Thoughts on Malawi's day of protests

As I write this, up and down the country, thousands of Malawian's are protesting for their right to democracy. In Blantyre, Zomba, Mzuzu and Lilongwe, there are reports coming out of disturbances and violent reactions by the DPP (the ruling political party) to otherwise peaceful protests.

The protests here have really highlighted the power of social media and networking; there are no news sites reporting what is going on and there is very little information on the web about this. The pictures I have included in this post are taken from friends/peers on twitter and facebook - people who are in the thick of the protests using their android phones to take and upload live pictures of the situation.

We have kept clear of the office, but amidst a fuel crisis, we tried to investigate the possibility of getting fuel this morning at 8am but were told in no uncertain terms by friends, that our cars would likely be torched if we went into town.

The protests today have been planned for some time, with social media playing a huge part in mobilising people and forming a 'red army'. The president recently introduced a 2million Kwacha fee to allow people to protest, and then yesterday he decided to ban the protest completely, meaning the police were authorised to use any means to clear the streets of people. This has led to the use of tear gas and violence this morning.

Yesterday in Blantyre, the DPP sent out some of their youth cadets out in pick up trucks armed with beer and pangas....they are the people in the blue trucks here in this picture, taken by a friend of mine in Blantyre.





Car have been torched in Mzuzu....



'it's bloody horrific, massive riots, the DPP building is on fire, teargas has been used, but police outnumbered and have now left streets, looting occurring and we are locked in our buildings very scared' this is a text sent just now from an expat friend in Mzuzu.



The Malawi red army on the streets of Blantyre.

The violence is coming from the friction between the police and DPP thugs (who have been told in no uncertain terms to control the protests) and the 'red army' - who are trying to protest peacefully and stand up for their right to protest in the name of democracy. There are reports that the police have now given up in Blantyre and Mzuzu as they are just too outnumbered. This can only be a good thing, to allow people to protest peacefully and let the march run its course.

All this whilst the President is giving a speech/lecture on many things....

'let me define human rights as including freedom of conversation, worship, speech, economic pursuit' which would explain why many people in this country are scared to talk badly of the government, and why thankfully people have finally had enough and have taken to the streets to exercise their freedom of speech and their right to protest (something the government clearly disagrees with, how else can we explain the DPP thugs with pangas?)

news article (only one I can find) found here: http://www.zodiakmalawi.com/zbs%20malawi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1118:the-only-july-20-2011&catid=42:banner-stories&Itemid=102

Fresh reports of looting in town, and some buildings have been set on fire in city centre. Offices are being vacated (many underestimated the severity of the protests here) and the roads are ghostly quiet.

That's it for now, when I have more pictures and information I will post again...

Hannah.