Opinion / Columnist
A Call for Peace as Zimbabwe decides
29 Jul 2018 at 09:42hrs | Views
The election campaign curtain comes down in Zimbabwe as voters gear up for the ballot box on Monday 30th July 2018. It is pertinent under the present circumstances to call for continued peace throughout the election period thus pre-election, during and post-election. Zimbabwe has endured violent election seasons under Robert Mugabe's regime and it is imperative to maintain vigilance and guard against that demon which always visited us during Mugabe's era.
While Mugabe is still alive it is instructive for him to witness Zimbabwe's first peaceful election. More importantly, a clean electoral bill from international observers will mark a new chapter of progress, prosperity and international support from all corners of the world.
In the next 48 hours Zimbabweans should desist from loitering in groups or making unwarranted door to door visits as these are usually the spark plugs of violence. Families must promote peace and calmness within households and should not take political affiliation as a matter of life and death. Democracy entails freedom of choice and tolerance. We must all celebrate and tolerate our divergence of views and opinions within families, amongst friends, in the neighbourhood, in the village or district, within the same political party and more crucially now amongst people from different political parties.
Politicians should take responsibility and encourage peace and calmness to prevail. They should shun divisive political tactics or poisonous speeches which might flare tempers in communities. Martin Luther King left a legacy of achieving freedom through non-violent means and had this to say; "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means".
The unfortunate utterances by Matemadanda who is a deputy minister of war veterans that the war veterans will not accept a Chamisa and MDC Alliance victory are very unfortunate and should be condemned in the strongest terms. This defeats the message of peace that all political leaders have been preaching during the campaign period of these watershed elections. The will of the people should be respected and this is the sole purpose of the elections the world over otherwise there is no need for engaging in an election where some organisation threatens not to respect the will of the people. Matemadanda should be restrained by his political superiors and warned against risking unrest and against preaching his message of hate and intimidation.
The events of 2008 after election result should never be repeated in Zimbabwe again.
Frazer Muzondo
ROHR ZIM/ MDC UK
While Mugabe is still alive it is instructive for him to witness Zimbabwe's first peaceful election. More importantly, a clean electoral bill from international observers will mark a new chapter of progress, prosperity and international support from all corners of the world.
In the next 48 hours Zimbabweans should desist from loitering in groups or making unwarranted door to door visits as these are usually the spark plugs of violence. Families must promote peace and calmness within households and should not take political affiliation as a matter of life and death. Democracy entails freedom of choice and tolerance. We must all celebrate and tolerate our divergence of views and opinions within families, amongst friends, in the neighbourhood, in the village or district, within the same political party and more crucially now amongst people from different political parties.
Politicians should take responsibility and encourage peace and calmness to prevail. They should shun divisive political tactics or poisonous speeches which might flare tempers in communities. Martin Luther King left a legacy of achieving freedom through non-violent means and had this to say; "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means".
The unfortunate utterances by Matemadanda who is a deputy minister of war veterans that the war veterans will not accept a Chamisa and MDC Alliance victory are very unfortunate and should be condemned in the strongest terms. This defeats the message of peace that all political leaders have been preaching during the campaign period of these watershed elections. The will of the people should be respected and this is the sole purpose of the elections the world over otherwise there is no need for engaging in an election where some organisation threatens not to respect the will of the people. Matemadanda should be restrained by his political superiors and warned against risking unrest and against preaching his message of hate and intimidation.
The events of 2008 after election result should never be repeated in Zimbabwe again.
Frazer Muzondo
ROHR ZIM/ MDC UK
Source - Frazer Muzondo
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