zimfinalpush
Mbeki must help us
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=2798
EDITOR — In many years of our political and socio-economic discussions, I have heard quite a number of people, particularly those from South Africa advising us that the problems of misgovernance that we face in our country can be solved by us Zimbabweans alone, and no one else.
A similar view has been recently expressed by your correspondent, G Armstrong who wrote from Ireland (The Financial Gazette March 28). Armstrong reckons we are not doing or saying anything at all. Are these people not being mean? Clearly, they do not understand that as a nation, we have been agonising for a very long time. We began raising our concerns and expressed our disquiet since the early eighties.
This was made clear by our overwhelming rejection of the draft constitution on February 12 2000. Since then, our agony has been aggravated by a myriad factors. The creation of repressive laws such as POSA, AIPPA, and the Broadcasting Services Act boded ill for our future. Further, we have been subjected to consistent state orchestrated violence which has, hitherto, been visited upon us and the defenceless women and children.
Violence and intimidation are commonplace in our country, despite the extent of our outcry. South Africans are aware of this because they have been observers of our elections since March of 1980.
I owe Morgan Tsvangirai and his party profound respect and gratitude for his bravery, but he cannot go it alone. Neither can his supporters or us as ordinary citizens. We need the support of our comrades, from within and around the SADC region.
South Africa and other countries in our neighbourhood insist that they are our comrades, but why are they allowing us to sink deeper into the current political and socio-economic crisis? Clearly, we are not asking for marriage, but we are simply saying quiet diplomacy does not work.
Our friends and/or genuine critics need to be told that our struggle is against those who wield not only power, but the entire state machinery. The opposition does not control the army, not least the police. So they are like democrats in a hostage situation. This manifested itself in recent attacks on the leaders of the opposition, supporters and their sympathisers. The situation is not so dissimilar to what happened during the Chimurenga war, against Ian Douglas Smith. Clearly, we can learn from our colonial past. In order to dislodge the Smith regime, the nationalist fighters did not go it alone; they had to get support, both in cash and kind from their comrades in the then Frontline states. Thabo Mbeki must have some sympathy for us and depart from the antiquated role of big brother and clarify his position to us and to the world.
Innocent Kadungure
Ottawa, Canada
Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now.
No comments:
Post a Comment