|
|
Zimbabwe: Army Urged to Defend Zim's Sovereignty
 |
 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Herald (Harare)
25 September 2007
Posted to the web 25 September 2007
Harare
The army must use the two options it has to defend the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe - the ballot box and the gun should it be necessary, a senior officer has said.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for 47 soldiers who completed a sergeant's platoon course at 22 Infantry Battalion in Mudzi District last Friday, Commander of the Mechanised Brigade in Inkomo, Brigadier General David Sigauke said the army's core business was to defend to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zimbabwe. He said the army does not only attach importance to monetary gains but had added responsibilities and there was need for them to discharge their duties diligently. Brig Gen Sigauke said this calls for selfless, loyal, dedicated and principled soldiers.
"It therefore remains our duty to defend our rightful heritage. As soldiers, we are privileged to be able to pursue this task on two fronts, the first being through the ballot box and the second being the use of the barrel of the gun should the worse come to the worst," he said. "I may therefore urge you as citizens of Zimbabwe to exercise your electoral right wisely in the forthcoming elections in 2008, remembering that 'Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again'," said Brig Gen Sigauke. The army should remain focused, resilient and vigilant especially this time when the economy was on a slide and conflicts are the order of the day on the political front, he said. The graduates - who were sergeants and corporals -- underwent a 22-week course covering subjects such as weaponry, field craft, tactics, communication, map reading, military law, military civic education and administration. Brig General Sigauke said the course had prepared the soldiers to withstand any future challenges and ensure the army prevailed in any campaigns.
"This course is a career course, hence besides preparing you for future deployments, it also prepares you for promotion and career guidance," he said. He said the prevailing economic hardships and shortages of basic goods were as a result of the illegal regime change inspired sanctions imposed by the British and their allies in response to the land reform programme.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
