FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lobby Group launches new website dedicated to the memory of Gukurahundi victims.
Mthwakazi Action Group on Genocide in Matabeleland and Midlands (MAGGEMM) is launching its new website in honour and remembrance of those who died or disappeared during the Gukurahundi genocide in Zimbabwe in the 1980s.
London, UK - 27/5/08
Rorisang Masiane, Executive Director of Mthwakazi Action Group on Genocide in Matabeleland and Midlands (MAGGEMM) today announced the launch of the pressure group’s new website, www.maggemm.org.
MAGGEMM will campaign to promote open dialogue on Gukurahundi, for truth and justice on behalf of the victims and also organise commemorative events to keep the memory of those who died or disappeared alive. The group has so far held two demonstrations this year outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London.
“What we are launching today is not just the website but also the re-birth of MAGGEMM,” says Rorisang Masiane. “Even though we have been around for a number of years now, this is the first time we are making a proper web presence to internationalise our work. We want to be the main voice for those who have to deal with the trauma of Gukurahundi alone and almost forgotten.”
The launch of MAGGEMM’s new website also comes with a revision of their mission and sees the group go back to basics. “In the last two years, we have carried out informal research within the affected communities and our findings made us go back to the drawing board and revise our strategy. With the launch of our website, we are also presenting a return to what we were originally formed to do, which is to focus on the Gukurahundi genocide and the fight for truth and justice on behalf of victims” says Rorisang Masiane.
Notes to Editors;
1. Mthwakazi Action Group on Genocide in Matabeleland and Midlands (MAGGEMM) is a not-for-profit group for victims of the Gukurahundi genocide in Zimbabwe between 1982 and 1988.
2. MAGGEMM is not a political party/organisation and its actions must not be viewed as such.
3. Gukurahundi is a Shona word which means "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains” and was the codename for the government military operation in Matabeleland and Midlands between 1982 and 1988.
4. At least 20,000 people were massacred during the Gukurahundi campaign.
For more information, please contact Mpho Ncube (ncubem@maggemm.org), telephone 07776326521 or visit www.maggemm.org
