Hope on Zimbabwe’s Independence Day
It is Zimbabwe’s Independence Day today, but rather than living in a state of freedom and independence, Zimbabweans are trapped in an interregnum.
These elections are different from all the previous elections that have been rigged by Mugabe because we know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we have proof we have won. We also know that most of the world believes we have won too.
The international legitimacy that Mugabe craves and needs to economically survive has been lost to him forever. The political dynamic has shifted into a different phase. For the first time, the freedom loving forces in our country visibly have the upper hand, and it is Zanu PF and Mugabe who are scrabbling, violently, to retain control.
Our twilight period is banded at both ends with the faint glow of hope: the hope we felt when we cast our ballots and the hope we still have for the future we have voted for.
We have to find a way to get through this darkening phase as Mugabe cranks up his war against his own people. The conditions in our country are worsening by the day.
Yesterday we received leaked information from a member of the defence forces, outlining Mugabe’s run-off election campaign. (Please note, the votes haven’t been declared and the run-off announced, but Mugabe is ‘campaigning’ already).
Last night we watched the bribery phase kick into action on State TV news, with the announcement of funded projects in previously ignored rural areas; before that we heard reports of activists being harassed and arrested around the country; this morning we woke up to news and emails from people around and outside the county desperately telling us personal stories of violence and intimidation.
Mugabe is accelerating his war against his own people.
Those of us who are able to have been following South African media reports of a Chinese ship that has arrived in Durban with a consignment of weapons – Mugabe’s run-off campaign materials – destined for Zimbabwe. We are not a country at war; those bullets have our civilian names on them.
We receive emails from around the world asking us ‘What is wrong with the Zimbabwean people?’ and ‘Why don’t they do something?’
We HAVE done something: Zimbabweans follow the rule book that goes hand in hand with an incredible belief in democracy and our right to freedom and a peaceful existence. We live and act out those noble principles despite intolerable conditions.
Zimbabweans struggle to register to vote despite all efforts by the regime to deny us that right. We turnout in large numbers on election day. We queue for hours to vote – sometimes we even sleep in the queue the night before to make sure we don’t miss the chance. When our vote is stolen we turn to the courts of law, not to violence. And when that fails, we still resist violence and hope that the region and the international community will take measures to ensure our human rights are protected.
On our Independence Day, we hope that the world will recognise that the Zimbabwean people are doing everything that they can to resist the African cliché that African nations can only solve problems through violence, and that Mugabe is doing everything he can to twist our country into the most grotesque version of the cliché possible.
If Zimbabwe turns into a cauldron of terror and blood, it will not be because the Zimbabwean people –citizens of Africa – are incapable of understanding or believing in democracy.
It will be because the ‘point man’ in our crisis – Thabo Mbeki – has failed in his mandate to do what is necessary to honour the will of the people. It will be because the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has failed to enforce its own standards and principles governing democratic elections in the region, and because the rest of Africa did not do their part either.
Zimbabweans are way ahead of the regions’ leaders. Despite everything that has been thrown at us, we live the principles they claim to uphold and we present them with a challenge to ensure our country isn’t destroyed and the dream of democracy can bloom.
It is Independence Day and we have never been more proud of the Zimbabwean people or more committed to ensuring that the freedom and justice we all deserve will one day be ours.
How can our future ever be anything other than glorious given the incredible dignity and character of the people who make up our country?
We have a lot to hope for and much to look forward to.
A shorter version of this blog was published on The Independent’s, Open House blog: link to post here
April 18th, 2008 20:08
My country, Ireland, is small on the world stage, but our own history makes us sensitieve to the plight of other countries struggling for freedom.
The Irish Foreign Minister, Dermot Ahern, has issued the following statement:
Department of Foreign Affairs Press Release
Press Office, Iveagh House, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Condemns Repression of Opposition in Zimbabwe
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern, T.D., has strongly condemned reports of violence and intimidation directed against opposition supporters by security forces in Zimbabwe, following the continuing failure to release final presidential election results in that country.
“We have received credible reports of increased violence and intimidatory tactics being directed by Zimbabwean security forces against supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change and other opposition supporters, as the political crisis in Zimbabwe deepens. This yet again highlights the need for the final results of the presidential election held on 29 March to be released immediately, in order to allay the very real concerns that an attempt is underway to subvert the democratic verdict of the Zimbabwean electorate.”
Noting the important role which Zimbabwe’s neighbours can play in helping to resolve the current crisis, Minister Ahern added: “I very much welcome the clear call made by the extraordinary Summit of SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) leaders on 13 April for the final results to be issued expeditiously and urging strict compliance with the rule of law and SADC’s own principles for the conduct of democratic elections. I equally welcome the similar call which has been made by the Secretary General of the United Nations.”
“All this is a very clear recognition of the major political crisis now unfolding within Zimbabwe and its implications for democratic governance within the broader Southern Africa region. The Government, both nationally and at EU level, intends to continue working closely with our partners in Africa and all those in the wider international community committed to working for the political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe which become more urgent with each passing day.”
April 18th, 2008 20:52
Kevin: I understand exactly what you mean when you say “our own history makes us sensitive to the plight of other countries struggling for freedom”. I don’t think I could ever be blind to the suffering of others after all we have gone through.
Hope
April 18th, 2008 21:12
I was there today i stood up to be counted.
Outside the very closed Zimbabwe embassy London.
the atmosphere was uplifting hope and happiness dancing hand in hand
to the sound of bongo drums.
If this is the way Zimbabweans act when they are suppressed then it will be some party the day
Be a mug departs.
Yes In the eyes of the whole world he is a Mug.
Bob you can fool some of the people some of the time but can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
another one for you
WHEN YOUR WRONG YOU CANNOT BE STRONG.
April 19th, 2008 14:22
Thanks to the efforts of Satawu, South African civil society, and a court which is willing to hold the government to account, the Arms ship has left South African waters apparently bound for Beira in Mozambique. We all need to encourage our Mozambican friends to take similar steps to those taken here in South Africa to ensure that the arms are not allowed to pass through Mozambique. It is time too to lobby our friends in cities where the Olympic torch parade is yet to take place to aid the issue of Chinese arms for the Mugabe regime to China’s other human rights atrocities. Just as pressure from civil society around the world ultimately brought the old South African government to its senses, it is time for civil society around the world to stand up for the downtrodden people of Zimbabwe. Please encourage anyone that you may know in Mozambique, in Portugal, and in Australia where the Olympic torch has yet to make its appearance to stop the shipment of arms to Mugabe’s regime.