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Message to the people of Zimbabwe
Morgan Tsvangirai, President: Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
2 September 2003
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I am aware that uncertainty, despair and despondency are causing havoc to
personal lives, personal safety and personal security for the majority of
Zimbabweans. I am aware of the anxiety and disquiet among most of you
arising from this seemingly unending political and economic crisis that has
befallen our nation and society.
When the MDC entered the political stage three years ago, many weary and
drained people in this country, then suffering from 19 years of violent
misrule and lost opportunities, thought their struggle was going to be
sharp
and swift.
Now that the struggle for a better life for all is dragging on, and given
the worsening poverty at all levels, we are witnessing points of
desperation
among some sections of our community. The people's welfare and basic needs
have been sacrificed for personal greed and ambition. If anything, the
condition of the majority has worsened since 1999 - thus making the call
for
change even more urgent.
Our feelings depended on the electoral system as a vehicle for achieving
change. We have since realized over the years that elections, and elections
alone, do not always guarantee freedom and change.
Zimbabwe needs a completely new political culture which allows for broader
participation and inclusion, working together with a genuinely free and
fair
electoral system, to entrench a deeper form of democracy and good
governance.
Events of the past weekend in which a significantly reduced number of
people
turned out to vote show that the majority seem to have begun to lose faith
in elections. They realize that as long as the national quest for an all
inclusive democratic culture and for comprehensive political change remain
an unfinished agenda the benefits from participating in these elections can
always be soiled by our opponents. An ideal situation is one in which
voting
results in a total and meaningful resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.
However, may I urge you to raise your heads high and soldier on. Apathy, in
spite of all the odds and the nasty experiences we have gone through, is
not
an option. All the little steps we take in our quest to build a new society
will add a fresh entry to our record of victories since February 2000. We
are moving fast towards the establishment of a democratic dispensation in
which justice, freedom, solidarity and development become a life-long goal.
Your national determination to see change in your towns and cities has
become a reality. I thank you.
In 1980, we won our independence. But we never got our freedom. Those who
assumed political power personalized our struggle. They believe they have a
monopoly over patriotism and therefore own this nation as their private
property. They created a ruling elite in direct contrast to the ideals
which
guided the liberation struggle. They continue to claim, wrongly, that only
those with direct liberation war credentials have a right to run and manage
public affairs on behalf of the state.
The tiny layer of opportunists in our midst was groomed and nursed through
a
system of political patronage, and has never been interested in a speedy
resolution of the current crisis. The reason is simple. They are benefiting
from the chaos. They have a class interest to see politics as war, to
subvert public institutions, to muzzle the media, to tamper with the
judiciary and to attack, often violently, any form of legitimate dissent.
Their plan is to loot as much as they can.
We face a regime that is completely frozen in its tracks. The regime has no
cash, no food, no friends, no fuel and no idea of how to get out the mess
it
created for itself.
Against local and international advice, the regime continues to shamble
along hoping that some miracle could win it the hearts and minds of a
beleaguered nation. Only dialogue can provide the intransigent regime with
a
window for redemption.
The majority have their strength in numbers. Use that power. Continue to
exert pressure on this regime to listen to you. Fight for your rights and
push Zanu PF to the negotiating table. And make sure that party remains on
that table until the issues haunting this country are ironed out.
On our part, we are not prepared to recognize the electoral fraud that took
place in March 2002. We are not withdrawing legal challenge. We will fight
to the bitter end until we realize our goals. We need change. We have never
sought to take over power for the sake of merely replacing Zanu PF. We need
to put a stop, once and for all, the practice of personalising a nation and
a people in order to suit a selfish agenda.
We seek to create a society where national values belong to all, where
national dreams and aspirations are realised, independently from the
partisan interests of a group in government or in politics at any given
time. We seek a society where our national diversity and differences are
acknowledged as assets. We value a society where all forms of intolerance
are discouraged and a nation where every person is equal before the law,
regardless of his or her social station. We must accept that democratic
tolerance and good governance have no substitutes if the country is going
to
position itself for sustainable development.
The MDC has always been committed to a smooth transition to a democratic
order. I am convinced that the transition to a new order cannot be far away
as the as the current situation has become totally unsustainable.
The challenges facing the party and indeed any new order are obviously
going
to be immense. The country will need a comprehensive reconstruction and
development agenda, which would need to be underwritten by the
international
community. We shall require significant amounts of humanitarian aid to
address current emergencies, including food and fuel shortages that have
overwhelmed us for some time now.
Once again, may I take this opportunity to thank you for your resolve to
realise change in Zimbabwe.
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