The commemoration of National Heroes Day on Monday coincided with the burial of the late Vice President Joseph Msika, who died last week aged 86. The late Vice President was given full military honours as his white casket, draped in a Zimbabwe flag, was lowered into the ground.

Thousands of people thronged the shrine including, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy Prime Ministers Thokozani Khupe and Arthur Mutambara, Cabinet Ministers and the families of those buried at Heroes Acre.

Former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and Vice Presidents from Tanzania and Botswana, the Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Mozambican Minister of Home Affairs were among the foreign guests who attended the ceremony.

Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa said the Heroes Acre was filled to capacity, with some people having to sit on tree branches.

President Robert Mugabe told mourners the late Vice President was a great fighter, and a principled and fearless leader who spent 46 days in the West End Clinic in Harare, until he finally died last Wednesday from hypertension.

Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara told SW Radio Africa that Msika was a 'stabilising force' in the inclusive government, and an 'honest, frank and father figure who will be missed in the government.'

However, some have portrayed the late Vice President as 'perhaps the only Zimbabwean who could outdo Mugabe when it came to verbal vitriol.' The UK Telegraph wrote: "The targets of his bile included journalists, farmers, all young Zimbabweans - who had allegedly failed to match his standards of patriotism and devotion - and white people in general."

The paper went on to say, while Mugabe would routinely refer to white Zimbabweans as 'greedy exploiters,' Msika bluntly declared: 'Whites are not human beings," and described the then opposition MDC party as a 'terrorists group.'

When asked for his reaction to this, Mutambara said, Zimbabweans have gone through a period where people have been fighting against each other through words and fighting through violence. "We have lost lives in our country and we have gone through a very bad patch. It's time for Zimbabweans to work together and put our past behind. Msika was very keen in the inclusive government, keen to encourage Zimbabweans to work together in spite of the issues that happened in the past, and was critical in bringing ZAPU and ZANU together."

Meanwhile, our correspondent Muchemwa said, in an unusually short speech at the Heroes Acre, Mugabe attacked Western countries for failing to recognise the inclusive government, while regional bodies such as the African Union and SADC have recognised 'efforts being made' by the new government. He said: "The British have said they will never be slaves, so they should not be slave masters."

According to Muchemwa, Mugabe's speech appeared to criticise the MDC-T's re-engagement strategy with the West. The MDC has been going to Western countries looking for aid but has only managed to receive pledges for humanitarian assistance and specific projects. Western countries have refused to give money directly to the coalition government until they see real change and democratic reforms in place.

Mugabe said: "Let everyone in the Inclusive Government be clear that no nation will ever prosper through handouts, with a dime here for drugs, a dime there for food and perhaps a farthing here for your budget."

He added: "Kwadzinorohwa matumbu ndikokwedzino mhanyira." (They run back to their abusers).

Meanwhile, the two MDC's have criticised the partisan manner in which national heroes are conferred in Zimbabwe, which to date has been the sole prerogative of those in ZANU PF.

The parties said there must be an inclusive national policy and an independent body with set parameters and clearly defined yardsticks to determine who qualifies to be a national hero or heroine.

Mutambara said it is an 'insult to our intelligence and our collective wisdom' to have a heroism framework that is defined by ZANU PF alone.

The Deputy Prime Minister said a 'National Heroes Selection Board' is going to be created that will be above politics, is non partisan, and would involve the private sector and civil society. He concluded: "We must make sure that our National Heroes Acre is not a ZANU PF shrine but a National shrine. As a National shrine it must be above partisan aspirations and partisan interests. This is work in progress."