Western observers not welcome says Mujuru

Zimbabwe will only allow Southern African observers to monitor its harmonised elections to ensure foreign forces working against the country will not meddle in its internal political processes, Acting President Mujuru has said.

Speaking at the burial of Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, John Mayowe, at the National Heroes' Acre yesterday, Mujuru said hostile governments sought to infiltrate the country under the cover of election monitoring. She implored Zimbabweans to remain vigilant in the face of a protracted Western onslaught.

"Why should we be monitored by other countries outside the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) when we are a sovereign state?" queried Mujuru.

"Let us be wary of foreign interference in our internal politics. Some countries, particularly those which have imposed illegal sanctions on us, wish to pursue their interest at our expense by imposing themselves on our national election processes so as to influence the outcome in their favour. Ngatiitei chirwirangwe (Let us be united)."

Vice-President Mujuru urged members of different political parties to remain peaceful during the impending constitutional referendum and harmonised polls.

She said detractors were diligently seeking opportunities to pile undue criticism on the country and to interfere with its domestic affairs. However, peaceful co-existence will keep such foreign aggressors out of the country, she added.

"We are in this (defending Zimbabwe's territorial integrity and independence) together. Kwete iwe pachako (It is not a case of 'each man for himself'). That is churches, industrialists, farmers, youths, artists, traditional leaders, our tertiary institutions, we are one and all.

"As Zimbabweans, we have demonstrated our unity in diversity as we relentlessly pursued the Constitution-making process in the last few years. "There is, therefore, no reason why we cannot demonstrate our maturity, our sense of patriotism and our unity of purpose by conducting the forthcoming referendum on March 16 and harmonised elections thereafter in a peaceful environment.

"No parent wants to see his or her children fight each other, let alone kill or maim each other. As a mother and a grandmother, I feel strongly about this. I would, therefore, want to urge all Zimbabweans to take heed of the call by the political leadership for violence-free campaigning so that we do not invite undue criticism from the outside world, particularly from those countries that are in the West, which are trying by all means to get involved in our political processes under the guise of monitoring us."

Turning to the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme, the Vice-President said empowerment and indigenisation are not mutually exclusive.

As such, Zimbabweans, she said, should be practical and flexible enough to know when to emphasise one or the other without compromising the broad thrust of the revolutionary initiative.

She added that it was important for the country to hold dear its God-given natural resources that should benefit the majority.

"So, let us take a leaf from the lives of Comrades Mayowe and others who lie here, never to compromise on the principles we strongly believe in. God gave us one country to live in and, that is Zimbabwe, which is a richly endowed country. "We are one people and one nation. Let each one of us strive to play our part at our various stations in life wherever  we are, guided by the simple philosophy of Hunhu, Ubuntu, dignity of belonging to this dear motherland, to build our country and not to destroy it by surrendering its wealth, its resources to foreigners."

She also called on the nation to emulate Mayowe who fought hard for the independence and development of Zimbabwe. Honesty, forthrightness, humility and courage were among his traits.

In addition, it is important for Zimbabwe to establish a school of ideology to ensure its people focus on a common vision and fight attempts to reverse the gains of independence.

Mayowe was credited with pioneering the Chitepo College of Party Ideology Instruction in Mozambique and training commissars who helped shape the political orientation of many freedom fighters.

"It is a recipe for disaster; the enemy will take advantage of this vacuum (in ideology schooling) to introduce their own ideological thinking that is in line with furthering their own interests.

"This is the fight that Mayowe was preoccupied with before and after independence and that was to ensure that Zimbabweans are ideologically correct so that they are able to detect the enemy."

Vice-President Mujuru revealed that Mayowe had before his death just completed his autobiography which also dwells on his relationship with Zanla commander Josiah Tongogara.

She encouraged former freedom fighters to write memoirs to fill the yawning gaps in most publications on the liberation struggle.

"I wish, therefore, to appeal to our learned Zimbabweans, to our former freedom fighters, to our research scholars to take up the challenge to write the true history of the struggle from a Zimbabwean perspective that Mayowe sought to achieve," she said.

Mayowe died in South Africa last week after battling cancer.
Yesterday's burial ceremony drew scores of Zimbabweans, among them top Government officials, service chiefs and church leaders.