War Veterans Communique On State Of Zimbabwe And Immediate Full Withdrawal Of Support For Mugabe

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WAR VETERANS’, COMMUNTQUE ON THE STATE OF ZIMBABWE’S ECONOMY, THE ZANU (PF) PARTY LEADERSHIP AND THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE, AND WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT FOR MUGABE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.
There are problematic issues that have caused concern and restlessness to Zimbabwe’s War Veterans. As a result, the War Veterans from the country’s ten provinces, including all district chairpersons and representatives from all economic and other sectors, decided to meet and deliberate on these issues, on this, the 21st day of July 2016. Following that meeting, it has been unanimousty resolved to issue this communique..
 
 
1. Recalling the ideals of the National Liberation Struggle in which the blood of
the departed heroes was shed in order to address the National question;
 
2. Reaffirming the Founding Provisions in Chapter 1 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Zimbabwe, in particular Section 3 thereof, which enunciates the supremacy of the Constitution; the rule of law; the fundamenta! human rights and freedoms; good governance; as well as the entrenched recognition of, and respect for, the liberation struggle;
 
3. Remembering the heroic success struggle,culminating in the birth of Zimbabwe,thereby igniting in our new better life in the New Zimbabwe; of the national Iiberation our Republic, the Republic of nation and people, hopes for a
 
4. We, the surviving Veterans of the War of Liberation, secure in the historical support that we cultivated selflessly among the broad masses of Zimbabwe, make this statement, to spell out our disappointment, and those of the broad masses and working people of Zimbabwe, at what is clearly ZANU (PF)’s abhorable and poor leadership, and toarticulate the wishes of the
broad masses, together with the working people of this great country.
 
5.The ZANU (PF) Party Leadership has dismally failed to use the resounding
mandate given to it in the 2013 general election, to address the economic p
problems that have beset our great nation since independence from British
rule.
 
Wenote, with concern, shock and dismay, the systematic entrenchment of
dictatorial tendencies,personified by the President and his cohorts, which P
have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle in utter disregard
of the Constitution, as demonstrated by the following:
a) The deliberate neglect and abandonment, by the Party President,of
the masses, who are the foundation upon which the liberation war
was fought and won, and who have, thereby, become the bedrock of
the Party. Suddenly, ideologically bankrupt million man marches are
being organized in honour of bankrupt leadership! The same
leadership has failed to address the bread and butter issues which
stick out like a sore thumb.
 
 
The systematic decimation of the party political structures through
which the militarizedand mobilized veterans prosecuted the struggle.
When Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe arrived in Mozambique, he walked in to join those of us who were already armed and prosecuting the war as politicalsoldiers. He was not the President of the Party ZANU (PF), but we made him so, thinking he was one of us. Our decision to make him the President of ZANU (PF) was accepted here at home, regionally by the Frontline States, and internationally.
The President forgets that his release from JAIL was not out of
.sympathy by his jailers, but because of our war effort.
 
 
That is why, after his release, he joined us. Yet, today, he refers to us as irrelevant! This depicts the President’s lifetime character of always manipulating situations, and delineatingothers from vantage
positions for his personal interests. Examples abound:
None of the President’s political colleagues in prison have
benefitted from Zimbabwe’s independence the way he has, as
he has put all his effort in sidelining them;
 
The President’s systematic elimination of those in the
struggle’s leadership in Mozambique, and his continued
outfoxing of colleagues in leadership after independence up to
this day, is unmistaken;
The current situation, whereby the Party is fragmented with
formations, so-called factions, is clearly the President’s project,
again to outfox his peers in leadership;
 
The President has always thrived on divide and rule tactics in
order to protect his party presidential position, each time he
has felt threatened. Examples go a long way to preindependence.
However, recent examples are of interest,
where the Gamatox faction was created out of nowhere, its socalled
members being charged with all sorts of crimes,
including treason.
 
Then followed new creations, the President’S
own G40 to look after his interests, and some Lacoste, a label
of those who might be in positions to challenge the President.
Typical of this president, he has mobilizedthose of his Gamatox
nemesis to boost his G40 project, rewarding them with all
sorts of gifts, including ministerial posts, despite the charges
originally made against them.
 
After independence, the Party’s successes at elections have always
been predicated on our political campaigns. To date, the Party still
remains strong in the rural areas, yet the Party President thinks we
have no right to challenge his bigoted political views in terms of
which we should be restricted to discussing welfare issues when he
has turned the party into his personal project where expulsions are
the only known agenda.
 
His persecution, decimation and expulsion of War Veteran members
from the Party under his watch are legendary. From the days of the
liberation struggle to date, history records that his egocentric
approach to party and national politics has led to the demise of many a party member, on flimsy grounds. We say not anymore! Never again shall we allow him such free reign.
 
As War Veterans, we are dismayed by the President’s tendency to
indulge, in his usual vitriol against perceived enemies, including
peaceful protesters,as well as War Veterans, when the economy is on its knees. He has a lot to answer for the serious plight of the national economy. His distaste and disregard of divergent views is
unfathomable and must be stopped. We are dedicated to stop this
rot which he has nursed over time, to everyone’s disgust.
 
The labeling of peaceful War Veterans as dissidents induces in us a
sense of shock, dismay and revulsion inlight of the history of the
1980’s. lt will be recalled that our fellow War Veterans and masses in
the western region suffered brutal purges which only the Unity
Accord pacified. Particularly worrisome in this context is the fact
that, whilst the man has dismissed that sad period as “a moment of
madness”, such language belies his insincerity in the Unity Accord. He
should be extending an honestly remorseful regret over this foul
deed, yet he appears to extol this as some macabre virtue. His
continued resort to genocidal language should worry every right
thinking citizen as to his true nature.
 
This is unacceptable to the memories of those who perished during that time. We need not remind the Party President and First Secretary that respect for those in leadership should not be equated to fear. We do not subscribe to the idea of unbridled exercise of power without consultation, where threats of genocidal magnitude are made against us.
 
He should be reminded that he remains the major beneficiary of
the Nationat War effort at every stage including the Unity Accord. He
has used the privilege of leadership to build a patronage system
around him, which has turned into a personality cult. lt therefore
shocks us to the core that, gauging from his recent statements, he
now wishes to turn the present young generation against us for his
own continued personal aggrandizement.
 
The Land Reform Programme, which was a historical culmination of the
valiant tiberation struggle, made more land available to the State. The
President and his hangers-on, to our utter dismay, now uses that land as
reward for his foot soldiers, who have become his personal mercenaries.
 
These mercenaries, strangely, are getting urban land as reward for
destroying the War Veterans’ legacy and the Party and, with it, the
national heritage. We stand firm and resolute in the defence of that
legacy. The tragic consequences for the hare-brain decisions are there for the nation to see.
His leadership has presided over unbridled corruption and downright
mismanagement of the economy, leading to national economic
ruin for which the effects are now felt throughout the land.
‘
Thetack of leadership manifests itself in the following examples:-
. The multiple ZESA scandals;
 
o Netone;
o ZINARA;
o ZISCO;
NRZ;
ZUPCO;
Hwange Colliery;
Chiadzwa diamond fields;
Public management and financial scandals replete in numerous
Comptroller and Auditor-General’s Reports;
Proliferation of land barons through systematic land-grabbing
by those in positions of authority;
Youth fund;
Housing fund;
 
Parceling out urban land on partisan grounds thereby
rendering urban authorities irrelevant;
Distribution of national assets at Party rallies thereby depriving
deserving development priorities;
Commandeering and frog-marching parastatals’ financial
resources to fund party political functions to the detriment of
the public purse and public welfare.
 
The above instances demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that
the party leader has absolutely no clue as to the difference between
public funds earned from taxation of the people, and private
individual income. lt is our sacred duty as the vanguard of the people
to speak out against these instances of maladministration and
misrule.
 
This rot needs to be uprooted, and right now.
We noted with regret that when some of us peacefully gathered
around Harare, the leadership unashamedly and in humiliating
fashion, tear-gassed and water-cannoned us for no reason.
Regrettably, the general citizenry has previously been subjected to
this inhuman and degrading treatment without a word of disapproval
from us. That time has passed. We wish to categorically condemn the brutal suppression of the freedom of expression, whether “t?
exercised by ourselves or by anyone else.
 
We therefore abhor instances where the instruments of State power have been used to
brutalize private citizens who share our desire to exercise our
constitutionally entrenched rights and freedoms. As the vanguard of
the liberation struggle we categorically reject the notion that those
expressing views different to those that we hold are agents of foreign powers or agents and therefore enemies of the State. This notion,which to us is a diversionary tactic, contemptuously implies that Zimbabweans lack the capacity to rationalize issues; think through their problems and take decisive action against clear evidence of misrule.
 
lnstruments of State power in the hands of a responsible
administration remain constitutionally bound to defend and uphold
the Constitution, the rule of law and defend the sovereignty of the
Republic of Zimbabwe. We therefore condemn the use of excessive
force by the State against the citizens who were peacefully exercising their right to demonstrate against poor governance. We demand that those who exceeded the call of duty be held accountable in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.We further demand that the State and all its actors respect, promote, protect and uphold our Constitution.
 
ln view of the above, we the veterans of Zimbabwe’s war of
liberation, together with our toiling masses, hereby declare that
henceforth, in any forthcoming elections, will not support such a
leader who has presided over untold suffering of ‘the general
population for his own personal aggrandizement and that of his
cronies. source-newsday

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