Time for Zimbabweans to fight back

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A guard at Zimbabwe's state house

Group calls for armed struggle to topple Mugabe

Opinion Zone

12 November 2008

By Fortune Tazvida

History has proved time and time again that the length of time a brutal dictator gets to stay in power is dependent on the threshold of oppression tolerated by the oppressed people. Zimbabwe has reached such a threshold were it is crystal clear and obvious elections, talks and condemnation have done nothing to convince the Zanu PF elite their time is up.

This year alone over 180 opposition activists were assasinated and over 10 000 displaced from their homes in a brutal campaign masterminded by Emerson Mnangagwa at the helm of the Joint Operations Command. Previous elections have led to the deaths of hundreds more MDC activists. The Gukurahundi Massacres of the eighties serve as another dark reminder of the propensity for violence and murder exibited by Mugabe and his regime.

What is our response as Zimbabweans to this group of geriatric, blood sucking vampires? We have seen the consequences of mortgaging our fate into the hands of foreigners like Thabo Mbeki and the entire timid SADC region. Mugabe and his lot never sat down with Ian Smith and the Rhodesian regime before 1980 to share power in a new Zimbabwe. We had a complete break from the past despite the present day betrayal.

How is it that a few hundred people in Zanu PF have managed to control the police, army, intelligence and prison agencies to such an extent that the human beings working for those departments have lost all human decency and taken part in violence and murder. While it is true money is the root of all evil and financial rewards have bought some of this loyalty, all Zimbabweans are being affected or have relatives affected by this crisis.

Targeted sanctions, elections, demonstrations, unity talks, regional and international condemnation have all proved futile in the fight against Mugabe’s regime. As a people we always shy away from discussing the one option that clearly Zanu PF understands and that is military action. Mugabe and his colleagues have grown accustomed to their monopoly of violence and they remain aware Zimbabweans are peace loving people.

But my fellow citizens, I ask you today, what use is it to be peace loving when your mother is going to die of hunger tomorrow? What use is it to be peace loving when your sister will die in a hospital because they did not have drugs to treat a simple headache? What use is it to be peace loving when your brother gets killed because he voted for the party of his choice? Before independence Zimbabweans were confronted with a similar choice on how to deal with the rascist Rhodesian government. They chose war for freedom.

It is almost shameful we tetter from one summit to another putting faith in regional leaders whose relevance expired long ago. The MDC for all their courage have limitations on what they can do as a democratic movement trying to operate within the law. We as Zimbabweans should now shape our own rules out of our suffering and say, you know what we have had enough of Zanu PF and should get rid of them by all means necessary.

Zanu PF accused Botswana of training insurgents to destabilize the country. These ludicrous claims although untrue were an interesting betrayal of what Zanu PF actually fears might happen. This should be the route we take as Zimbabweans. Zanu PF does not have a monopoly on violence and Zimbabweans should now rise to the challenge and put up a fight.

We now have a reputation worldwide as the cowards who can’t remove an 84 year old geriatric and his cabal of bootlickers. My fellow countrymen how many are willing to join this fight? It is a good fight for which good will ultimately prevail over evil.

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