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Address at the national dedication programme towards healing, reconciliation and integration
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
July 24, 2009

Your Excellency, President Robert Mugabe, Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara, Vice President Mujuru, Deputy Prime Minister Khupe, Ministers from the Organ of National Healing, Other Government Ministers and Senior Officials, Traditional Leaders, Civic Leaders, Ambassadors, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;

I stand before you today at the beginning of what will be a long but essential journey to heal our nation.

There can be no short cuts on this journey and no easy way to deal with the pain and suffering that has been experienced by so many of our people. The methods that will be employed for this essential process cannot be prescriptive or imposed upon the people, but must be chosen and endorsed by the people if we are going to achieve the goal of truly healing our nation.

These three days of dedication must herald the beginning of a genuine, open and frank process that includes and incorporates the concept of transitional justice, truth and accepting responsibility for the hurt and pain inflicted upon so many Zimbabweans.

There can be no truth without justice. And no justice without truth.

National Healing cannot occur without justice and justice must be done, as well as be seen to be done. There can be no room or tolerance for retribution as retribution perpetuates the cycle of oppression and suffering.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Organ for National Healing has been charged with undertaking a process of grassroots consultation, together with civil society, to define the form and content of our restorative programme. It must be the people that define the period of time to be reviewed in our National Healing programme.

Zimbabwe has suffered so many phases of trauma, upheaval and conflict that there must be agreement on defining the scope of the healing process. We cannot attempt to address one period of conflict to the exclusion of others. If this process is going to lead towards genuinely healing our nation, we must be inclusive in the scope of the programme.

We must look back resolutely to the pre-independence era, the post independence Matabeleland massacres and the more recent political violence that has torn at the fabric of our society. Many of our people have suffered under each of the phases of our evolution to the Zimbabwe that exists today.

As citizens, we all have a role to play in standing up and taking responsibility for our actions. Today's victims may be yesterday's perpetrators and vice versa. We cannot shy away from either our collective or individual responsibility for historic trauma or for the state of our nation today.

In examining how best to heal our nation, we must learn not just from our past, but from the examples of our other countries and other nations that have undergone similar trauma and have sought to unite their nation through truth, justice and forgiveness.

We owe it to all the victims of the violence that has periodically swept our nation to ensure that there is a platform and process that will allow them to begin the process of healing.

Such a process can take many years if it is to be relevant and effective in ensuring that we can move forward as a nation and as a people. In addition to the three principles of truth, justice and forgiveness, we must openly discuss the issue of reparations. While it may not be possible to undo what has been done, it is sometimes possible to assist the victim to move on and rebuild a life that has been shattered.

If these days of National Dedication are to herald the start of a genuine process of National Healing then we, as leaders, must make an unequivocal call to all our peoples and to all our supporters for an immediate cessation of violence, persecution and lawlessness.

As I stand here today, a young woman lies in hospital in Harare after having been brutally assaulted merely for being a member of a political party. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. We cannot begin a healing process while simultaneously allowing the perpetuation of injustice and a culture of persecution and impunity.

As leaders we must ensure that there is no cover-up of past wrongs. We owe it to the many thousands of victims to ensure that our programme of National Healing is effective in addressing past wrongs in order to move towards a future of peace and prosperity.

The Global Political Agreement recognizes the urgent need for a process of National Healing to help our people regain confidence in national institutions.

While it is gratifying that today's event marks yet another facet of implementation of the GPA, there remain too many aspects of that crucial agreement that are yet to be implemented or adhered to by all the parties - this undermines the confidence in, and potential effectiveness of, any programme of National Healing.

As a nation we cannot hope to promote equality, national healing, cohesion and unity while abusing the rule of law, ignoring the right to free political activity, freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression and communication.

While we are embarking on this process of National Healing, the state media continues to propagate hate speech and political divisions through the publishing of blatant lies and deliberate distortions. Media reports that question the relative patriotism of any Zimbabwean undermine confidence in the new political dispensation. This too must cease immediately if we are to heal our nation.

While there is cooperation and communication at the top of the political spectrum, this is not cascading down the party structures, fueling the fires of distrust, disrespect and disregard for the commitments that we have made to rebuild our nation, write a new, people-driven constitution and hold free and fair elections.

Indeed, it is the environment in which these elections are held that will by the ultimate measurement of success for this process of National Healing. Will the next elections be held in a culture of tolerance, respect for the rights of the individual and the rule of law?

Will government institutions act with impartiality, openness and accountability and will the police serve to protect the people rather than persecute them? This will be the ultimate test of whether, today we are embarking on this process in a genuine attempt to address and right the wrongs of the past, or whether we are merely trying to pay lip service to the ideals of National Healing without taking responsibility for our actions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, too many Zimbabweans have paid the ultimate price by standing up for the ideals of democracy and self-determination during our country's history. Too many Zimbabweans have lost love ones, suffered horrific violence and persecution and lost possessions and the means to make a living for this process of National Healing to be anything but genuine, frank and honest. Zimbabweans demand and deserve a process that embodies the principles of truth, justice and forgiveness.

I call upon all Zimbabweans, as well as the supporters of the MDC, to engage in this process of National Healing, to stand by our ideals of peaceful, democratic change and to move forward with me, my party and our Government in rebuilding our country and healing our nation.

I thank you.

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