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This article participates on the following special index pages:
The Zimbabwe We Want: "Towards a National Vision for Zimbabwe" - Index of articles
Jesuits
say Mugabe betraying spirit of dialogue
ZimOnline
November 23, 2006
http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=510
HARARE – The
Society of Jesus on Wednesday accused President Robert Mugabe of
betraying the spirit of dialogue after he rejected outright calls
by the church for a new, democratic constitution for Zimbabwe.
In a statement
released to the press yesterday entitled, "The Spirit of Dialogue
Betrayed," the Society commonly known as Jesuits, attacked
Mugabe for rejecting calls for a new constitution.
Mugabe is a
devout Catholic who was educated by the Jesuits at Kutama College
in Mashonaland West province.
Speaking at
the launch of a church National Vision document entitled, "The
Zimbabwe We Want", Mugabe poured scorn at calls by the
church for a new constitution saying the current document was "sacrosanct"
and not negotiable.
Reacting to
Mugabe’s statement, the Jesuits said it was "urgent that a
Commission comprising representatives of all stakeholders be appointed
immediately to come up with a democratic, home-grown Constitution".
The Jesuits
said there was need to produce a constitution around which there
was consensus and this could only be done if everyone was brought
on board over the matter.
"In the eyes
of government one thing is simply not negotiable: that is their
hold on power. Anything that might weaken their hold on power is
anathema. That is unacceptable," says part of the statement.
The clergymen
also accused state security agents of watering down the original
document and said it was high time the Church spoke out over "the
distortion of her message."
"The Church
has presumably engaged in this dialogue in good faith. But the interference
in the churches’ message shows that government is not acting in
good faith."
Catholic Archbishop
Pius Ncube, a Mugabe critic who was part of church leaders consulted
over the document, has distanced himself from the church paper saying
it had been seriously tampered with.
The National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and the main opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) party have been agitating over the past
few years for a new, democratic constitution for Zimbabwe saying
the present one was flawed as it gave Mugabe too much power. - ZimOnline
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