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Voices from within - A liberators perspective
Zimbabwe Solidarity
Extracted from the Zimbabwe Solidarity Newsletter Issue 01
February 18, 2005

The black people of Zimbabwe were prompted by a myriad of grievances to join the ranks of the struggle for their liberation. At the core of the oppressive system in Rhodesia was the political domination of the blacks backed by an arsenal of repressive legislation and the complete denial of their political rights. The blacks were not free and had no say in the running of their country. No wonder then that freedom and 'one man one vote' became the rallying cry of the nationalist movement. The people wanted freedom above everything else and consistent with this, the guerrilla fighters were affectionately known as "freedom fighters' or in the Shona language "varwiri ve rusunguko". However twenty five years later, a most systematic, calculated and determined assault on those fundamental freedoms has turned Zimbabwe into a nightmare.

The overwhelming majority of the people are struggling to make ends meet whilst the ZANU PF elite are liberally helping themselves to the country's resources. This elite that benefited from the generous lease of state farms acquired with the help of British funds are again the principal beneficiaries of the so called 'land reform' that has destroyed the country's agriculture and crippled the economy. The majority of the population is now largely dependent on western donors for food aid in a country that used to boast of surpluses.

An array of repressive legislation reminiscent of the Rhodesian era has been crafted to suppress voices of dissent. State institutions such as the police, the armed forces and the intelligence services have been thoroughly corrupted to become pliant tools of the ruling party.

Millions have fled the country and become economic refugees within the region and further a field. Tragically, they have not only lost the hope of economic survival back home but their inalienable right to vote as well. Reminiscent of the qualified franchise for blacks in the Rhodesian era, numerous obstacles are placed to the registration of voters with the youth being the most affected and having to seek 'endorsement' from the landlords to qualify as voters in their constituencies. Turning majority age has become a legal nicety devoid of significance in terms of citizen rights.

To dream of 'free and fair' elections in the present political landscape is to indulge in wishful thinking and stretching one's imagination too far beyond any political relevance given the ruling party's determination to cling to power at all costs. Talk about anything else but losing the election is absolutely out of question and beyond the realm of the practicable for them. From the delimitation of constituencies, the registration of voters, the compilation of the voters roll (largely inflated with ghost voters), the management of the election itself by trusted military intelligence officials, access to the electorate and the media, to Mugabe's right to appoint an additional one quarter of the total number of elected parliamentarians, the battle is won for ZANU PF before the formal contest has even begun.

Talk about the so-called SADC Principles and Guidelines; in present day Zimbabwe, ZANU PF determines political and electoral reality. What a far cry from the forsaken aspirations of freedom, democracy and social justice that those who sacrificed their lives for liberation yearned for.

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