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In
defence of a true patriot
Christians Together for Justice and Peace (CTJP)
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Archdiocese of Bulawayo
Solidarity Peace Trust
August 30, 2004
We write to express
our sense of outrage at the vitriolic propaganda directed against our
Christian friend, colleague and co-worker, Archbishop Pius Ncube, by the
regime’s mouthpiece, The Chronicle.
Under
the heading "Deal with sell-outs ruthlessly" the leading article
in the 23rd August edition of the Chronicle is devoted to a
wholly intemperate piece of hate speech against the Archbishop and other
unnamed clergymen whom it brackets with him. Specifically it labels the
Archbishop a "self-appointed prophet of doom", whose utterances
sometimes "border on treason". Calling him a liar and sell-out
it continues "The people of Zimbabwe cannot continue to watch sell-sell
outs traveling in and out of the country lying". More ominously it
suggests "Possibly this is the time to impose some form of traveling
sanctions against these sell-outs. They also need to be charged for falsehoods
and endangering the security of our country".
We
are deeply saddened to note that this once reputable newspaper has been
so prostituted by its political masters that it now stands in breach of
all internationally recognised norms of journalistic ethics. The piece
is libelous and inflammatory. It contains the most serious inaccuracies.
It makes no attempt to deal with the reality to which the Archbishop has
called attention, namely that people are dying of hunger here in Zimbabwe
today. This is a fact, whether the Chronicle wishes to acknowledge it
or not. Nor does it pause to consider the causes of that starvation, which
in our view owe more to bad governance than to any other single factor.
Instead, in this piece of journalistic graffiti, we find a vicious, personal
attack upon the messenger who dares to bring the bad news. The article
speaks hate; it also encourages retribution and comes very close to inciting
its readers to take the law into their own hands.
We
have already placed on record our complete solidarity with the Archbishop.
We know him to be a humble man of God who only speaks the truth. We also
know him to be a man of love who stands resolutely against all forms of
violence – including the violence now perpetrated by this regime upon
their own people. The Archbishop is a true patriot who has a heart for
all God’s children and the courage to speak out when the rights of any
are trampled upon. We are also aware that this man of God in turn is deeply
loved by the millions of suffering, and voiceless Zimbabweans, whose suffering
he feels and for whom he speaks. We therefore continue to stand with him
in Christian solidarity, and we have to say that we regard any attack
upon the Archbishop as an attack upon us all – indeed an attack upon the
Church of Christ.
Let
the Chronicle, and those who use it as a mouthpiece for their own crude
propaganda, take note. The best thing they could do for themselves and
their readers would be to listen – to really listen – to what Archbishop
Pius Ncube is saying.
Visit
the CTJP fact sheet
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