Full text of Tsvangirai's 'Message to the People of Zimbabwe'

Full text of Tsvangirai's 'Message to the People of Zimbabwe'

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10/03/04
As the crisis in Zimbabwe deepens and chances for early political settlement remain elusive, we are concerned with the rising scale of violence and brutality as the regime intensifies the closure of our democratic space.

For the past five years, the Mutable regime has lost its campaign against the work and growth of the MDC. Having failed to destroy the party, the regime has now intensified its traditional use of violence as a means of survival.

The politics of violence is, once again, causing untold suffering and anxiety among the people. Despite the people’s disapproval of the training of youth militias and their use as a brutal tool against a desperate and hungry population, the regime has ignored these calls for sanity and patriotism.

Reports of increased acts of lawlessness abound. Cases of state-sponsored violence are rising daily – worsened by prospects for a general election next year. This dictatorial style of governance blossomed about five years ago through the deployment of rogue war veterans in areas where Zanu PF has lost support. It was subsequently perfected through a systematic abuse of hungry youths through the so-called national service programme.

Today thousands of our children are trapped in government and Zanu PF camps, receiving training in terror.

The idea is to turn them into a totally wicked generation, a generation without hope, a generation without morals, and a generation devoid of a conscience.

What is particularly frightening is the high level of HIV infection in these camps. The regime is effectively sentencing these youths to death.

Those who graduated earlier roam the countryside, armed with terror weapons, in search of their parents and brothers and sisters whose simple cry is for good governance in their land of birth.

The regime spent the last five years testing the advancement and effectiveness of violence which it perceives to be a winning formula.

Whenever there is an election, whether local or national, members of the youth militia are deployed to set bases and terrorise the population.

Just about two weeks ago, my family and I were attacked as we passed through Chivhu on our way to Buhera. Our attempt to launch our campaign in Zengeza, Chitungwiza on Sunday, 7 March 2004, was disrupted by a group of about 300 Zanu PF militia, who have set up bases in Zengeza ahead of the March 27 and 28 by-election.

The Zanu PF youths invaded the venue, attacked MDC supporters and took away part of the equipment that was to be used at the rally. They damaged two MDC vehicles.

We will defeat and drive out Zanu PF in the Zengeza constituency. We maintain, however, that our bleeding nation needs to change the manner in which elections are conducted in Zimbabwe. We cannot understand why the Mugabe regime believes that any election must always assume the form of a war on the people.

Internationally, the depth of the tyranny and the abuse of young boys and girls in line with Mugabe’s desire to hang on to power are now clear following recent foreign media reports.

For the avoidance of doubt, the reports were beamed on television and widely published and circulated in international newspapers, complete with photographs and recorded testimonies from some of the perpetrators of violence.

The heightened use of violence as a coercive tool to deny the legitimate registration of the people’s voice in any plebiscite is anathema to the basic principles of democracy.

Zimbabwe can never be accepted in the family of nations as long as the sovereign will of the people is distorted through such backward forms of political corruption.

Against this background, the MDC through the national executive has resolved to reserve the party’s right to take part in the 2005 Parliamentary election unless there is genuine commitment from the Mugabe regime to run the polls in accordance with universally accepted norms and standards.

We are on the final stage of our struggle. We are aware of the dangers and tactics of dying dictatorships. We remain vigilant.

A broad-based alliance of democratic forces is putting the final touches to a comprehensive programme of rolling mass action designed to push the regime to the long awaited negotiated settlement.

Details of the intensive programme of democratic activity will be made public in due course. Such a plan will succeed in bring back Zimbabwe to a conducive climate for a legitimately free and fair election.

In the meantime, we stand ready for the day when a genuine election takes place to enable the majority to shape their destiny in a totally violence-free society. The party has revised and fine-tuned its governance agenda and programme. We are ready to govern.

Morgan Tsvangirai
President
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