The phone call was not quite as menacing as those I wouldoccasionally get from the Chinese authorities when I was based inBeijing. But the intent was the same to suggest that there arelimits to what the foreign media can say. More related to this story South Africa's Jacob Zuma plays victim over 'genitalia' painting The woman from South Africa s government information agency saidher bosses had told her to call me. They wanted to know why I hadwritten that political motives were involved in the great nationalcontroversy over The Spear the painting by satirical artistBrett Murray that portrayed President Jacob Zuma with nakedgenitals. I asked her if there was anything factually inaccurate in what Ihad written. She said she would check with her superiors and callme back. She never did. Perhaps the matter was dropped when the government agency realizedthat most South African commentators were making the exact samepoint: the huge uproar over The Spear was orchestrated by thosewith an interest in rallying political support for Mr. Zuma. It was hardly a coincidence that the president s supporters choseto launch a massive campaign against an insulting artist at a timewhen Mr. Zuma is facing an intense battle over his ANC leadership.The culture wars are a useful distraction from the economic issueswhere his record has been dubious. The easiest way to win sympathyfor the president is to portray him as a victim of abuse. What was most remarkable was how the ANC manipulated all levers ofits government and political machinery to propel this campaign. The phone call to me from the information agency was just the tipof the spear, so to speak. Other sections of the party andgovernment were issuing a flurry of angry statements, filing courtactions, calling for boycotts of the newspaper that published thepainting, and in one particularly absurd incident criticizinga local television station for failing to broadcast the tears of apresidential lawyer who broke down during the court hearing overthe painting. Even the Film and Publication Board, a government agency, isholding public hearings this week on whether to impose restrictionson the painting. It seems that The Spear has become thegovernment s single highest priority. Today the ANC and its partners, the national trade union congressand South African Communist Party, declared a full and finalvictory in their campaign. Hundreds of ANC members marched to theGoodman Gallery, the suburban art gallery that had displayed TheSpear. While police protected the gallery building, a host ofZuma supporters gave speeches condemning the gallery, threateningto shut it down, and declaring that the painting was a criminal insult to the president, and to blacks as a whole. At the end of the speeches, the ANC handed over a list of itsgrievances to the gallery, and then immediately announced that thegallery had agreed to the last remaining demand: removing thepainting from its website. The painting itself had already been vandalized and removed fromdisplay, and the newspaper that originally reproduced the paintinghas removed it from its website too. So the ANC proclaimed victory even though the painting still can be found in hundreds of otherwebsites and newspapers around the country and the world. Later in the day, the Goodman Gallery issued its own statement,denying that it had agreed to remove the painting from its website.The battle continues. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Marine Generator Engine , China Generating Set for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Generator Cummins Engine.
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