Letters

EDITOR, People, the war is not yet won. Now is the time for patience and fortitude. A war is not won in a day, sometimes not even in a year. I know that it is easy to become discouraged, especially when the enemy appears to have won a temporary victory.

It is very interesting, is it not, that the enemy regard Mbeki as being “their man”? This does tend to blow apart any claims of neutrality.

Also, witness the tsunami of lies and disinformation emanating from the enemy propaganda machine; the Biti plot, “white farmers terrorising war vets” and all the other laughably outrageous claims. People, this spells PANIC on the part of the enemy. They really have no coherent plan and are acting in an increasingly irrational way.

This panic is very dangerous; Zanu has never been very strong on common sense, but now the last vestiges have been thrown out of the window. What they are doing now is trying to use the weapons of lies and terror that served them so well during the 70’s war. But these old men have lost the plot. The world now is vastly different to what it was 30 years ago.

The enemy has almost totally lost external support, even from our African neighbours. So the enemy is frightened, desperate, irrational and dangerous.

As we know, but the wider world does not, the enemy has everything to lose; it is not just a change of government with its loss of perks that they fear, it is the loss of their vast wealth stolen from the people of Zimbabwe. In many cases it could also mean facing criminal prosecution and the possibility of long terms in jail.

People, the struggle ahead will be long and hard. Do not under estimate the enemy, but do know that they cannot win. This time, the MDC are outsmarting and out-manoeuvring them at every turn.

Their prime defender, Mbeki has lost credibility in the eyes of the world and more importantly, in the local context. His own party is openly contradicting him. We now have a younger and more progressive leadership in Southern Africa; most of the Liberation Fossils have gone.

PATRIOT, Harare

Mugabe’s cheap rhetoric

EDITOR, While elsewhere Independence has brought democracy, civil liberties and economic prosperity, independence in Zimbabwe has seen a single-minded dictator holding the country to ransom let alone war vets and Zanu (PF) militias terrorising the country. A country under a repressive and corrupt regime, plagued by world record hyperinflation, 80% unemployment, soaring poverty levels, chronic shortages of fuel and electricity, is far from being independent.

It is an irony that the people who claim to have liberated Zimbabwe, are now the ones who are oppressing the people. Zanu (PF) is waging a war against the people and therefore it is now a case of one oppressor replacing another.

In Zimbabwe, Independence Day is only marked by Mugabe’s cheap rhetoric on sovereignty and land issues. It is enough to point out that the land issue was only revived to cover up Zanu (PF)’s rampant misgovernance after the failure of ESAP, the expensive war in the DRC and the looted war veterans disability fund. The current political situation is an excellent opportunity for all democratic and progressive Zimbabweans to demand our independence and fundamental freedoms from Zanu (PF). The people of Zimbabwe have spoken and the world should respect their choice.

EDWIN KAMANDA, Secretary, MDC (Stoke and Crewe Branch, UK)

Outsmart the geriatrics

EDITOR, Please tell the people: You have expressed your choice and your choice must be respected. The international community has spoken against Mugabe and his cronies to no effect. For your choice to be respected, you must commit yourselves to end the violence and suffering of innocent civilians. I know this is hard considering Mugabe’s constant fight of the British colonial ghost, but I urge you to come up with options that outsmart the geriatrics in Zanu (PF) responsible for crafting these draconian laws.

My suggestion is to work smart and hard to halt the circle of violence. To achieve this, everyone must comply with Zanu (PF) by attending their rallies.  Let us fill Zanu (PF) venues to capacity; they must have a nightmare trying to control the crowds. They must turn people away from their rallies because too many of us are in attendance. Everyone must carry a Zanu (PF) card but campaign for freedom in a subtle way.

When and if Mugabe calls for a re-run, run-off, or whatever he wants to call it, then this is your time to show him who is the master; go to the polls in droves and vote with your conscience. Your vote is your secret and must not be influenced by force and empty election promises. You have seen this for too long and are now wise enough and capable of making sound decisions for you and your future generations. You have already proved to the whole world.

DM, e-mail

Rough ride

EDITOR, On Friday, 11April, I boarded a Chikozho bus from Gweru to Pretoria. One of the crew members was so rough when we wanted to drop in Pretoria he scolded us like nobody’s business, so the bus dropped the 11 of us in Joburg Park Station.

The behaviour shown by the crew resembles the uncaring tendencies of Zanu (PF). Mr. Chikozho, sir, is this the Zanufication of your once superb bus service? Why do you receive our cash and fail to drop us at our respective destinations?

As if that is not enough, on the way the only recess was at an open space gents infront of the bus and ladies at the back. Ko unhu hwedu nhai vachikozho? How many decent toilet facilities along N1?

PHATSO WE SENGA, Pretoria

SABC Commentators’ bias

EDITOR, Whilst the Thabo Mbeki government’s affinity for the regime of Robert Mugabe is well-known, it is deplorable that the SABC emulates that bias in its coverage

of political matters in Zimbabwe. The reports emanating from SABC reporter in Zimbabwe, Thulasizwe Similane, and the interviews conducted by Sifiso Makwetla in recent week have been consistently negative towards the groundswell of popular opinion that Zimbabweans bravely expressed in the March 29 ballot.

 It is only when one consults other news sources such as East Coast Radio, eTV, CNN and the website of The Zimbabwean newspaper that a proper perspective on developments in Zimbabwe emerges. Despite overwhelming evidence of the extent to which Mugabe marginalised the democratic process in the run-up to the election, Makwetla and Similane continue to spout what is in effect Zanu (PF) propaganda about the so-called free and fair circumstances in which electioneering and the election took place.

They never reported that some 300 opposition rallies were forbidden by Mugabe’s police or that torture and physical abuse was meted out to opposition candidates and supporters or that the voters’ roll was in a deliberate shambles.

Despite the mood of jubilation amongst Zimbabweans at the evidence that Mugabe has been defeated, a fact made more obvious by the tyrant’s refusal to allow the presidential vote to be disclosed, Similane and Makwetla have remained cynically disposed to these realities. Time and time again they have trotted out blatant Zanu (PF) nonsense about why the tallying of the votes was so pedantic or why the High Court could not rule on the announcement of the presidential result.

The SABC is supposed to be a public broadcaster, not a propaganda arm of the Mbeki regime and its fawning posture towards Zanu (PF).

D. DU BOIS, Durban

 

Mbeki kowtowing to Mugabe

EDITOR, Events of the last week have proven that President Mugabe is absolutely desperate to be elected back into office and will resort to using violence and intimidation by the green bombers, the army and police, and every dirty trick in the book, to achieve his goal. Obviously he is terrified of being dragged off to The Hague to share a cell with Charles Taylor once he ceases to be head of state.  Constantine Chiwenga and Augustine Chihuri should be left in no doubt that they, too, will go to The Hague if they order their uniformed thugs to open fire on civilians.

Five more years of Mugabe’s brutal misrule would be absolutely disastrous for Zimbabwe. We’d be better off having a major earthquake instead. The one person above all others who has the power to prevent Mugabe from terrorising his way back into office is Thabo Mbeki.  He can make it clear to Mugabe that if he rigs a run-off election with Morgan Tsvangirai he will make it impossible for Mugabe to remain in office.

Apart from refusing to recognise Mugabe as head of state, he could cut off our electricity and liquid fuel supplies, close the border to all commercial rail and road traffic, even if it were routed through Botswana or Mozambique, and prevent the importation of food into Zimbabwe through South Africa, and there are other steps he could take to enforce his will.

It is time the two million or so Zimbabweans in South Africa, who loathe and detest Mugabe, stood up for themselves and their country and conveyed strongly to Mbeki the message that he has a choice:  either he prevents Mugabe from stealing the election, whether he likes it or not, or they will disrupt the 2010 World Cup and force its relocation to Australia.  It must be made crystal clear to Mbeki that this is not an idle threat, but that they REALLY WILL DO IT!

If Mbeki acts decisively to thwart Mugabe’s evil machinations, he will have the backing of all South Africans and the gratitude of the world, and also will dispel his image as a spineless wimp, who kowtows to Mugabe.

DELIVERANCE, Harare

 

How low can we go?

EDITOR, The word “crisis” is often overused, and quiet diplomacy has its rightful place, but Thabo Mbeki has clearly put personal friendship ahead of serving the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe when he says there is no crisis and appeals to quiet diplomacy in light of rapidly this deteriorating situation.  

How high must unemployment and hyperinflation become to declare a crisis?  How long should people await election results long overdue?  It is time for Mugabe to hear the voice of Cincinnatus and leave voluntarily for the good of his people’s future.

BIL, e-mail

 

Mayhem and violence in rural areas  

EDITOR, I am one person who had a wrong perception to why the rural folk were not prepared to vote for the opposition since 2000. But now I am convinced that their decision was right and those people are visionary and wiser than the so-called urbanites.

Why I am making this claim is because of the recent news that is flocking from the all the corners of the country that there is mayhem and violence after the defeat of Zanu (PF) in the rural areas.

If you compare the intolerance happening in urban areas and the rural areas you will note one different thing. In urban areas you will see that people are mostly beaten up after a provocation here and there and the police and army will start beating people indiscriminately but there is no way they can start beating people for voting against Mugabe.

In rural areas the fact that Zanu (PF) lost in that area it is a punishable offence that warrants beating or death. That is what is currently happening in our rural areas. I think our dear fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in the rural areas need some security against these thugs for them to vote freely. Take for example if Mt Darwin and UMP had let down Mugabe what could have happened to them now. I presume there could have been burials each and every day. People would have been massacred.

So guys let us stop blaming these folks unless we guarantee them some form of security after elections. We can not go their canvas for votes and later on leave them to be prosecuted by Zanu (PF) THUGS.

TICHATONGA, UK