Opinion / Columnist
Remarks by Morgan Tsvangirai to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
25 Jul 2012 at 04:49hrs | Views
Remarks by the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Canberra, 24 July 2012
"Zimbabwe: The challenge of transition"
The Executive Director of ASPI, Mr Peter Jennings
Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
I feel greatly honoured and privileged to be invited to speak before such an esteemed audience.
Today, I am here to share with you the challenges to a democratic transition that delayed the fulfilment of the people's dream in Zimbabwe's historic election in 2008.
Four years ago on 29 March 2008, Zimbabwe went to an election in which the people largely enjoyed some semblance of freedom to elect a leader and a party of their choice.
My party and I won that election.
Even the announcement of the results five weeks after people had cast their vote failed to douse the people's exuberance after 28 years of President Robert Mugabe's rule.
The results published by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission after one-and-half months indicated that even though I had won the election, I had just fallen short of garnering 50 percent of the votes and we had to go for a run-off.
We had our misgivings about that contrived result but while we prepared for the run-off, there was so much State-sponsored violence by the army and other security agencies against the people.
My party and I had no option but to pull out of the run-off.
We were simply not prepared to walk our way into office stepping on dead bodies and graves.
Mr Mugabe contested against himself in an one-man election that was dismissed by SADC, the African Union and the broader international community as illegitimate.
Negotiations brokered by SADC led to the formation of a coalition government in which I am Prime Minister and Mr Mugabe is President, despite the fact that I had won the credible election of 29 March 2008.
In short, I won the election but there was no transfer of power.
A people's transition to full democracy was therefore thwarted by a few individuals at the helm of national security institutions who felt their privileges were under threat.
What torpedoed the people's will as expressed in an election were individuals who abused national institutions because they felt it was necessary to mete out violence for their own personal ends.
I want to stress from the outset that our problem was never the rank and file of the army, the police or the Central Intelligence officers, most of whom I know are committed to upholding the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
It was individuals who felt their personal interests were threatened, whatever those interests are.
Our experience in the past four years has been a mixture of progress and impediments.
We have managed to stabilize the economy, tamed hyperinflation and given people the reason to hope again.
But we have largely failed to implement the reforms that we agreed to under the supervision of SADC; reforms that we agreed would create a conducive environment for the holding of free and fair elections that should end this coalition.
These include media reforms, a new voters' roll and most importantly; security sector re-alignment. This was meant to realign our security sector to a democratic culture, respect for multi-partyism and respecting the people's will.
The media, particularly the public media, have failed to reflect the new spirit of inclusivity.
They have become the new arsenal to malign and to vilify me and my party. The public media have become purveyors of hate speech and sowed divisions, disunity and disharmony in our society.
The electoral reforms that have gone through Parliament should go further so as to guarantee the security of the person, the security of the vote and the security of the people's will.
Nothing should ever be allowed to stand in the way of the people's will and now that we have become a global village, the world should not stand by while gun-toting musketeers instil fear among innocent civilians wishing to elect leaders and political parties of their choice.
Some of the individuals in the security sector have already publicly stated that they will not accept the results of the next election unless President Mugabe wins.
It is largely this intransigent attitude of some in the security forces, violence and non-movement in some reforms that largely threatens the prospect of a free and fair election in Zimbabwe.
In other words, we face the possibility of yet another challenge to our democratic transition in the next election.
But I am an optimist.
I was giving a lecture in Japan on Friday and I told the gathering that we have moved from Afro-pessimism to Afro-optimism, underpinned by a brave progression towards democratic governance.
Our negative history as a continent and as individual countries has not blighted us to new opportunities and the prospect of a new era for our people.
I am convinced that our resilience and our record as a revolutionary people will ensure that we overcome the current threats to a peaceful transition.
SADC and Africa continue to nudge us towards a peaceful election. There is a concerted effort in SADC and Africa to ensure that democracy returns to Zimbabwe.
SADC, Africa and the world must keep their eye on Zimbabwe where an ordinary people are waging an extra-ordinary struggle for a democratic transition to take root.
The new Constitution, which is part of the agreed roadmap and which has now been agreed between the parties, is expected to mitigate against the excesses of the security forces.
Section 11 of the new Constitution, handed over to the Principals last week, demands that the police, the intelligence services, the army and the correctional services must act in a non-partisan manner. No serving member of the security sector can serve in a political party.
The Constitution, which will be subjected to a referendum in the near future, demands that members of the security forces must subordinate themselves to the civilian authority of the country.
Moreover, the service chiefs must now serve for a maximum of two five-year terms, which is a major improvement from the current Constitution where they had no term limits and where some serving members were active members of Zanu-PF.
While the new Constitution may not cure the ills, we believe it is a major starting point to a new democratic culture of accountability, transparency and non-partisan service to the people.
The people of Zimbabwe have come far and I am convinced that we are in an unstoppable transition; a transition which is both political and generational.
I wish to conclude by making a plea to all of you to be global warriors for peace and non-violence.
Spare a thought for the people of Zimbabwe and join the global movement for a peaceful election where the people will be free to elect leaders of their choice in a free and fair election.
Pray for the exorcism of the demon of violence so that the people's vote will count and that no one stands between the people and their legitimate expression.
I know that our daily frustrations as a people will not blind us to a bright future that beckons in the horizon.
The resilient people of Zimbabwe are ready for nothing but a free and fair election where violence, rigging, intimidation and coercion have no place; where our soldiers, our intelligence services and security organs remain impartial actors that respect and uphold the Constitution.
A false impression has been created that some of us are against our security institutions.
We have nothing against these institutions as long as they stick to their mandate of protecting, and not harming, the people of Zimbabwe.
Unarmed citizens can never be a threat to national security.
So we simply yearn for a free and fair election where losers hand over power and the winners begin urgently to transact the people's business and to usher in new policies that will guarantee peace, prosperity and progress for the future generations of Zimbabwe.
We must, as a continent, embrace democracy and create and nurture those institutions that promote and protect the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.
Any professional security institution must respect the Constitution and protect the people. Any subversion of civilian authority undermines democracy.
That challenge for us as the new crop of African leaders is to shun repression and misgovernance and to create a new society with new values.
We are a new generation which must focus on building strong economies, creating jobs and developing a qualitative and affordable social delivery system especially in the fields of health and education.
We must embrace ICTs and become part of the global village. ICTs will enable us to realise our full potential and bring all citizens to the same level in terms of economic development and access to information.
That is our vision as a country, to bring stability, security, unity, peace and development to the people of Zimbabwe.
I won the last election but there was no transfer of power because President Mugabe had the guns while I had the people. We cannot allow guns and bullets to be superior to the people's sovereign will.
As a country and as a people, we derive our hope from the experiences of our African brothers in Senegal, Zambia and Malawi that it is possible to turn over a new leaf through a peaceful transition despite a tortuous and painful past.
I believe that with the support of SADC, the AU, the broader international community and our own efforts as a country to find each other, we will be able to lay the basis for a new Zimbabwe.
Like I always say, a new Zimbabwe is possible in our lifetime.
I Thank You
Canberra, 24 July 2012
"Zimbabwe: The challenge of transition"
The Executive Director of ASPI, Mr Peter Jennings
Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
I feel greatly honoured and privileged to be invited to speak before such an esteemed audience.
Today, I am here to share with you the challenges to a democratic transition that delayed the fulfilment of the people's dream in Zimbabwe's historic election in 2008.
Four years ago on 29 March 2008, Zimbabwe went to an election in which the people largely enjoyed some semblance of freedom to elect a leader and a party of their choice.
My party and I won that election.
Even the announcement of the results five weeks after people had cast their vote failed to douse the people's exuberance after 28 years of President Robert Mugabe's rule.
The results published by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission after one-and-half months indicated that even though I had won the election, I had just fallen short of garnering 50 percent of the votes and we had to go for a run-off.
We had our misgivings about that contrived result but while we prepared for the run-off, there was so much State-sponsored violence by the army and other security agencies against the people.
My party and I had no option but to pull out of the run-off.
We were simply not prepared to walk our way into office stepping on dead bodies and graves.
Mr Mugabe contested against himself in an one-man election that was dismissed by SADC, the African Union and the broader international community as illegitimate.
Negotiations brokered by SADC led to the formation of a coalition government in which I am Prime Minister and Mr Mugabe is President, despite the fact that I had won the credible election of 29 March 2008.
In short, I won the election but there was no transfer of power.
A people's transition to full democracy was therefore thwarted by a few individuals at the helm of national security institutions who felt their privileges were under threat.
What torpedoed the people's will as expressed in an election were individuals who abused national institutions because they felt it was necessary to mete out violence for their own personal ends.
I want to stress from the outset that our problem was never the rank and file of the army, the police or the Central Intelligence officers, most of whom I know are committed to upholding the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
It was individuals who felt their personal interests were threatened, whatever those interests are.
Our experience in the past four years has been a mixture of progress and impediments.
We have managed to stabilize the economy, tamed hyperinflation and given people the reason to hope again.
But we have largely failed to implement the reforms that we agreed to under the supervision of SADC; reforms that we agreed would create a conducive environment for the holding of free and fair elections that should end this coalition.
These include media reforms, a new voters' roll and most importantly; security sector re-alignment. This was meant to realign our security sector to a democratic culture, respect for multi-partyism and respecting the people's will.
The media, particularly the public media, have failed to reflect the new spirit of inclusivity.
They have become the new arsenal to malign and to vilify me and my party. The public media have become purveyors of hate speech and sowed divisions, disunity and disharmony in our society.
The electoral reforms that have gone through Parliament should go further so as to guarantee the security of the person, the security of the vote and the security of the people's will.
Nothing should ever be allowed to stand in the way of the people's will and now that we have become a global village, the world should not stand by while gun-toting musketeers instil fear among innocent civilians wishing to elect leaders and political parties of their choice.
Some of the individuals in the security sector have already publicly stated that they will not accept the results of the next election unless President Mugabe wins.
It is largely this intransigent attitude of some in the security forces, violence and non-movement in some reforms that largely threatens the prospect of a free and fair election in Zimbabwe.
In other words, we face the possibility of yet another challenge to our democratic transition in the next election.
I was giving a lecture in Japan on Friday and I told the gathering that we have moved from Afro-pessimism to Afro-optimism, underpinned by a brave progression towards democratic governance.
Our negative history as a continent and as individual countries has not blighted us to new opportunities and the prospect of a new era for our people.
I am convinced that our resilience and our record as a revolutionary people will ensure that we overcome the current threats to a peaceful transition.
SADC and Africa continue to nudge us towards a peaceful election. There is a concerted effort in SADC and Africa to ensure that democracy returns to Zimbabwe.
SADC, Africa and the world must keep their eye on Zimbabwe where an ordinary people are waging an extra-ordinary struggle for a democratic transition to take root.
The new Constitution, which is part of the agreed roadmap and which has now been agreed between the parties, is expected to mitigate against the excesses of the security forces.
Section 11 of the new Constitution, handed over to the Principals last week, demands that the police, the intelligence services, the army and the correctional services must act in a non-partisan manner. No serving member of the security sector can serve in a political party.
The Constitution, which will be subjected to a referendum in the near future, demands that members of the security forces must subordinate themselves to the civilian authority of the country.
Moreover, the service chiefs must now serve for a maximum of two five-year terms, which is a major improvement from the current Constitution where they had no term limits and where some serving members were active members of Zanu-PF.
While the new Constitution may not cure the ills, we believe it is a major starting point to a new democratic culture of accountability, transparency and non-partisan service to the people.
The people of Zimbabwe have come far and I am convinced that we are in an unstoppable transition; a transition which is both political and generational.
I wish to conclude by making a plea to all of you to be global warriors for peace and non-violence.
Spare a thought for the people of Zimbabwe and join the global movement for a peaceful election where the people will be free to elect leaders of their choice in a free and fair election.
Pray for the exorcism of the demon of violence so that the people's vote will count and that no one stands between the people and their legitimate expression.
I know that our daily frustrations as a people will not blind us to a bright future that beckons in the horizon.
The resilient people of Zimbabwe are ready for nothing but a free and fair election where violence, rigging, intimidation and coercion have no place; where our soldiers, our intelligence services and security organs remain impartial actors that respect and uphold the Constitution.
A false impression has been created that some of us are against our security institutions.
We have nothing against these institutions as long as they stick to their mandate of protecting, and not harming, the people of Zimbabwe.
Unarmed citizens can never be a threat to national security.
So we simply yearn for a free and fair election where losers hand over power and the winners begin urgently to transact the people's business and to usher in new policies that will guarantee peace, prosperity and progress for the future generations of Zimbabwe.
We must, as a continent, embrace democracy and create and nurture those institutions that promote and protect the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.
Any professional security institution must respect the Constitution and protect the people. Any subversion of civilian authority undermines democracy.
That challenge for us as the new crop of African leaders is to shun repression and misgovernance and to create a new society with new values.
We are a new generation which must focus on building strong economies, creating jobs and developing a qualitative and affordable social delivery system especially in the fields of health and education.
We must embrace ICTs and become part of the global village. ICTs will enable us to realise our full potential and bring all citizens to the same level in terms of economic development and access to information.
That is our vision as a country, to bring stability, security, unity, peace and development to the people of Zimbabwe.
I won the last election but there was no transfer of power because President Mugabe had the guns while I had the people. We cannot allow guns and bullets to be superior to the people's sovereign will.
As a country and as a people, we derive our hope from the experiences of our African brothers in Senegal, Zambia and Malawi that it is possible to turn over a new leaf through a peaceful transition despite a tortuous and painful past.
I believe that with the support of SADC, the AU, the broader international community and our own efforts as a country to find each other, we will be able to lay the basis for a new Zimbabwe.
Like I always say, a new Zimbabwe is possible in our lifetime.
I Thank You
Source - Morgan Richard Tsvangirai
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