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Crisis Report - Issue 235
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
November 05,
2013
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Truth
telling vital in national healing
Civil society
has strongly voiced the need for truth-telling as a requisite for
holistic national healing, peace and reconciliation following a
National Peace and Reconciliation Conference that ran from 28 October
to 31 October under the auspices of the annual Ideas Festival in
Bulawayo.
The Reconciliation
Conference was organised by Bulawayo Agenda in conjunction with
the Church and Civil Society Forum (CCSF) and was attended by over
70 delegates representing the churches, civic society, academia
and media who all concurred that there is need for a commission
on National Healing to be set up so as to lay the past to rest,
especially on issues that have haunted the nation since independence.
Wadzanai Vere
of the CCSF and Women’s
Coalition of Zimbabwe, in her speech on working together towards
a national peace framework which dwelt on key areas of consensus
on process, content and structure, said:
“…the
civil society, churches and government have a mandate to strengthen
localised mechanisms or systems of truth telling and peace building.”
Meanwhile in
a speech presented on her behalf, S Zembe who is the Principal Director
for Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration (ONHRI)
echoed the same sentiments on peace building.
“It is
my belief that the ideas which we are going to impart to each other,”
Zembe said, “will strengthen our capabilities as individuals,
churches, civil society, academia, business people, ministers of
the word of God, religious leaders and influential citizens to ensure
that social justice, peace and dignity are entrenched as essential
ingredients of human life.”
The delegates
noted that national healing is not about settling political scores
but that it had to address economic and social issues that society
has been fighting over. One participant only identified as Ndlovu
said, there was need to talk about the past so that we heal conflict
at national level, institutional, family and societal level.
The forum provided
a platform for participation to unpack the constitution and further
relate various sections with the National Peace and Reconciliation
Commission aimed at enhancing understanding of and programming for
peace by churches and civil society organisations. The conference
also highlighted actions that CSOs can explore to contribute towards
a meaningful outcome of the national reconciliation agenda and peace
building initiatives.
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