Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Sunday issued an unprecedented appeal for an end to politically and racially driven violence in Zimbabwe, as the nation marked 30 years of independence.
“The leadership of the inclusive government urges you to desist from any acts of violence that will cause harm to others and become a blight on our society,” the president told a packed football stadium in Harare. “As Zimbabweans, we need to foster an environment of tolerance and treating each other with dignity and respect irrespective of age, gender, race, ethnicity, tribe, political or religious affiliation.”
Mugabe — at 86 Africa’s oldest leader — has been isolated by the international community, which blames him for much of the political turmoil that has wracked the country through its recent history.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition party that has partnered with Mugabe’s ZANU-PF in a fragile power-sharing government, welcomed the speech.
“Those positive statements are half the journey,” MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. “The other half is going to be action on the implementation to make sure that there is no violence.”
However, Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the pro-democracy National Constitutional Assembly, accused Mugabe of “posturing.”
“He is very good at that,” Madhuku said. “His political culture is well-documented. He uses violence and this statement today cannot be said to be a change of heart. He wants to pretend he is against violence, but of course none will believe that.”
The National Sports Stadium in Harare was awash with the green, yellow, red, black and white of the Zimbabwean flag, but participants wore normal street clothes after a warning earlier in the week that political gear and party regalia would not be allowed.
Some in the crowd waved placards with messages that read, “Zimbabwe at 30 — back to glory,” “We are our own liberators” and “1980-2010: In defense of independence, freedom and our heritage.”
Mugabe arrived at the stadium to loud cheers and lit an “eternal flame” of independence before delivering his speech.
In a rare public show of unity, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, smiled and shook hands with Mugabe when he arrived. However, he did not participate in the ceremony, leaving center stage to his partner in a power-sharing arrangement his party has said is unworkable.
Fanuel Chikwakwaire, a jobless 30-year-old from Glen View township, called for a change in leadership after three decades that have seen Mugabe dominate the political landscape.
“On this day I am hoping for change, especially for the president,” Chikwakwaire said at Sunday’s ceremony. “He is not going to go on and on. The talks must end now so we can vote.”
The main event was bookended by an all-night concert on Saturday and a football game between Zimbabwe’s two biggest teams on Sunday.
Mugabe, a former guerrilla leader, was hailed as a hero when he led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 from the white-minority Rhodesian regime, but Zimbabwe, once considered a regional model of stability, has endured a spectacular economic collapse as Mugabe has retained a stranglehold on the presidency.
Mugabe fell out with his Western allies following land reforms in 2000 that saw militant ZANU-PF members seize land from white commercial farmers, often violently.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was