The news that President Edgar Lungu is once again contemplating invoking emergency powers to declare a State of Emergency is extremely worrying to us as the Green Party.
Invoking a State of Emergency is a violent response to violence.
As we have always stated, violence, whether by the State, bandits, vandals or terrorist, and in whatever form, and for whatever reasons, is almost always self-defeating because it breeds more and more violence. The ultimate victims are innocent souls who many a time have nothing to do with the scores the perpetrators intend to settle with their perceived enemies.
Invoking the State of Emergency is State-sponsored terror in that the police, army, and other security agencies are given unlimited power to reign terror on innocent citizens through dusk-to-dawn curfews where citizens will be unwarrantedly arrested and detained; citizens will be deprived of their rights to privacy and subjected to humiliating house and body searches; right to freedom of movement will be curtained, including right to ownership of private property and other rights. Such measures will only exacerbate tension and divisions in the nation.
As the Green Party, we believe the declaration of the State of Emergency is extremely uncalled for at this point in time, not only because the emergency measures will deprive citizens of their constitutional rights, but is likely also adversely hurt the economy. The emergency measures will surely scare away the donors, investors and tourists. Our economy is too fragile to endure such economic fallout.
In this regard, we implore the President to exercise maximum restraint on invocation of emergency powers. The negative consequences of such measures by far out-weigh the positive outcomes. If anything, invoking emergency powers is like playing in the hands of perpetrators of acts of sabotage. The primary objective sabotage acts is to aggravate ill-feelings and more violence so as to plunge the nation into terror, humiliation and anarchy. If State response is by way of more terror, through the State of Emergency, then the saboteurs will achieve their objective.
Our view as the Green Party is that instead of invoking emergency powers, the President, as the Commander-in-Chief, should better still order for a mobilization and deployment of all Army, Police, National Service and other defence and security, who were trained by the United Nations and African Union in peace keeping and observer missions tactics to guard strategic public and private installations countrywide, with unequivocal instructions to abide by constitutional imperatives.
Our defence and security agency have excelled across the world in terms of peace-keeping and observer duties. They need to replicate their achievements abroad here at home. Meantime, whilst the troops restore order, most importantly, we the politicians should immediately go into a dialogue mode to resolve our differences and chart a peaceful way forward. There is need to urgently reform institutions that have gotten the nation into this ill-fated situation of terror, tension, disunity, and deep hatred, especially the Constitutional Court and the Electoral Commission of Zambia. We should not continue burying our heads in the sand pretending there is no problem when our nation is slowly and surely getting into political and security decay.
It’s really hot in the kitchen! United we stand and divided we BURN! The truth is there is no tension and that is allegedly only in the minds of the three churche mother bodies. City market cannot just burn like that because it is heavily guarded and there is no evidence of sabotage at this stage. We may need to bring in foreign Forensic experts to do the investigation since Zambia has no such non-partisan professionals. Unfortunately PF and its government are very determined to find an excuse to inflict more suffering on poor Zambians. The only solution is impeach this PF government and there will be peace. The question is how since we have a one party parliament at the moment. Take the Fox out and the Chickens will be safe. PF should be declared a terrorist organization. They have even…
Lungu is right
It is the only solution now
Thanks
BB2014,2016
The president’s tendancy of downing shots of strong drink in flight explains some of the wild unwise reactions on the airport tarmac during departures and arrivals.
Wanya wanya tateka ichalo!
This is what happens when you concentrate all your intelligence resources to finding out what kambwili, HH and UPND are doing, you forget about fighting crime and keeping citizens safe.
They have even made history by terrorizing mourners and desecration of burial sites. Shame on you!
Its a shame people with wisdom are pushed to the back of the political line yet dancers,perpetrators of hate speech and visionless people are perceived as those with presidential qualities.
Its time zambians realised how serious the position of leadership is and stopped entrusting pretenders with power ,ba tata ba Sata MHSRIP passed the button to a clueless person and he has left the running track and headed out of the arena leaving sensible people in awe and staunch followers resorting to subduing voices of reasoning.
@buunga i agree with you but that can only happen when we have a population that is educated enough to know what is chaff and what is not,currently who ever has the best catchy tune or slogan can be a leader no substance
I am not surprised that lungu thinks this will fix the problem:lungu please your brain Zambia is not a bar hall..
well articulated mr sinkamba.
So what does Green Party envisage to be the ‘gives’ and ‘takes’ of their preferred dialogue? UPND have refused to dialogue; and any dialogue with Green Party and all political parties without UPND will be completely useless. People just need to respect institutions of governance and the decisions made through them. If they don’t emergency powers are part of instruments of governance to deal with people who refuse to act civil. So I support emergency powers for as long as the terrorists are still roaming the streets and ready to pounce again.
STATE OF EMERGENCY PLEASE…………….. AS NOTHING ELSE WILL DO. THIS WILL BE DIRECTED AT WRONG DOERS AND NOT INNOCENT PEOPLE. I DON’T SEE MYSELF LOITERING AFTER 22.00 HRS, SO WHAT HARM IS THE EMERGENCY GOING TO DO TO ME?
I am not surprised that lungu thinks this will fix the problem:lungu please use your brain Zambia is not a bar hall..
Peter Sinkamba the weed master. that weed is blearinesing you for sure, Lungu is right state of emegency It is the only solution now. these UPNDs are stupid
Inevitable
in as much as we all feel hurt on wat has happened,i for one strongly oppose the idea of declaring a state of emergency.like comrade sinkamba has rightly put it,this will not help matters already our economy is on its knees and we know the impact this will bring
Every nation has the right to invoke martial law when innocent citizens are losing property. George Bush invoked that after hurricane katrina to preserve the lives a
Hurican Katrina was an act of nature not an arrest of an opposition figure on fake treason charges…..
What Zambia needs now is not dialogue or a new state house but a new President! This one has failed us lamentably!
Those of U Who Want A State Of Emergency Dont You Know That This Might Make The Country Become Ungovernable And Eventualy This Might Result Into A Civil War? Ask Angola, Mozambique, DRC And Rwanda They Will Tell U Wat War Is
Why declare a state of emergency when there is no tension in the country according to lungu? These are signs of a dictator.
Maybe every opposition leader in Zambia smokes what this guy smokes! They all never make sense! Imagine having such and this caliber of people in office! Thank God Hazaluza Hagain onse!