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MDC has respect for the Zimbabwe Army: Mwonzora
24 Aug 2011 at 10:05hrs | Views
The MDC-T National Spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora last week said that his party had great respect for soldiers who continued to be apolitical - despite the fact that some pockets of the sector have remained largely unprofessional.
In an interview Mwonzora said that in its fight to hold a free and fair election, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party wanted to ensure that the outcome of the elections would not be compromised by members of the security sector as in previous polls.
"We have nothing against the security sector. We have admiration for the many men and women who strive to be professional in a very unprofessional atmosphere," said Mwonzora.
While top service chiefs have made it no secret that they will not accept an MDC victory, juniors in the army and the police are said to support the MDC-T. Unlike their superiors, they were left off the Zanu-PF gravy train and are closely monitored as the chefs seek to weed out any 'loose cannons'.
Zanu-PF and its sympathizers say the MDC-T demands for security sector reforms are unrealistic.
"No party in Africa has made demands such as that the MDC have. Its only the MDC which says that they want elections after changing the army in fact the MDC has declared war on Zimbabwe," said Goodson Nguni who works in the Zanu-PF information department.
However, Mwonzora said that his party was concerned with getting rid of partisan and biased security chiefs.
"All we are saying is that we need to get rid of partisanship and bias. The aim of the MDC is to take over power in this country through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means. The people of this country must choose their leadership freely. The MDC is fighting for free and fair elections," said Mwonzora.
He referred to the post-election violence in 2008 where Zanu-PF thugs, with the aid of soldiers, went on an offensive against the people who had voted the former ruling party out of power.
The violence that followed resulted in mass displacements, enfranchisements and also deaths of close to 200 ordinary civilians. Zanu-PF maintains a stranglehold over most of the state security top officials.
"As a party we are saying that we must put mechanisms to make bias and interference by the army impossible so that we can have free and fair elections," said Mwonzora.
In an interview Mwonzora said that in its fight to hold a free and fair election, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party wanted to ensure that the outcome of the elections would not be compromised by members of the security sector as in previous polls.
"We have nothing against the security sector. We have admiration for the many men and women who strive to be professional in a very unprofessional atmosphere," said Mwonzora.
While top service chiefs have made it no secret that they will not accept an MDC victory, juniors in the army and the police are said to support the MDC-T. Unlike their superiors, they were left off the Zanu-PF gravy train and are closely monitored as the chefs seek to weed out any 'loose cannons'.
Zanu-PF and its sympathizers say the MDC-T demands for security sector reforms are unrealistic.
"No party in Africa has made demands such as that the MDC have. Its only the MDC which says that they want elections after changing the army in fact the MDC has declared war on Zimbabwe," said Goodson Nguni who works in the Zanu-PF information department.
However, Mwonzora said that his party was concerned with getting rid of partisan and biased security chiefs.
"All we are saying is that we need to get rid of partisanship and bias. The aim of the MDC is to take over power in this country through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means. The people of this country must choose their leadership freely. The MDC is fighting for free and fair elections," said Mwonzora.
He referred to the post-election violence in 2008 where Zanu-PF thugs, with the aid of soldiers, went on an offensive against the people who had voted the former ruling party out of power.
The violence that followed resulted in mass displacements, enfranchisements and also deaths of close to 200 ordinary civilians. Zanu-PF maintains a stranglehold over most of the state security top officials.
"As a party we are saying that we must put mechanisms to make bias and interference by the army impossible so that we can have free and fair elections," said Mwonzora.
Source - thezimbabwean
