Yesterday’s Age brought news that Sekai Holland, the wife of Australian citizen Jim Holland, copped a beating from the Zimbabwean Police. According to Mr Holland:
“She’s been beaten all over her body. She’s got lacerations, very extensive bruising … in her case there were 15 thugs taking turns and a woman jumping on her with boots.
“When they finished all the beatings, they deliberately broke her arm and foot and then forced her to walk on it.�
Sekai lived in Australia from 1961 to 1980, and was a prominent apartheid activist. But she won’t be getting any help from the Australian Government:
… a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said Australia would not offer consular services to Ms Holland because she was not an Australian citizen.
In the interests of accuracy, perhaps we should phrase that last part “not even an Australian citizen�, given the argument on consular protection that the Solicitor General has been running in the Federal Court lately. Holland would probably have been better off, vis-à -vis the Australian Government, if she had shown the good sense to get herself kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents rather than arrested by the Zimbabwean police.
Better off being captured by the Iraqi insurgency? That is a lie, and a damned large one. While I strongly dislike the Mugabe regime and think it should be removed, and deplore their way of inflicting torture and abuse upon their civilian opponents, they don’t just round up people and cut off their heads for international consumption on the internet and AlJ tv either. And ZANU-PF doesn’t generally inflict terror and death indiscriminately against those who would be sympathetic towards them, or at least neutral, as the Iraqi insurgents so often does (think Margret Hassan and Daniel Pearl, as well as countless Iraqi’s slaughtered by suicide bombings). Both Mugabe and the Iraqi insurgents are extremely wrong in their methods and goals, but the insurgency is far more brutal and bloodthirsty in its methods, especially if you are a foreign national.
Gummo Trotsky – “the good sense to get herself kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents” – that statement is a disgrace!
The fact is that if the US had decided that Mugabe had to be removed and liberated Zim rather than Iraq, you would claim that they shouldn’t be there with questions such as “why Mugabe and not Hussein?”. The position of the left is morally corrupt and generally contrradictory on how to deal with dictatorships.
Exactly what should Australian Embassy staff do then? Invite all Zimbabwaens who want out to come to the Embassy and collect a plane ticket? Enter the police station and free the arrested protestors?
It is so easy for you to criticise – now come up with a WORKABLE solution.
Oh, and wasn’t it good ‘ol Malcolm Fraser, the current lefty pin-up, who helped Mugabe into power. I’d like to hear what he has to say about how proud he is of his achievements.
Yeah, Gummo. Why don’t you do something more constructive than posting comments on blogs? Oh..wait…
I didn’t see Gummo calling on the US to go in and overthrow Mugabe.
This is called an unintended consequence. Its the thing that neo-cons such as Razor seem to think either don’t exist or can be overcome by yelling “Moral Clarity” loud enough.
No. He was elected by Zimbabwean voters.
Gummo is right. This is the perfect opportunity to help the wife of an Australian and at the same time embarrass a shocking despot the better to hasten his demise.
if she had shown the good sense to get herself kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents
In a helpful mood…
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Under international law, a country may refuse to permit consular assistance to be given to people who, according to its laws, it considers its own nationals. For example, if Mrs Holland was a dual national of Australia and Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean authorities would be entitled to refuse consular access. Leave aside the question of attempting to extend assistance to a person who is not even a citizen of the country whose assistance is sought.
“…Malcolm Fraser, the current lefty pin-up…”
Oh, puh-leeze. Having lived through the Seventies I’ll never accept Mal as part of left (which Razor will probably just take as further evidence of the Left’s embittered and pathological inability to forgive and forget and Move On).
And there’s just something about seeing the name of a Liberal politician and the word ‘pin-up’ in the same sentence that makes me feel all a bit yukky. But, then again, John Winston Howard did have that intimate dinner with the porn mogul so maybe he’s working out a post-Kirribili strategy that could surprise us all
Sheesh Gummo, you really are plumbing the depths here. Whassamatter mate? The Mugabes, Castros, Arafats, etc the left have raised their banner with over the years, starting to eat at your conscience? Blaming others for their behaviour won’t cut it mate. Try denouncement and contrition. Even the IRA have worked it out.