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Petition to the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa
Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe (RYMZ)
April 25, 2008

The Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe, in association with the Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum, the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum and the Global Diaspora Forum, calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately stop supporting the Mugabe regime in its war of aggression against the people of Zimbabwe.

We draw your attention to the fact that, since the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections:

• Ten people have been brutally killed by the Mugabe regime
• 500 people have been injured, some so seriously that they will never recover
• Hundreds of homes have been burnt
• At least 3 000 families have been displaced
• More than 400 Movement for Democratic Change activists have been detained

Furthermore, we draw your attention to the terrible suffering of those people who have died at the hands of Mugabe's militia, and the pain and devastation caused to their families, some of whom were forced to witness the horrors.

• Tapiwa Mubwanda, a 55-year-old election agent and organiser for Zimbabwe's Movement of Democratic Change was brutally murdered by Zanu PF members. Photographs of his gruesome wounds have shocked the world.
• Brighton Mbwera (junior), a 5-year-old child from Manyika village in Uzumba, died after the house he was sleeping in was set on fire by Zanu PF on 18 April. The parents were forced to bury their child without a post-mortem.
• A man who had burning plastic put on his back and arms is seriously injured. His home was burnt down and his animals were doused in diesel and burnt alive.
• Another man was tied to his hut door by militia and then set alight. His injuries are horrific and it was days before he could be admitted to hospital. Ambulances attempting to go into his area are either turned back by police or threatened by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

We draw your attention to a speech made on 16 October 2006 by Ambassador Liu Guijin, at that time China's Ambassador to South Africa. He said:

"Today, China is working hard to build a harmonious society domestically and is in favor of building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity."

This is indeed a noble objective.

However, China's role in Zimbabwe is in direct conflict with Ambassador Guijin's pronouncement. China is supporting a corrupt, evil and despotic regime which has totally wrecked the country's once thriving economy and destroyed its status as a regional breadbasket and highly prized tourist destination.

As a direct result of the Mugabe regime's policies, people's lives have been reduced to abject poverty, with more than 4.1 million people requiring food aid. Unemployment is over 80 percent and as many as 3 500 people a week are dying of hunger and disease. Thousands of people whose homes were destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina remain destitute.

On behalf of the people of Zimbabwe we demand:

1. That China recalls the cargo of arms aboard the vessel "An Yue Jiang"
2. That this shipment of arms is not sent to Zimbabwe on another vessel or by air
3. That China stops all supplies of arms to the Zimbabwean regime
4. That China recalls all soldiers stationed in Zimbabwe for the purpose of suppressing the will of the people and ensuring the regime retains power
5. That China stops the supply of surveillance equipment to Zimbabwe for illegal internet censorship and surveillance
6. That China stops providing huge loans to prop up the bankrupt Mugabe regime
7. That China respects the human rights of all Zimbabweans

We wish to draw your attention to the fact that China has previously supplied arms to the Mugabe regime, notably:

June 2004: China supplied the Zimbabwean regime with 12 FC-1 jet fighters and 100 military vehicles worth US$ 240 million, an investment the country could not afford.

February 2005: China supplied the Zimbabwean regime with assault rifles, military vehicles and other support material, including more than 100 Dongfeng vehicles, via the port of Beira. This was just a month ahead of the 2005 parliamentary elections.

In both instances, the money should have been spent where it was most needed, notably food for the poor, healthcare, education and the disintegrating infrastructure.

We draw your attention to the issue of human rights:

• We note that, in the wake of widespread criticism ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese government has promised to improve human rights within China.
• We reiterate that gross human rights abuses are being committed by the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe and that, in supporting the regime, China is severely tainting its reputation.

Signed this day in Pretoria, South Africa:
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Simon Dreadman Mudekwa - President: Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe
Gabriel Shumba - Executive Director: Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum

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