Necessary to Treasure Zim's Freedom
- From: "Gregory Elich" <gelich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 00:01:44 GMT
The Herald (Harare)
August 8, 2005
NECESSARY TO TREASYRE ZIM'S FREEDOM
By Nyasha Musariri
Harare
Today, August 8, Zimbabweans from all walks of life will gather at the
National Heroes Acre to commemorate the lives of gallant sons and
daughters of the soil who selflessly sacrificed their lives so that we
could enjoy freedom and independence.
Heroes Day calls for much more than reminiscing over the lives of our
heroes.
President Mugabe said during the 2001 Heroes Day commemorations: "This
is a day we have set aside not just to remember all those who have gone
before us and have died for our independence and sovereignty. It is also
a day to reflect on the arduous, tortuous, in fact bloody road we have
walked to get to this day and to our present national circumstances."
This day offers the nation the opportunity to reflect on the past with a
view to paving the way for the future.
This momentous event should serve as a reminder to all Zimbabweans that
the challenges facing our country are surmountable if we adopt the
revolutionary spirit inherent in our heroes.
We were once under the siege of a colonial regime, but our courageous
and determined forebears took up arms and waged a protracted liberation
war, which culminated in victory in 1980.
The book, "The Guide to the Heroes Acre" acknowledges that our war of
liberation was the "epic of the revolutionary spirit".
The question that remains for all Zimbabweans today is, are we able to
emulate this revolutionary spirit in light of the challenges Zimbabwe is
currently facing?
The revolutionary spirit is needed now more than ever as we are fighting
a different war, our former colonisers have changed their strategies,
but the objective remains the same - neo-colonialism.
Our land reform programme has prompted in the words of political
scientist James Petras "US-engineered civil society revolutions and
soft-coups" that have been "more effective than actual war in asserting
US control."
Gregory Elich wrote that "any nation that embarks on a path diverging
from Western corporate interests finds itself the target of
destabilisation, sanctions and intervention."
The so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, a sanctions
law passed by the US government in 2001, states that sanctions will
remain in place against the Zimbabwe Government until the US president
certifies that the "rule of law has been restored in Zimbabwe."
This is the way Westerners assault and undermine our rights as a
sovereign nation.
However, our heroes both living and dead have shown that we are a nation
of fighters.
As Zimbabweans, we are our own liberators in every sphere, be it
political, economic and/or social.
Today, we are under an attempted Western siege, to date the siege has
come unstuck against our revolutionary spirit that brought us
independence and sovereignty in 1980 and will certainly ensure victory
for our beloved nation again.
However, cowardice and opportunism became the forte of some Zimbabweans
who left to become economic refugees in Western countries where they are
treated as second-class citizens.
In Britain alone, thousands of Zimbabweans are engaged in menial jobs in
spite of the fact that they hold better qualifications than some Britons
in high paying jobs.
Some of these Zimbabweans entered Britain under false pretences and are
even resisting deportation by concocting more lies and threatening to
starve themselves to death, claiming that they will be persecuted if
they return home.
Ironically, Britain, which once encouraged these misguided Zimbabweans,
has now changed its stance and certified that Zimbabwe is safe for
failed asylum seekers.
Some of the Zimbabweans did not run away but have allowed themselves to
be used by the West to denounce their own country and destabilise it.
Their activities are funded by the West, which has never hidden the fact.
The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act empowers the US
president under the US foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to support
so-called "democratic institutions, the free Press and independent media."
These Zimbabweans have been given funding to finance their sell-out
activities; some of which make our brave and selfless heroes turn in
their graves.
All is not lost, however, as the revolutionary spirit shown by our
heroes manifested itself in the reclamation of our own economic
resources principally land.
The land reform programme rectified a historical imbalance and ensured
equitable distribution of this vital resource.
Once again, war veterans led the way and showed us how to be our own
liberators.
Today, a total of 140 866 families have been resettled on 2 611 farms
under the A1 model and 14 500 people have been resettled on 2 331 farms
under the A2 scheme.
All this was initiated and achieved amid strong opposition from the West
which unleashed a rabid anti-Zimbabwe campaign in an attempt to effect
illegal regime change.
One writer, Stephen Gowans wrote that allegations of electoral fraud are
used by the West as a basis for inciting mass protests and civil
disobedience to discredit and force governments to resign in the
developing world.
Since the dawn of the new millennium, Zimbabwe has held two
parliamentary elections in 2000 and 2005 and presidential elections in
2002, all of which were demonised by Western countries.
Gowans says that to simplify propaganda requirements and to portray the
target government as undemocratic, the US State Department uses a hoary
tactic that dates back to World War 1, and which reduces the target
government to one person.
This person is then readily demonised, with a view to alienating him or
her from the rest of the country.
In Zimbabwe, this western-backed demonisation campaign has found takers
only among the converted, few Zimbabweans have been swayed by it.
This is why Zanu-PF under the leadership of President Mugabe
convincingly won three polls (two parliamentary and one presidential)
against the MDC.
These victories sent a loud and clear message that the Zimbabwean
revolutionary spirit still endures.
Our economy has been under intense pressure due to the unjust sanctions
imposed by our detractors.
The Zimbabwean economy used to be a model economy, regarded highly in
Western circles.
All this changed after Zimbabwe adopted the Economic Structural
Adjustment Programme (Esap) at the instigation of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund in 1991.
Esap was followed by the Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social
Transformation (Zimprest) in 1996.
These ill-advised economic prescriptions coupled with the unjust western
sanctions almost brought our economy to its knees.
Thankfully, the Government ditched these programmes before it was too
late and focus is now on using homegrown initiatives to turn around the
economy.
It is pleasing that Zimbabweans are showing great determination to
revive the economy against all odds.
Inflation, which reached an all time high of 622 percent in January
2004, has dropped to 164 percent, with predictions that it will be at
double-digit levels by the end of the year. The Zimbabwean economy is
agro-based and the Government continues to support the agricultural
sector in spite of the persistent dry spells of the past four seasons.
The Look East Policy, which has mitigated the effects of western
sanctions, continues to bear fruits.
As we celebrate the selfless sacrifices made by the sons and daughters
of Zimbabwe today, those of us who wavered should rededicate themselves
to the revolutionary spirit that has always prevailed against detractors.
Such luminaries as President Mugabe, the late Vice-Presidents - Joshua
Nkomo and Simon Muzenda - the late supremos Josiah Tongagara, Herbert
Chitepo and Lookout Masuku, to mention just a few, all want us to forge
ahead and never give up.
We should never be the generation that reverses the gains of the
liberation struggle.
Posterity will judge us harshly, if we give in just because we have
encountered a few stumbling blocks in our path to total freedom and
independence, when the heroes we honour today overcame mountains to give
us freedom.
.
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