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SADC must continue to stand by the people of Zimbabwe
MDC
Youth Assembly
August 15, 2011
The MDC Youth Assembly as the vanguard of the people's struggle
wishes to implore SADC and all the regional leaders to use this
forthcoming SADC Summit as an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment
to the wishes and aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe and the
entire sub-region. They must do that by keeping their collective
feet on the accelerator pedal to a free, fair and peaceful election
for Zimbabwe.
As the progressive
young people of Zimbabwe we yearn for a free, peaceful and prosperous
Zimbabwe and we have no doubt that this can only be achieved through
an election that will usher in a new dispensation of a government
for the people. We are ready and we want elections as soon as possible,
how possible should be determined by the timelines on the election
roadmap and the full implementation of the GPA.
By calling for premature elections, ZANU PF want to make people
suffer, i.e. repeating its June 2008 war tactics, we have not thought
about a war but a peaceful election, we will therefore not be tempted
to go into a war masquerading as an election.
SADC must insist
that the parties must stick to the implementation timelines agreed
in the roadmap. We have seen ZANU-PF dragging their feet from their
side of the bargain. Since the inception of the GPA, the MDC arm
of the government has seen hospitals, schools reopen and a normalisation
of the service delivery system and welfare of the people. However,
to the contrary, from the ZANU-PF arm of the government we have
seen an escalation in state sponsored violence, no media reform,
no security realignment but looting, corruption and an increase
in the intimidation and harassment of our people, to the extent
of ordering for the closure of MDC Chimanimani District offices
by a team led by one misguided Joshua Sako.
This continued
undermining of the rights and freedoms of the people is a ticking
time bomb for SADC and the international community. We relate again
the wise words of President Rupiah Banda of Zambia who was the chairman
of the SADC Troika Organ at the Livingstone
Summit in which he said:
"If there is anything
that we must learn from the upheavals going on in the northern part
of our continent, it is that the legitimate expectations of the
citizens of our countries cannot be taken for granted. We must therefore
continue at the SADC level to consolidate democracy through the
establishment of institutions that uphold the tenets of good governance,
respect for human rights and the rural of law"
We also reiterate
our commitment as the vanguard of the democratic movement to; defend
the party, its leadership, members and the people of Zimbabwe against
violence and all forms of oppression, repression; and further reaffirm
our commitment to shun any unconstitutional attempt to undertake
an illegal election process in Zimbabwe, as provided for by amendment
19 of the constitution.
The Government
of National Unity is not an end in itself. It is a means to
an end which must see us with a free, fair and credible election
for the people of Zimbabwe. Therefore, all necessary measures should
be undertaken to ensure that the polls conform to those standards.
In this, we urge SADC to insist that security sector realignment
must be undertaken as a precondition for the holding of free and
fair elections. SADC needs to make it clear that it will not recognise
the outcome of any election where the military plays any role before,
during or after that election.
SADC must stand guided
by their commitment to the development of this region as established
by the principles and values on democracy and good governance which
runs through the SADC treaty, its protocols and guiding principles.
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