment Rights groups hailed the move as a major victory, a triumph of public opinion over political cynicism. It seems civil society is taking the lead, well ahead of national leaders, on the question of Zimbabwe.

The An Yue Jiang is a container ship owned by China’s state-run shipping company COSCO, reported to be carrying millions of rounds of assault rifle, ammunition, mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades. When the ship anchored off the South African port of Durban, a local news magazine revealed that it was about to off-load the weapons, and public opinion reacted with outrage. Newspaper editorials condemned the shipment, callers rang radio talk shows complaining that the weapons could be used by the Zimbabwean government against its own people. The South African government’s response was blunt. "So what?" they said. Government spokesman Themba Maseko said they could do nothing to stop a perfectly legal and properly documented transaction between two sovereign states.

Then unions and human rights organisations intervened. Dock-workers refused to handle the cargo, and a judge barred it from transiting through the country. Demonstrators threatened to block its passage if it ever reached South Africa’s roads. Now, after being refused entry in ports around the continent, the ship is finally thought to be heading home with its cargo still on board. 'Amazed' In a rare show of force, African public opinion and civil organisations mobilised on a single issue to force action that politicians seemed reluctant to take. Peter Alexander, the director for Sociological Studies at the University of Johannesburg, says the ship’s departure was a triumph for civil society. "I am amazed," he said. "It is very impressive that such a concerted action could have such a concrete result. " Nicole Fritz, of the Southern African Litigation Centre, which took the case to court, agrees: "The South African authorities have been driven by embarrassment in the face of what civil society has done. " The An Yue Jiang affair is probably the clearest example of African civil society leading the agenda on Zimbabwe. But according to human rights organisations and academics, they are forcing politician’s hands in all sorts of subtle ways. _______________________________________

Please keep sending Love and Light to Africa.

Be at peace in your hearts at all times.  ...

"There is no road to peace, peace is the road" - Ghandi.

Blessings,  Alice