Professor Jonathan Moyo breathes fire

Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday slammed Britain and its Western allies for ignoring assessments by Sadc, Comesa and the AU and their institutions which upheld the credibility of the harmonised elections in an effort to maintain their regime change agenda.

The AU, Comesa and Sadc - which had observer teams on the ground - endorsed the conduct of the elections in their preliminary reports released last week.

Ironically Britain, the US and the EU - which were barred from observing on account of their well documented bias - have raised reservations on the outcome citing unproven claims of rigging.

Prof Jonathan Moyo slammed the Western countries on reneging on their earlier statements that they would be guided by what the AU and Sadc say in their assessment of the polls.

"The Western countries led by Britain are pursuing a self fulfilling prophecy that has become a nightmare. These western people dream of regime change in Zimbabwe through the MDC-T has not only been shattered but has been defeated by the voice of Zimbabweans that voted overwhelmingly in support of Zanu-PF on July 31.

"Just before the elections they were saying they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said. They were hoping Sadc and the AU would issue a negative assessment of the elections. They were hoping the elections would be close and get a second chance to have another GNU. They did not bargain that Zimbabweans are an independent and sovereign people who have used the experience of the past 14 years to reassert that sovereignty," said Prof Moyo.

He said Zimbabweans had expressed themselves in the same manner they did in the 1980 elections.

"Zimbabweans relived the spirit of 1980. This election was in a profound sense reminiscent of 1980 when every indigenous Zimbabwean aligned him or herself with the liberation of the country.

"This time Zimbabweans used the political independence they gained in 1980 to assert their economic independence not only over their resources but also to use those resources to develop themselves and their country," he said.

Prof Moyo said the Western countries where choosing to listen to statements by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an organisation that they fund.

"ZESN is their mouthpiece they are not independent voices, they are just their masters' voice. Before the elections they said they would be guided by what Sadc and the AU said but now they are not listening to that and are refusing to be guided by what the AU and Sadc have said.

"The elections were conducted in a free, fair and non violent manner, you cannot find an election like that on the African continent," he said.

ZESN received over US$5 million from the European Union, Australian Government Overseas Aid Programme (AUSAID), Norwegian embassy, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) for the elections meant for sustaining a smear campaign against Zanu-PF and the electoral process.

The organisation produced a negative report before the elections and also produced another damning one after the polls contrary to what Sadc, Comesa and the AU said. The reports have been latched onto by western governments seeking to trash the poll outcome.

ZESN cited claims of violence and intimidation in its reports.

Prof Moyo said the Western countries had no business interfering in Zimbabwe's electoral processes.

"National elections are our business and we don't want the British to poke their colonial nose in our affairs. Our national elections are our business and we exercise that business in terms of the law and what Sadc and the AU said matters to us more than what these former colonisers say," he said.