Bulawayo — Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of breaking the law, spreading "the language of hate," invading productive farms, ignoring international treaties and persecuting members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"This must stop now," Tsvangirai said, amid reports that he is under party pressure to pull out of Zimbabwe's unity government. He was speaking at a rally in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's econd-biggest city, to mark the 10th anniversary of the MDC. The full text of his September 13 address follows:
My Fellow Zimbabweans,
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to celebrate with you the 10th Anniversary of the Movement for Democratic Change.
To celebrate a decade of courage, conviction and commitment to the democratic founding principles of the MDC.
Each one of you here today, and every member of the party throughout the country, have made the MDC a party of excellence. Each one of you can feel proud of your contribution to the struggle to free our nation. Proud of our determined adherence to peaceful, democratic change and proud of our resolve to continue the struggle in the name of freedom.
Most of all, we can be proud of the many sons and daughters who stood beside us and who paid the ultimate price in this struggle to build the Zimbabwe that our war of liberation was fought for and that we all demand and deserve.
I am also proud that we are holding this celebration today in Matabeleland whose peoples have witnessed so much suffering and bloodshed displayed such commitment and resolve. Thank you for hosting us today.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank those brave Zimbabweans who stood by us when we formed the party and who join us today, even though they are no longer members of the MDC. Your presence here today is a tribute to the principles of dignity, freedom and democracy that run deeper than mere party politics. I welcome you.
In addition, I wish to thank our African brothers and sisters, and the members of the international community, who have respected and supported the right of all Zimbabweans to determine our own future. Our victory will be your victory, our peace and prosperity will compliment those of your own nations.
My fellow Zimbabweans, when the MDC was formed in September 1999, we made a promise to the people of this great nation that we would deliver change, that we would deliver democracy, freedom and prosperity - and we stand by that promise today.
We stand by our promise that we will be together to the end, marching to a New Zimbabwe.
My fellow Zimbabweans, I salute the courage and conviction you have displayed over the past ten years in the face of brutal oppression and I thank you for your continued support, loyalty and dedication to a New Zimbabwe.
Your belief in what is right, your belief in your right to freedom and prosperity and your belief in the MDC has seen the party grow to become the largest political organization in Zimbabwe and the winner of the March 2009 elections.
Your cry for change was heard across Zimbabwe, from Matabeleland to Manicaland and Masvingo, in the streets of Harare and Bulawayo and the towns and cities throughout the land.
We have faced enormous challenges over the past decade. We have stood up to, defied and denounced a political regime that was intent on impoverishing the entire nation to retain its brutal grip on power.
We have overcome enormous challenges with the minimum amount of resources and maximum amount of courage and conviction.
We have seen comrades fall in the struggle and others walk away wearied or disheartened.
We have seen political greed reduce our beautiful, bountiful nation to the status of a beggar no longer able to feed its own children.
Through all this, we have remained united by the principles of democracy, by the principles of peaceful change and by the pride in our Zimbabwe and its peoples.
The process of change that began in 1999 is irreversible. The past decade has proven that, and the coming years will provide the ultimate proof. That is why we must renew our efforts as the majority party that represents the hopes and aspirations of all Zimbabweans.
My fellow Zimbabweans, coalition Governments require certain compromise on policy. However, I am here to tell you today that the MDC has never, and will never, compromise on issues of principle.
For the past seven months we in the MDC have shown respect, conciliation and understanding to Zanu PF and what have we got in return? Nothing.
They continue to act with arrogance, forgetting that it was they who lost the March election and that they are only in this agreement as we formed this Government for the wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe.
They continue to violate the law, persecute our people, spread the language of hate, invade productive farms, ignore our international treaties and continue to loot of our national resources.
This must stop now. The MDC wants partners in this Government but ultimately our mandate is to deliver good governance to the people - and for this all we need is the trust and support of the people.
Too many Zimbabweans, both during the liberation from colonialism, and over the past decade, have sacrificed for their belief in democracy and freedom and we will neither forget nor forsake their sacrifice.
Too many Zimbabweans rely on us now to restore our country, its freedoms and its economy, for us to compromise on our ideals. Our ideals, are the ideals of all Zimbabweans and their belief in us drives us forward and keeps us true to the principles of our righteous struggle.
Therefore my message is very clear. The MDC will continue the struggle to deliver Real Change to the people.
To deliver dignity to the people.
To deliver security to the people.
To deliver democracy and freedom to the people.
To deliver prosperity to the people.
And to deliver hope to the people.
Only when we have done this will we have delivered Real Change to the people.
Over the past three days, I have asked each member of the Standing Committee, the National Executive Committee and the National council to join me in recommitting ourselves to delivering Real Change to the people of Zimbabwe.
This is not a slogan. This is a statement of the values by which we must conduct our lives, our work and our struggle, whether in Government or in the party, whether a member of the leadership or of the structures.
Every morning, each one of us has a duty to ask, "how will I fight for Zimbabweans today".
If as leaders, our actions do not represent Real Change, then we cannot hope to deliver Real Change to the people. When we met in January and decided to form this inclusive Government, it was because we believed it offered the best opportunity to deliver Real Change to the people of Zimbabwe.
The current political dispensation represents another milestone on the journey that we embarked on a decade ago. While the past seven months has seen progress on a number of fronts, the Zimbabwe that so many millions of our people have struggled for, believed in and voted for has not yet been achieved.
The Global Political Agreement presents a clear framework for the achievement of a better Zimbabwe. Only through the full and complete implementation of all its articles can we progress as a nation. I encourage you to familiarize yourselves with its commitments and to work at all levels to ensure they are adhered to.
Both the GPA and the Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly define the role and duties of our brothers and sisters in the police and defence forces. I urge to resist those who would have act against the best interests of our people to achieve short-term political gains. The rewards to be gained through the building of a new prosperous, peaceful nation will bring greater dividends to all of us and our children.
As leaders of the MDC we will renew our efforts to ensure that the constitution-making process is driven by the people and delivers the framework for free and fair elections. We will strive to ensure that the process of National Healing allows for justice, reparations and the closure of wounds left open and untended for too long.
AIPPA and POSA continue to hang over the heads of the people and blatant violations of the rule of law show that we have not yet made real change in these areas. As the MDC in Government, we will ensure that legislation that promotes freedoms is sent to parliament for approval by the people's representatives. It is not enough for us to just make a difference in Government; we must make a positive difference.
To make a positive difference, we must acknowledge that the cancer of corruption poses a definite threat to our nation's progress. Political patronage has caused this cancer and is up to all of us to eradicate it from our society. My party and my Government will not tolerate corruption in any form or shape.
It is time for all the parties in this Government to acknowledge that the people demand and deserve change and they must adapt their behaviour accordingly if they want to remain relevant within our Government.
The GPA is not there to be negotiated, it is there to be implemented. There can be no excuse for continued delays or distractions to the full and complete implementation of every outstanding issue.
My fellow Zimbabweans, the real change that we undertook to deliver still awaits the people and we shall not loose sight of their dreams and desires and nor will we stop the struggle until every Zimbabwe can live in peace, prosperity and freedom. The MDC remains committed to ensuring access to food, jobs, quality education and professional health care for you and your children.
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My fellow Zimbabweans, March 29th 2008, proved to the region and the world that the MDC has the support of the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans. Despite intimidation, threats and widespread rigging we were victorious at the polls. It was a victory of right over wrong, of freedom over oppression, of democracy over dictatorship.
It proved to all of us that the ultimate victory of the people of Zimbabwe can and will be achieved.
We must continue the march to a New Zimbabwe. We must be emboldened by the victories of the past decade, undaunted by the challenges that lie ahead and strong in our resolve that we have the support of the people and that our struggle for truth and freedom cannot be defeated.
This quest for peace to overcome tyranny, for the ballot to overcome the bullet is a process for which no template exists in Africa. As we navigate this difficult path we ask our African brothers and sisters and the international community to stand by the people of Zimbabwe and to be partners in our determination to democracy.
In turn, I ask you, brave Zimbabweans, will you;
Stand with me in the struggle to deliver dignity?
Stand with me in the struggle to deliver security?
Stand with me in the struggle to deliver democracy and freedom?
Stand with me in the struggle to deliver prosperity?
Stand with me in the struggle to deliver hope?
Let us stand united, proud of what we have achieved, humbled by the trust and support we have in each other and determined to deliver Real Change.
And with God as my witness, let those who stand in the way of this progress know that we will not suffer another 10 years in this wilderness of despair – it is time for those who stand in the way of progress to realize the time has finally come for hope and a new beginning for our great country.
On this 10th Anniversary, I know that as we lift our hands and hearts toward God, we thank Him together for bringing us this far in the struggle and pledge, that with His help, we will deliver REAL CHANGE – TO THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE!
I thank you.
