Zulu supporters mar Satyagrah centenary celebrations

Durban, Oct 2 (UNI) The much-hyped Satyagrah cenetenary celebrations here yesterday were marred by protests and slogan shouting by Zulu supporters of former South African Vice President Jacob Zuma, much to the embarrasment of President Thabo Mbeki, who was attending the ceremony alongwith Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

''Awuleth umshini wami'' (Bring me my machine gun),'' the Zulus, numbering about 100, chanted while waving flags, before the police managed to evict them from the Kingsmead-Sahara stadium, the venue of the celebrations.

The supporters of Mr Zuma, who was sacked by Mr Mbeki on corruption charges, stormed into the stadium as soon as the South African President arrived. The sacked leader, whose corruption charges were quashed last week, has a strong following in Durban and its adjoining areas. His supporters claim that he is a victim of a ''political conspiracy'' by Mr Mbeki.

Even when Dr Singh arrived, the protestors continued their songs.

Despite the protests, the function went smoothly and artists from India and South Africa presented colourful cultural programmes.

However, attendance was sparse at the sprawling stadium in the heart of the city.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said 'Satyagraha' was the beginning of a new way of battling violence and injustice. He also underscored relevance of Mahatama Gandhi's message of non-violence in today's world which is affected by international terrorism and religious war.

The rediscovery of Gandhi's message by the present generation, as depicted in the recently released mega hit movie ''Lage Raho Munnabhai,'' was pointed out by the Prime Minister in his address at the function.

''Every generation has rediscovered relevance of Gandhji's message. I was heartened to see recently that back home in India the most popular movie about a young man's discovery of the universal and timeless relevance of the Mahtama's message,'' he added.

UNI RB/SMA VD PM1431