Don’t bastardise Heroes Day- Tsvangirai

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called on Zimbabweans not to bastardise Heroes Day by making it be a day of cheap rhetoric and sloganeering, name-calling and politicking. Instead, he said, this should be a day of sober reflection and deep introspection on whether Zimbabwe has achieved true independence and freedom.
In a speech to mark Heroes and Defence Forces Days, Tsvangirai said it was never the original intention of true revolutionaries to privatise this day and make it a party event.

“It is demeaning to the great sons and daughters of this land; indeed an affront to their national contribution, to give the impression that their sacrifice should be the narrow and parochial possession of ZANU-PF, the MDC, ZAPU or Mavambo,” he said.

“So this great day cannot be privatised by any political party. Even the selection of our heroes and heroines must not be the exclusive preserve of any political organisation.

“The MDC’s national council, the ZANU- PF politburo or any organ of any party cannot bastardise a great national day such as this one to be a day of cheap rhetoric and sloganeering; a day of name-calling and politicking. Today is a day of sober reflection and deep introspection on whether we have achieved true independence and freedom.

“If honourable MPs are assaulted in Parliament and if ordinary Zimbabweans are brutally assaulted or even killed for supporting a political party, we must think long and hard whether this can be the legacy of true national heroes.

“And true heroes transcend genre. Because heroes are not just politicians. There are many Zimbabwean heroes in sport, business, in the social sector, in the arts and in various facets of our lives whose contribution needs national celebration.

“So as we celebrate the sacrifice by our great heroes and heroines, let us also remember that this is a national day whose lustre and importance we can only erode by making it a partisan event and a day of cheap slogans and party T-shirts.”

Tsvangirai also said Zimbabwe’s defence forces should be at the epicentre of defending and protecting the people and not attacking and brutalising them.

“It is international best practice that the army should confine itself to the barracks and leave politics to the politicians,” he said. “As leaders, we have no reason to be fighting our national institutions if they are performing their national duty. But we naturally take umbrage at the militarisation of our politics and the politicisation of the military.”

Below is Tsvangirai’s message in full:

Heroes and Defence Forces Day message from Prime Minister Tsvangirai
Monday, 08 August 2011

Today is that important day in the year when we celebrate and remember the selfless dedication of our heroes and heroines in the long and tortuous history of our great nation. The most known heroes of this country are those who waged the protracted liberation war that led to the independence of Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1980. They included men, women and the youth, some of whom lost life and limb so that our national aspiration for true freedom,independence and dignity could live again.

Yet there were others before them. Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kaguvi and Chaminuka are spiritual icons who will forever remain etched in our collective memory as the beginners of the long struggle to unshackle colonial rule. But it was the second Chimurenga that brought our independence when dedicated sons and daughters of this land among them Joshua Nkomo, Hebert Wiltshire Chitepo, Mayor Urimbo, Edgar Tekere, Ndabaningi Sithole, Sheba Tavarwisa, Vitalis Zvinavashe and many others took up the gun and waged a war that brought our hard-won independence.

Many other heroes and heroines lie in the loamy soils of Zimbabwe, in disused mine shafts and in mass graves inside and outside the country. Their blood is testimony to the great sacrifices that the heroic people of Zimbabwe paid in their quest to attain freedom. There are others still living who are in government, including serving and retired officers in our venerable security institutions who fought selflessly so that this great country could enjoy the fruits of independence.

But there are also millions of unsung heroes and heroines of our painful national story; the ordinary men and women in places such such as Nkayi, Bubi, Mandidzudzure, Chimanimani, Muzarabani, Mukumbura, Mudzi and Nyamaropa who fought our war of liberation.

These were ordinary villagers who played a pivotal part in the attainment of independence. They have received neither adequate compensation nor recognition over the years. They simply did it for the country and for future generations.

They simply did it so that every Zimbabwean could taste the true essence of freedom and the return of collective national dignity. Yes, they did it for Zimbabwe and all of its people; regardless of race, colour, creed or political affiliation.

Today is a day when we salute those who fought and continue to fight for democracy in the country in order to complete the unfinished business of our liberation struggle so that ordinary Zimbabweans can enjoy true freedom and prosperity.

Fellow Zimbabweans, it was never the original intention of true revolutionaries to privatise this day and make it a party event. It is demeaning to the great sons and daughters of this land; indeed an affront to their national contribution, to give the impression that their sacrifice should be the narrow and parochial possession of Zanu PF, the MDC, ZAPU or Mavambo.

So this great day cannot be privatised by any political party. Even the selection of our heroes and heroines must not be the exclusive preserve of any political organisation. The MDC’s national council, the Zanu PF politburo or any organ of any party cannot bastardise a great national day such as this one to be a day of cheap rhetoric and sloganeering; a day of name-calling and politicking. Today is a day of sober reflection and deep introspection on whether we have achieved true independence and freedom.

If honourable MPs are assaulted in Parliament and if ordinary Zimbabweans are brutally assaulted or even killed for supporting a political party, we must think long and hard whether this can be the legacy of true national heroes. And true heroes transcend genre. Because heroes are not just politicians. There are many Zimbabwean heroes in sport, business, in the social sector, in the arts and in various facets of our lives whose contribution needs national celebration.

So as we celebrate the sacrifice by our great heroes and heroines, let us also remember that this is a national day whose lustre and importance we can only erode by making it a partisan event and a day of cheap slogans and party T-shirts.

In the new Zimbabwe that I envision, Zimbabweans from all walks of life must unite on a day like this to celebrate the dead and living heroes who have battled to give this great country the dignity and the true freedom that it deserves. This day must be a day for unity and confluence; a day when the whole nation unites in celebrating those who fought selflessly for the good of the country.

And on Tuesday, we celebrate Defence Forces day. In any country, the defence forces play an important role in safeguarding the country and its citizens. All Zimbabweans salute the positive and heroic acts of our defence forces in bringing about our national independence. It is true that most of the members of our defence forces, both retired and serving, played a key part in the liberation of this country.

But when they took up the gun, they did not do so to liberate members of one political party. They did so to bring freedom to every Zimbabwean regardless of race, colour or creed.
Furthermore, our defence forces have been deployed to several parts of the world on UN peacekeeping missions where they have done the nation proud.

The Defence Forces are national forces sworn to upholding the country’s constitution. They are supposed to be a non-partisan and disciplined force. They are a respected national institution that should serve and protect the people and the country regardless of the government and the political leadership of the day.

They should be at the epicentre of defending and protecting the people and not attacking and brutalising them. The past few years have seen the deployment of some members of the army into the villages to brutalise and attack innocent civilians on the basis of their political affiliation.

It is international best practice that the army should confine itself to the barracks and leave politics to the politicians. As leaders, we have no reason to be fighting our national institutions if they are performing their national duty. But we naturally take umbrage at the militarisation of our politics and the politicisation of the military.

Zimbabweans want protection from their defence forces.

Fellow Zimbabweans, we must honour and respect the good work done by our defence forces as we implore upon them to gain and keep our confidence by refusing to act in a partisan manner at the expense of the national interest.

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