{"id":9171,"date":"2012-04-18T20:12:39","date_gmt":"2012-04-18T20:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faceofmalawi.com\/?p=9171"},"modified":"2012-04-18T20:12:39","modified_gmt":"2012-04-18T20:12:39","slug":"mugabes-broken-independence-day-promises-unveiled-32-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/2012\/04\/18\/mugabes-broken-independence-day-promises-unveiled-32-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Mugabe\u2019s broken Independence Day promises unveiled 32 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Mugabe\u2019s broken promises have been laid bare this week as Zimbabwe marks 32 years of Independence.<\/p>\n

Zimbabweans across the world on Wednesday commemorated the historic day when the country gained independence from white minority rule.<\/p>\n

But no one could have predicted that 32 years later the country would still be craving independence from a murderous regime that has broken its promises to a nation hungry for change.<\/p>\n

In 1980 Robert Mugabe delivered a moving speech on the eve of Zimbabwe\u2019s independence, in which he promised a new, hopeful era. This speech has been re-released this week in time for the 32 year anniversary of the day and clearly shows how the ZANU PF regime has failed to fulfil its promises.<\/p>\n

Back in April 1980, the then 56 year old Mugabe spoke about the \u201clong, arduous and hazardous\u201d march to Independence, making an unintentional prediction about the \u201cdeath and suffering\u201d Zimbabweans had and would still have to face for freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur new nation requires of every one of us to be a new man, with a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit. Our new mind must have a new vision and our new hearts a new love that spurns hate, and a new spirit that must unite and not divide,\u201d Mugabe said.<\/p>\n

The future dictator went on to urge that all Zimbabweans embrace this new ethos towards a peaceful and successful nation, cemented in love and forgiveness. He held such forgiveness as a high priority, stating: \u201cIf yesterday I fought as an enemy, today you have become a friend and ally with the same national interest, loyalty, rights and duties as myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wrongs of the past must now stand forgiven and forgotten,\u201d Mugabe said, adding that \u201coppression and racism are inequities that must never again find scope in our political and social system.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cOur majority rule could easily turn into inhuman rule if we oppressed, persecuted or harassed those who do not look or think like the majority of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mugabe must have forgotten his commitments to eradicate all forms of persecution, with ZANU PF unleashing years of oppression against its opposition. This persecution continues 32 years on, with opposition members and activists remaining the victims of partisan policing. The regime would also proceed to take revenge on Zimbabwe\u2019s white farming community, in a campaign of violence hidden behind a claim of agricultural \u2018reform\u2019.<\/p>\n

In 1980, Mugabe also pledged that the new democracy would be defined by the rule of law, another promise that has been broken with years of ZANU PF law proving more powerful than national law.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocracy is never mob-rule. It is and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules,\u201d Mugabe said in 1980. He also added that Zimbabwe\u2019s independence \u201cis not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act as they desire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political analyst Clifford Mashiri told SW Radio Africa that Mugabe\u2019s broken promises have laid the foundation for an anniversary not worth celebrating, explaining that \u201cZimbabwe is in a deeper crisis than it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the rhetoric in his speech in 1980 gave way to looting, lying and revenge. The Gukurahundi massacre was soon executed. We had Murambatsvina, the revenge against white farmers, ongoing persecution. He broke all his promises,\u201d Mashiri said.

\"\"<\/a>

Mugabe on the 32nd independence anniversary <\/p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Mugabe\u2019s broken promises have been laid bare this week as Zimbabwe marks 32 years of Independence. Zimbabweans across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[925,911,2032,396],"class_list":["post-9171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-2","tag-independence","tag-mugabe","tag-robert-mugabe","tag-zimbabwe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}