When Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson took to the podium at Tuesday night’s gala event, he probably didn’t’ expect any hecklers.
…His remarks were going along as expected — until he started to talk critically about the downslide of human rights and good governance in Zimbabwe.
“You are talking like a good house slave!” came a shout from an audience member to Carson’s right. Your humble Cable guy nearly choked on his filet mignon as it became clear that the heckler, Zimbabwean Ambassador H.E. Machivenyika Mapuranga, was determined to keep interrupting the speech by shouting at Carson.
As the crowd hissed “Boo!” and other disapproving condemnations, Mapuranga wouldn’t let it go, going on with shouts such as, “We will never be an American colony, you know that!”
But Carson silenced both the ambassador and the crowd when he started speaking again. Changing his tone, he scolded Zimbabwe by pointing out that such outbursts would have evoked vicious punishment in the southern African country, which has been ruled by revolutionary Robert Mugabe with an iron fist since the 1980s.
“You can sit in the audience in darkness but the light will find you and the truth will find you,” Carson told Mapuranga, as event staff tried to quietly encourage the ambassador to get up from his table and leave the event.
Turning to the crowd, Carson said, “It seems that Robert Mugabe has some friends in the room tonight. Unlike in Zimbabwe, they are allowed to speak without oppression, because this is a democracy.”
I don’t know much about Johnnie Carson, but I think I’m going to like him. Via FP.
2 Responses
George,
The utter irrelevance of of ZIDERA, ZTDERA, the U.S. it’s stance on anything to the destruction of Zimbabweans by the Mugabe regime, and your indifference to the suffering of Zimbabweans in contrast to the outrage you show at irrelevant issues, portrays the true depths of colonization of your mind by PRIDE!!.
A perfunctory look at Mr Carson’s prepared speech betrays a total lack of understanding of the dynamics of Zimbabwean politics. US interference in the form of ZIDERA and now ZTDERA isa classic example of how the US seeks to perpetuate imperialism in Africa. Mr Mapuranga was correct to give him a prompt rebuke.