Forthcoming Public Meetings – CALLING ON ALL ZIMBABWEANS TO ATTEND:
• Woking – 29th October 2011 from 11 am to 6 pm. Venue: Owen House, Heathside Crescent, Woking, GU22 7AG
• Wolverhampton – 5th November 2011 (time and venue to be advised)
• You can also talk to Zimbabwe We Can officials at the Zimbabwe Vigil which runs from 2 – 6m every Saturday outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand London WC2.
Here are some facts to think about:
Zimbabwe today is characterised by hate speech, arbitrary arrests, wanton intimidation, systematic violence, endemic fear and a general lack of freedom and democracy. Zimbabwe is a broken nation – politically, tribally, by location and even the Inclusive Government is broken and malfunctioning. The political environment is polarised and the inclusive government has failed to stop the suffering and to create a favourable environment for a free and fair election. Zanu PF remains firmly in control of all coercive instruments and the affairs of the State. With their unbridled power, they continue to wreak havoc on defenceless citizens and terrorise populations. All the MDC can do is to continue to hope for salvation from SADC and South African President Jacob Zuma. But ZANU PF remains a law unto itself. No wonder the Zimbabwe crisis has continued for more than a decade without any solution in sight. Remember how PF ZAPU was hoodwinked into joining ZANU PF and used and annihilated. ZANU PF leadership only thinks of itself and not the rest of us. This is a dire situation which calls for urgent and drastic measures. We can stop the rot, the nonsense and reclaim our destiny!
Violence and repression have worked well for these self-imposed leaders in the past 30 years but not anymore. During a tour of Chinhoyi University of Technology’s Hunyani Farm, defence minister Emmerson Munangagwa recently dismissed as wishful thinking any possible revolt against Robert Mugabe and any suggestions that Zimbabweans could stage an uprising similar to those in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. In his remarks he vowed to crush any uprising. Simply put, Zanu PF is not ready to listen to the voice of the Zimbabwe people. Munangagwa’s talk and that of his colleagues is the talk of dictators and can only be accepted by people with a slave mentality. The time for futile grumblings and self-pity is over; it’s time to say we can deliver a free Zimbabwe for all.
Examples abound of fallen brutal dictatorships around the world. Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, Sani Abacha of Nigeria, Idi Amin of Uganda, P W Botha of South Africa, the ousted General Noriega of Panama, Ian Smith of Rhodesia remind us of yester-year dictatorships. In recent times the Arab spring has delivered even more casualties in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and in Yemen, Syria and other countries, the people’s armour of faith and weapons of hope and passion continue to rage towards more and greater victories. In Smith’s Rhodesia, we remember him remarking about black rule: ‘not in a thousand years’. We salute these great nations for rising up to the challenge and we believe Zimbabweans are equally capable and patriotic about their country. We watch in admiration as the people of Libya finalise the collapsing of the last vestiges of tyranny to claim total and real change. Gaddafi continues to run scared.
Forget the excuses of cowards – the same is possible with Zimbabwe today. The people of Zimbabwe have spoken again and again, at each and every election since the referendum of 2000. In 2008, Mugabe needed more than a month to fix the presidential result only by imposing his will on the people. He rubbished the people’s verdict on his illegitimate and corrupt rule and the victorious MDC were persuaded to join him. Today, both parties have professed to the malfunctioning of the inclusive government but because of convenience and privilege, they are not willing to let go. Daily, the nation watches the unabated plunder of natural resources and pursuit of suicidal economic policies by their rulers. But how does one explain the levels of poverty, unemployment, poor access to healthcare, the suffering in a land of such plenty. It’s the filthy rich political elite who are prepared to maim and kill to maintain their lavish lifestyles. Failure of leadership means we still find ourselves in the trenches 10 years after the second struggle started. Like PF ZAPU before it, the MDC is now on the gravy train. Zimbabwe risks the scourge of being labelled a failed state if we do not take collective action now.
It is time that Zimbabweans, at home and abroad, stand shoulder to shoulder and declare that WE CAN set ourselves free. With one purpose and a single voice WE CAN be an unstoppable force. WE CAN tear down the walls of tyranny, corruption and oppression. WE CAN fashion a Zimbabwe that is governed on a path of prosperity and success in a peaceful and democratic way, where civil liberties, self-development and local empowerment, unity in love and respect for our own values are paramount, where the dignity and security of person is at the heart of our democracy and peace. We the People have the power; let’s unleash it to claim our rightful place in the history of our great nation. Democracy is in the hands of the people. Freedom is the hands of the people. The Vision is with the people. The dream lies with the people. Change is with the people. The longer we wait and the longer we conform, the longer we are enslaved.
Post published in: News