Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano is among 40 prominent African personalities who have signed an open letter calling for an end to the current political violence in Zimbabwe, and for a free and fair second round of that country’s presidential election.
The letter was published as a full page advertisement on Friday in several publications including the Financial Times of London and Business Day of South Africa.
According to the letter signatories were deeply troubled by the current reports of intimidation, harassment and violence and that it was vital that the appropriate conditions are created so that the Presidential run-off is conducted in a peaceful, free and fair manner. ”Only then can the political parties conduct their election campaigning in a way that enables the citizens to express freely their political will”.
The signatories call, not only for an immediate end to violence, but for the restoration of full access for humanitarian aid agencies. The regime of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has shut down the operations of international NGOs, even though an estimated four million Zimbabweans (almost a third of the entire population) are in need of food aid.
It is feared that, by concentrating distribution of food aid in its own hands, the regime plans to use food as a weapon against opposition voters.
The Mozambican State Agency AIM reports that the letter also calls for an adequate number of independent electoral observers, both during the election process and to verify the results but Mugabe’s government has banned most independent organisations, including the Commonwealth, the Carter Centre and even the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Parliamentary Forum, from observing the elections.
The letter states that Zimbabweans fought for liberation in order to be able to determine their own future. Great sacrifices were made during the liberation struggle. To live up to the aspirations of those who sacrificed, it is vital that nothing is done to deny the legitimate expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe. This is a clear rejection of the regime’s claim that only the ruling ZANU-PF can claim the mantle of the liberation struggle and represent the will of the people.
Chissano’s signing of this letter is of considerable significance, since in the past he has been very close to Mugabe (and was Mugabe’s best man at his marriage to his second wife, Grace. Chissano has been most reluctant to criticise Mugabe, and the fact that he put his name to this letter shows that there are very few figures of any stature left on the international stage who are prepared to support Mugabe’s current behaviour.
A second Mozambican signatory is Graca Machel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and widow of Mozambique’s first President, Samora Machel. Without Machel’s commitment to the Zimbabwean liberation struggle, allowing ZANU to operate from Mozambican soil, it is rather unlikely that Mugabe would ever have attained power.
Other signatories to the letter include the two former United Nations General Secretaries from Africa, Kofi Annan and Boutros Ghali, and Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Wangari Maathai of Kenya.
17 former heads of state and government signed the letter – several of them from SADC and thus well known to Mugabe. They include former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, two former Tanzanian Presidents, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa, and two former Botswana Presidents, Quett Masire and Festus Mogae,
Signatories from the arts include world-renowned Senegalese musician Youssou N’dour. The man who is arguably the most powerful trade unionist in Africa, Zwelinzima Vavi, the General Secretary of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (COSATU) also signed the letter.
The letter was published on the same day that Botswana became the first SADC member to publicly condemn the crackdown against leaders of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The Botswanan Foreign Minister, Phandu Sekelemani, summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Gaberone, Thomas Mandigora, to warn him that Thursday’s detention of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai while he was campaigning and the arrest of MDC general secretary Tendai Biti on treason charges were ‘unacceptable’.
”Botswana is alarmed by these arrests and detentions as they disrupt electoral activities of key players and intimidate the electorate, thus undermining the process of holding a free, fair and democratic election,’ Sekelemani said in a statement. “We are deeply disturbed by this unfolding situation of politically motivated arrests and intolerance which pose a serious threat to an outcome that reflects the will of the people of Zimbabwe”.
ZANIS/AIM/ENDS
Mugabe should grow………..what is wrong with that round head? He can´t see what he is puuting people through,the same people he should serve.It is true power is sweet when it comes to politricks of poverty.
Mugabe has become mad!
really, how do you have your own people touched and beaten to death and still call yourselt their leader?
Zimbabwe has become a sad place.
The man needs a psychological evaluation. He is now suffering from mental blindness. In the hay days of the freedom struggle he could mentally see freedom of the nation from the imperialists. This time around he mentally can’t see that the economy of the country has gone to the dogs and that the whole world young and old have lost respect and admiration for him. The man is very well educated but has failed to apply fusion of intelligence to make life bearable for the citizens and his family. It is probale that he is very much scared of the hash treatment he will get when he loses the election.
Zimbabwe will one day prevail, all countries go thru difficulty phases, and its not for the outside weak fainted to pressure Mugabe, its upto zimbabweans themselves to decide. will people ever learn never to force change
Mugabe thinks he is life president. Gaddafi cheats Mugabe. Mugabe how do you turn against your own people. You are already old and leave politics to the young generation. If you want step down let another person stand under ZANU-PF ticket instead of you Mugabe who has become mad.
Mugabe should not think as if Zim is his alone.It was a priviledge for him to rule his country but its time for other Zimbabweans now he is not any more Zimbabwean than any one else
#4, no-one refutes that Zimbabwe will one day prevail. In fact, Zimbabwe should not have been where it is today (negatively). Zimbabwe was a middle income country at independence in 1980. What everyone is saying #4 is that let the rule of law reign in that country. Let the citizens of that country be respected by their leaders including Mugabe. What is obtaing currently is shameful. Understand this #4. I personally have no doubt that Zimbabwe will one day prevail but Mugabe is blocking its potential to do so.
Mugabe is a thick headed idoit,why can’t he heed to advise.What kind of a human being is he?I personally doubt his credibility and wonder how people even voted for the engrid.
That’s not the way to treat your citizens. Mugabe is a jerk. You never know maybe he’s waiting for Bush to leave office in September. Otherwise, he’ll be hanged like Saddam.
And what happened to our little thief FTJ? He’s not signing the petition.
# 10, kaya, maybe its because he is not a former President as such, the last time I checked he was a commoner with no immunity!
Mr Mwiinga akaka yomuntu. At least the chap is that a commoner. He’s flown to RSA everytime his troubled heart gives him trouble. For us, it’s death sentence. You’ll even bother to know I died of heart attack or stroke anyway. The guy (FTJ) instead of buying equipment for UTH or building new hospitals, he was just concerned about buying himself designer’s from head to toe and breaching his skin to became yellow or white.
Don’t even mention ka FTJ nimatuvi chabe kaja.
The old man should humbly pack his bags and take the first flight out of zimbabwe. If he perpetuates his stay, the worst evil will befall him and that will be a landmark fall of a statute of doom on the zimbabwean soil. The man has no conscious whatsoever; many of his people are displaced internally and regionally. The economy is screwed up. Poverty has even been become the sceond nature of the once chauvenist zim fellas.
Truly, as the saying goes; “what ever goes up, must always come down”!
Poor fellas! stand united and use whatever means possible to eject Robert from plot one. Take a leaf from the kenyas.
Bravo Chissano!!
#12, imagine ayi, ndanyema maningi! This chap and who ever mentioned his name has just spoiled my day
imwe leave ftj alone,he did he’s part..even the old man dr kaundab messed up and no one even wants to say anything against him..so many people lost relative’s in his time but today there is so much praise for me,he is like the messiah..kaunda should adivse his friend or brother mugabe to step down..maybe people will one day prase mugabe just like the are praising kaunda.twalema nama politician’s…!mugabe let the young politicians how it’s done..mugabe should step down so that the youth can take over.he is too old to differeciante from what’s rite and wrong…chokapo pamu pando.
#10 shut up, fool.
#17
You’re a jerk.
mugabe has become too much big-headed. he is killing the people he fought for during the liberation. just because he fought for them doesn’t make him God. even God doesn’t use his powers to kill the people He created. SADC must come up with some sanctions against mugabe regime. not sanctions that will kill innocent pipo more. SADC leaders are just talking, no proper or sufficient action against mugabe regime. even other african leaders are too silent on this issue. why should it be that only the west has to more vocal than the real african brothers?? something must be done.
Mugabe has gone mad (litrally). He thinks Zimbabwe and all that is in it (including people) is his. He therefore decides who lives and who dies. He can’t imagine leaving the throne to another person but I can assure him that the time will surely come. One way or another, sooner or later, he will cease to rule.
RED EYE# 13,
…and you think you are normal or born of legitimate parents????? Lack of education is a curse on you.Deal with it to be a good fit in this generation.Smart people explicatively debate putting up logical arguments than your subnormal culture of insults and vitriolic.Do you think just because Chiluba’s tenure was pervasive, this thread condones your type of insulting junks????? Cursed is the day you were born premature and cursed is your life on earth wherever for insulting elderly citizens.
Signing petitions is more of a gimmick in this instant, what they should do is to pick up phones to Mugabe, or more to the point & directly, should fly into Harare & talk to him face to face. Petitions are for the less privileged to be accorded an audience.
In fact am surprised that KK did sign it too, if am not mistaken, I thought he was reported to be advocating a govt of national unity, with Tsvangrai playing second fiddle to Mugabe – if this is not jumping onto the bandwagon, what do you then call it???
GLUCOSE & EYES OF DAGGA ukutumpa, bakolwe.
Natasha mwe nfumu ba powerman ukutumpa muleke.
Iwe powerman#21 who do you think you are by telling people that they are cursed.Looking at all this whole episode you are such a bad person.Are you God ?Are your parents legitimate?You are also cursed okay just bare that in mind.What makes you think that you are clever than others imbecile.
#17 & #18, Both of you re fools. Why re using this platform to call each other names?
#17, 23. Why is it that you resort to insults whenever someone mention your thieving relative FTJ? Have you been thieving together or what?
As for Mugabe, as I said earlier, he may be waiting for Bush to leave office in september. I guess Mugabe is willing to handover power. His people have suffered enough.
Mugabe and his money grabbing wife should be shot on the front lawn of their new mansion in Borrowdale…COME THE REVOLUTION!!!!
Mugabe is insane nad i wish i was zambs ,i wld kill that monkey .look at that rabbish
Bakateka bafula pa blog, 29,27,24
MMD zanu-pf and mbeki all CAT RUBBISH!!!!!!
THANX MR CHISSANO FOR COMING OUT LIKE THAT AS A FORMER LEADER AND A FRIEND TO MR MUGABE.
CAN DR KAUNDA ALSO FOLLOW SUIT BECUASE THE KILLINGS IN ZIMBABWE ARE NOT BECUASE WWHO BEING ARE HUMAN BEINGS WITH FAMILIES, MUGABE SHOULD NOT PUT POWER TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HUMAN LIVES HE IS DESTRYOING.
(AFRICA CHECK YOURSELF OUT PLEASE WE NEED PEACE.)
Mugabe’s second wife, Grace is proud. She thinks the world belongs to her and her husband. She is quoted to have said,” we shall not allow Morgan to be in power, if mugabe loses, this will be an election year; we shall vote again and again, until we win” . To me, her sentiments are mare crap. How can you be voting over and over when your people have nothing to eat? Why not use the election money for developmental gains? Rubbish
Zimbabweans have failed to see that the older you grow the closer you come to senility. Mugabe is not superhuman so Zimbabweans should have realised his faults a long time ago and removed him peacefully. However, like any dictator he is surrounded by a lot of bootlickers who always tell him he is always right. People like Chinamasa are doing a great disfavour to Zimbabwe’s future by acting as Mugabe’s guarddogs. Zimbabwe will never recover from its current woes with such cliques in Harare
The older you grow, the wiser you become.
Ye, you are only wiser, when you do realise that what you know is actually very little!!!
Plz let Bush come in and hang mugabe until he is certified dead by qlfied doctors, or let us use suide bombers to clear him.
37, ubupuba.
I am surprised that Botswana is the only country in the southern region with the guts and tenacity to tell Mugabe off. All other nations decided to follow the mob psychology of hiding behind each other’s backs and put signatures on a piece of paper as a sign of condemnation of the old man’s deeds. Why is it hard to just say mugabe go hang yourself, enough is enoigh. The welfare of Zimbabweans can’t be sacrificed for your issues with West
Mugabe should be told he will be draged to the international court for the deaths of those pipo being killed.
Botswana have felt the effects his polices thru the illigals. Only that fool mbeki still thinks it is ok in zim.
even if he wins, the west will not recognise his Zanu goverment, even if he resigns. As a condition for the resumption of Aid, human rights issues-the grabing of land from Zimbabweans because of the colour of thier skin will need to be addressed.
The suffering for zim goes on.
Mugabe should be shot. Pure and simple
Mugabe has never been a gentleman if remember very well the killings of innocent lives all in the name of crushing the so called dissident in Matebeleland in the early 80s through his googolaundi and his notorius korean trained red brigades.Also the assasination of Togogara in Mozambique his famous Zanla forces.
Mugabe has and will never be a gentleman if you rememember very well the killings of innocent pipo in Matebeleland who he accused to be dissidents.He allowed his notorius Korean trained red brigade populary known as guugulaundi that went on burning livestock and houses of the Ndebele pipo for their support of Comrade Joshua Nkomo.I know the Nkomos,Tongogalas,Chitepos and other heros and herines sacrifed but never lived to enjoy the sweat of their sacrifes are turning in the graves just because of one stupid Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Let the people know that the west is ready to move in as soon as people from (Govt’s)and zim people request
You see light end of the tunnel,
Mugabe is looking at that light and and all all his hencemen,zanu-pf and all embassy staff including ambassadors are being watched as we speaack.
Lets hope there is not going to be another Rwanda very soon.
People from within should rise
I will clear him before i leave office. He is on the list of top most wanted.As for Anonymous, i dont know why he is getting vexed everytime Kafupi is criticised.He is a thief who didnt have the interest of Zambians at heart.He wilfully chose to plunder and he was found guilty in london high court.So anonymous condemn your thieving kafupi or i will put him on the list as well.
What could Samora Machel have said?
send me to kill the bugger.
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