KK defends Mugabe
KK defends MugabeBy Brighton Phiri
Monday March 19, 2007 [02:00]
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe cannot be blamed for what is happening in Zimbabwe today, Dr Kenneth Kaunda has said. And Dr Kaunda has asked the scouts in Zambia to commit themselves to actions that would serve the interest of humanity. Commenting on incidences of violence in Zimbabwe and subsequent beating of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai by the police last week, Dr Kaunda said the chaos in Zimbabwe was a product of the British government's failure to honour its promise on that country's land reforms.
"I have been saying this before...no one can say he or she is happy with the problems happening in Zimbabwe. But I have been saying you cannot blame President Mugabe for what is taking place in Zimbabwe," Dr Kaunda said. "President Mugabe is just a victim of that situation. Condemning President Mugabe is not the best thing to do." He said the 10 years of the British government's failure to take action on Zimbabwe's land reforms should not lead to any rough treatment of President Mugabe. Dr Kaunda urged African leaders to facilitate a consultative meeting for the warring parties in Zimbabwe to avert any further injury to human life.
"Rushing to condemn President Mugabe is not the best solution, but what is required is for our African leaders to quickly convene a meeting to resolve the conflict in Zimbabwe," he said. "Those 10 years of non action by the British government for that matter, after promising to deal with the land issues, does not require any rough treatment of President Mugabe."
He asked all those sympathetic with Zimbabweans to look at the historical background of the relationship between Africans and the white settlers.
Dr Kaunda said Zimbabwe's crisis could be traced way back during the colonial era when the imperialists imposed a federation on Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
"We struggled against this federation, not because we were not interested in a big state but because we could see clearly that the federation was imposed on us as the forces of imperialism wanted to see another South Africa in the hearts of Africa," Dr Kaunda said.
"We fought and struggled against the federation until then British Prime Minister Macmillan came to Africa and addressed us from Cape Town to inform us that the wind of change has come to Africa.
Two or three years later, the British government withdrew its federation...after that Malawi and Zambia was born, but Zimbabwe was not born because a White settler Ian Smith declared Zimbabwe an independent country and soon after this declaration, Smith arrested and locked up all black liberation struggle leaders among them comrade late Joshua Nkomo and President Mugabe."
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Dr Kaunda recalled that in 1974, his government realised that Zimbabwe, then Southern Rhodesia, was no longer in the hands of the British, but under a racist South African regime.
Dr Kaunda said it was out of this realisation that he arranged for a meeting with the then South African prime minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster.
According to Dr Kaunda, during the meeting that was held at a rail bridge on the Zambian and Zimbabwean borders, he asked Vorster to release ANC leader Nelson Mandela and all black freedom fighters under detention.
Dr Kaunda said he dismissed Vorster's argument that apartheid was a difference of cultures between the white and black people.
"But I reminded him that the Boers were conducting themselves differently from their fellow white people in Britain, Italy, France, Portugal and many other European countries," Dr Kaunda said.
"I put it to Vorster that I was aware that he had given Smith 14 military choppers that were killing our people in Zimbabwe and I demanded that he withdraws. We differed on many issues, but at last he agreed to withdraw the choppers and persuade Smith to release the political detainees."
Dr Kaunda said after the release of the detainees, Zambia allowed them to use its land to wage war against Smith and that in 1979, his government demanded for a Commonwealth summit on Zimbabwe.
Dr Kaunda said he was disappointed with the then British Prime minister Margaret Thatcher, whom he accused of having had made some attempts to block the Queen and Australian Prime minister from travelling to Lusaka for the summit.
"Because we had heard what she was doing before the final preparations of the summit, we arranged the programme in such a way that there should be a State banquette, where I was to bow before her and my wife would bow before her husband for a dance.
We did this to show her that we had nothing against her," Dr Kaunda said. "But it was in Havana, Cuba, while attending Non Aligned summit, when I faced a serious challenge in brokering the Zimbabwe independence talks. Comrade Nkomo and Mugabe said to me that they were not travelling to UK for the talks because they could not trust Thatcher. I called my colleagues Nyerere and Samora Machel and we succeeded to convince the freedom fighters to travel for the talks."
Dr Kaunda said Thatcher phoned him after she heard that the freedom fighters had agreed to attend the talks, requesting him to join the talks as an observer so that he could intervene in case they reached a deadlock with the freedom fighters.
"Young men and women, I travelled to London for the talks and I was present when the British government pleaded with the freedom fighters to separate the issue of land from the independence. They asked the freedom fighters to leave the issue of land to them as they would mobilise resources to fund the land reforms within the period of 10 years," Dr Kaunda said.
"In 1980 Zimbabwe got independence, but 10 years down the line, the British government under Tony Blair did nothing to fulfil their promise. And what followed was chaos. We really saw difficulties beginning to gain grounds in Zimbabwe. The British government's failure to honour its promise begun to show results of a terrible nature."
Dr Kaunda wondered why the British government was quick to demonise President Mugabe and asking African leaders to condemn him when they had a share of the causes of instability in that country.
"It is only fair that the British government explains its failure to fulfil its promise before asking anybody to condemn President Mugabe," he said.
And addressing the scouts and Girl Guides at Lusaka's Cathedral of the Holy Cross during the commemoration of the Scouts movement Founder's day and 100 years of existence on Saturday, Dr Kaunda urged the youths to explore various ways in being proactive and creating selfless leadership in the various areas of human endeavour.
"Whatever we are involved in, scouting is such a great platform for strengthening both our character and our service to society," Dr Kaunda, who is also chief scout in Zambia, told the scouts that filled the Cathedral to capacity. "As we remember these events, let us commit ourselves to action. May we be inspired by the great action of the founder Robert Baden Powell."
He told the scouts that scouting in Zambia started by Reverend Robertson at Lubwa, where he was born on April 28, 1924.
"Reverend Robertson emphasised and taught us personal hygiene, he taught us values and practice of commitment and service to fellow human beings and society," he said. "Through scouting, he taught us to love other persons. We learnt self discipline and respect."
Dr Kaunda said he was pleased that the scouts movement in Zambia had increased its membership to 23,000 and that the girls accounted for 40 per cent of that number.
He commended the scouts' involvement in education, treatment and care.
"Truly, together we shall fight and conquer AIDS," he said.
Earlier Dr Kaunda led the scouts in singing "Tiyende pamodzi" song.
Chief scout commissioner Raymond Jhala commended Dr Kaunda for having provided vision for the country.
"We are what we are today because our chief scout asked himself what will be the nation for next 25 years," Jhala said.
He reminded the scouts of the challenges of HIV/AIDS, conflicts, unemployment, lack of education and disease as they sharpened the destiny of their country.
UNFPA country co-ordinator Dr. Deji Popola urged the scout movement to step up its efforts towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Dr. Popola said the MDGs were attainable.
He commended the scout movement for promoting inclusiveness and tolerance.
Sports and youth and child development deputy minister Patricia Mulasikwanda urged the scouts to play an important role in shaping the country's destiny.
"I am at peace to see our scouts exhibiting some fruits of the youth policy," she said. "We should keep up our spirit of loving others before ourselves."
Labels: INDEPENDENCE, KAUNDA, LAND, MUGABE, UNIP
posted by MrK @ 5:00 AM
3 Comments:
More of that ‘blame it on the imperialists’ nonsense. (Yawn). I wonder, when will we take responsibility for our own recalcitrance and mismanagement? Will we ever own up? Will we ever acknowledge our own diabolical complicity? Africa’s misadventures have largely been creatures of her own inept and delinquent political and economic structures (some ex colonies- imperialist designs notwithstanding- have done visibly well-Malaysia being an apt example) It is time we seriously and honestly confronted ourselves-- our duplicity and our complicity. I tire of this diversion nonsense.
" More of that ‘blame it on the imperialists’ nonsense. (Yawn). "
I'm sorry, but you don't know what you are talking about.
All the issues that Zimbabwe is dealing with - land distribution, lack of infrastructure, the way the country was thrown together, the fact that all of it's corporations are white or western owned, the fact that they are threatened with sanctions if someone doesn't like their domestic policy, are all leftovers from colonialism. Which in Zimbabwe only ended 28 years ago.
So please, can the 'pull ourself up by your bootstraps' nonsense and get a clue.
Yes, there are a lot of things Zimbabwe can do, but don't come here and give me that 'let's not look at the past' nonsense.
The imperialists' shabby history and their insatiable and gluttonous designs are well- documented and untoward-- nauseatingly so. Notice: what I denounced was our complicity and duplicity in this whole debacle. The mechanisms of neo-colonialism serve as a case in point. Whenever western agents have laid their grubby hands in exploit of African resources, or used Africa as a strategic pawn in pursuit of their selfish designs, they have invariably been aided and facilitated by members of our own corrupt and spineless elite whom they have relied upon to propel their interests. (Viz: the US and its oil interests in Nigeria; its cozy relationship with the crooked Museveni in Uganda; the French designs on Rwanda and their consequent questionable rapport with Habyarimana-the list is literally endless). We cannot predict what the west will do next (we can of course hazard a guess-they will be as greedy and as self interested as they have always been). The more apposite question is what are we going to do in response?
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