News / National
'West cannot overturn people's choice of leadership,' says Mugabe
23 Aug 2013 at 03:38hrs | Views
Western nations cannot overturn Zimbabweans' choice of leadership no matter how powerful they maybe because it is the people's inherent right to choose who lead them, President Mugabe said yesterday.
Addressing over 60 000 supporters that thronged the giant National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday to witness his inauguration as President Mugabe thanked Sadc, the African Union and other progressive forces for their support saying their encouragement should see the country doing even better.
"Except for a few Western dishonest countries, our elections have been hailed as peaceful, free, fair and credible. Sadc, Comesa, the African Union, ACP, the United Nations, as well as many nations of goodwill have praised our elections here. We welcome this positive spirit, this encouragement which should see us even do better, move forward faster as a nation," he said.
"I want to thank countries of Africa, both singly and organised as sub-regions. In particular I thank Sadc and the AU for standing with us during our difficulties. I thank the sister Republic of South Africa, thank its leadership which, in succession, played the difficult role of facilitating political dialogue and settlement in our country.
It was a trying task but the two men burdened with that role, firstly, former President Thabo Mbeki who is here with us, and later President Zuma again bore it all with amazing patience and perseverance. I am sure today is a happy day for both of them. They can walk tall, in full knowledge that they have signed off a rare but glorious chapter on African solutions to Africa problems!"
President Mugabe said in all elections they were bad losers, in reference to the MDC-T whose leader and outgoing Prime Minister Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, vainly challenged the poll outcome in the courts.
"But like in all elections, there will always be bad losers, real spoilers. It is a part price we pay for electoral democracy, indeed an inevitable phase in our growth as a people wedded to democratic practices. Where such a grousing stance remains non-antagonistic, where it expresses itself within the four corners of the law, it must be tolerated as part of the democratic tussle, part of post-electoral adjustments.
Mr Tsvangirai and officials from his party did not attend the colourful ceremony once again robbing himself of statesmanship that goes with being an outgoing prime minister. "As for those odd western countries who happen to hold a different, negative view of our electoral process and outcome, well, there is not much we can do about them.
We dismiss them as the vile ones whose moral turpitude we must mourn. They are entitled to their views, for as long as they recognize that the majority of our people endorsed the electoral outcome, indeed for as long as they recognize that no Zimbabwean law was offended against. And for us that is all that matters," he said.
Added President Mugabe: "After all, Zimbabwean elections are meant for Zimbabwe's voting citizens. After all, Zimbabwean democracy is meant for the people of Zimbabwe who must, within set periods, go to the polls to choose and install a government of their choice. It is their sole prerogative and no outsiders, no matter how superior or powerful they may imagine themselves to be, can override that right, let alone take it away from them.
We fought for it when it was lost. We won it through our own blood. We keep it for us and posterity; we reserve it forever as an expression of our sovereignty as a free people."
He reminded the West that the days of colonialism and neo-colonialism were gone forever.
"The era of white colonial 'whispers behind the African throne' passed on and got buried together with Lord Lugard, the author of this anti - African, neo-colonial notion. Having struggled for our independence, our fate has irrevocably orbited out of colonial relations, indeed can no longer subsist in curtsying and bowing to any foreign government, however powerful it feigns itself to be and whatever filthy lucre it flaunts. We belong to Africa.
We follow African values here. We follow our conscience. We abide by the judgment of Africa, as indeed, we did in 2008 when Africa advised us to set aside results of the disputed elections," President Mugabe said.
He slammed the West for its double standards.
"Today it is Britain, and her dominions of Australia and Canada who dare tell us our elections were not free and credible. Today it is America and her illegal sanctions which dare raise a censorious voice over our affairs. Yes, today it is these Anglo - Saxons who dare contradict Africa's verdict over an election in Zimbabwe, an African country.
Who are they, we ask? Who gave them the gift of seeing better than all of us," President Mugabe said.
"With the elections now behind us, we can now focus on rebuilding our nation which has been ravaged by illegal sanctions imposed on us by the West. If yesterday the pretext for imposing those sanctions was to do with a deficit of democracy here, today we ask those culprit nations what their excuse is now.
Whose interests are those sanctions serving? Zimbabwe is an open, friendly country. We seek friendship across geographies, across cultures, and quite often against past wrongs. We seek partnerships with all nations of goodwill, but partnerships based on sovereign equality and mutual respect.
Those are the sacred principles upon which the whole global architecture, as defined by the United Nations, is founded.
President Mugabe praised principals to the now defunct Global Political Agreement, Mr Tsvangirai, former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and also MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube for working together well despite ideological differences.
"This is our land, our country together and for as long as our nation subsists, so will elections and the opportunities they offer. Our common destiny bids us to work together, never at cross purposes. More importantly, that destiny bids us to work for the wellbeing and in defence of our people who must always come first," he said.
Addressing over 60 000 supporters that thronged the giant National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday to witness his inauguration as President Mugabe thanked Sadc, the African Union and other progressive forces for their support saying their encouragement should see the country doing even better.
"Except for a few Western dishonest countries, our elections have been hailed as peaceful, free, fair and credible. Sadc, Comesa, the African Union, ACP, the United Nations, as well as many nations of goodwill have praised our elections here. We welcome this positive spirit, this encouragement which should see us even do better, move forward faster as a nation," he said.
"I want to thank countries of Africa, both singly and organised as sub-regions. In particular I thank Sadc and the AU for standing with us during our difficulties. I thank the sister Republic of South Africa, thank its leadership which, in succession, played the difficult role of facilitating political dialogue and settlement in our country.
It was a trying task but the two men burdened with that role, firstly, former President Thabo Mbeki who is here with us, and later President Zuma again bore it all with amazing patience and perseverance. I am sure today is a happy day for both of them. They can walk tall, in full knowledge that they have signed off a rare but glorious chapter on African solutions to Africa problems!"
President Mugabe said in all elections they were bad losers, in reference to the MDC-T whose leader and outgoing Prime Minister Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, vainly challenged the poll outcome in the courts.
"But like in all elections, there will always be bad losers, real spoilers. It is a part price we pay for electoral democracy, indeed an inevitable phase in our growth as a people wedded to democratic practices. Where such a grousing stance remains non-antagonistic, where it expresses itself within the four corners of the law, it must be tolerated as part of the democratic tussle, part of post-electoral adjustments.
Mr Tsvangirai and officials from his party did not attend the colourful ceremony once again robbing himself of statesmanship that goes with being an outgoing prime minister. "As for those odd western countries who happen to hold a different, negative view of our electoral process and outcome, well, there is not much we can do about them.
We dismiss them as the vile ones whose moral turpitude we must mourn. They are entitled to their views, for as long as they recognize that the majority of our people endorsed the electoral outcome, indeed for as long as they recognize that no Zimbabwean law was offended against. And for us that is all that matters," he said.
Added President Mugabe: "After all, Zimbabwean elections are meant for Zimbabwe's voting citizens. After all, Zimbabwean democracy is meant for the people of Zimbabwe who must, within set periods, go to the polls to choose and install a government of their choice. It is their sole prerogative and no outsiders, no matter how superior or powerful they may imagine themselves to be, can override that right, let alone take it away from them.
We fought for it when it was lost. We won it through our own blood. We keep it for us and posterity; we reserve it forever as an expression of our sovereignty as a free people."
He reminded the West that the days of colonialism and neo-colonialism were gone forever.
"The era of white colonial 'whispers behind the African throne' passed on and got buried together with Lord Lugard, the author of this anti - African, neo-colonial notion. Having struggled for our independence, our fate has irrevocably orbited out of colonial relations, indeed can no longer subsist in curtsying and bowing to any foreign government, however powerful it feigns itself to be and whatever filthy lucre it flaunts. We belong to Africa.
We follow African values here. We follow our conscience. We abide by the judgment of Africa, as indeed, we did in 2008 when Africa advised us to set aside results of the disputed elections," President Mugabe said.
He slammed the West for its double standards.
"Today it is Britain, and her dominions of Australia and Canada who dare tell us our elections were not free and credible. Today it is America and her illegal sanctions which dare raise a censorious voice over our affairs. Yes, today it is these Anglo - Saxons who dare contradict Africa's verdict over an election in Zimbabwe, an African country.
Who are they, we ask? Who gave them the gift of seeing better than all of us," President Mugabe said.
"With the elections now behind us, we can now focus on rebuilding our nation which has been ravaged by illegal sanctions imposed on us by the West. If yesterday the pretext for imposing those sanctions was to do with a deficit of democracy here, today we ask those culprit nations what their excuse is now.
Whose interests are those sanctions serving? Zimbabwe is an open, friendly country. We seek friendship across geographies, across cultures, and quite often against past wrongs. We seek partnerships with all nations of goodwill, but partnerships based on sovereign equality and mutual respect.
Those are the sacred principles upon which the whole global architecture, as defined by the United Nations, is founded.
President Mugabe praised principals to the now defunct Global Political Agreement, Mr Tsvangirai, former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and also MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube for working together well despite ideological differences.
"This is our land, our country together and for as long as our nation subsists, so will elections and the opportunities they offer. Our common destiny bids us to work together, never at cross purposes. More importantly, that destiny bids us to work for the wellbeing and in defence of our people who must always come first," he said.
Source - chronicle
