Maravi

A lesson in tolerance from Livingstone MMD youths

A lesson in tolerance from Livingstone MMD youths
By Editor
Thu 14 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT

The announcement by the Livingstone MMD youths that they will not allow any form of violence against any party member demonstrates more than anything else that young people are capable, when aroused, of bringing down the towers of injustice, unfairness and raising the banners of justice and humaneness.

Politics anchored on violence, intimidation and manipulation is of no value to the problems and challenges facing our people today.

The political line of non-violence that the Livingstone MMD youths have taken is what we expect or should expect from all our young people. We say this because all over the world, it is young people who are actually involving themselves in the struggle to eliminate injustice, unfairness and other forms of inhuman relations. They are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the evil practices and conditions that exist.

It is for this reason that we want our young people to start to assert themselves very strongly on the politics of our country. Zambia is theirs, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is theirs. And they therefore need to guard it jealously and ensure that its politics are directed towards the establishment of a more just, fair and humane society. We therefore place our hope in them. This country belongs to them; Zambia’s future belongs to them. We should help them become the most active and vital force of our country so that their very high sensitivities to injustice can be used to shape the future of our country.

Condemnation is always proper judgment on anything that is violent or leads to violence. Political violence by its very nature defiles those who practice it, notwithstanding any reasons they offer in mitigation or justification.

We therefore hope the position taken by these young people in Livingstone will be echoed by others across the width and breadth of our country. Political violence is cruel and quickly becomes uncontrollable when it is unleashed. Criminal acts can in no way be justified as a way to campaign for political office. We say this because violence inexorably engenders new forms of repression, which usually prove to be more serious than the ones our politicians are trying to protect us from. But most importantly, violence is an attack on life, which depends on the Creator alone.

And we must also stress that when politics appeals to violence, it thereby admits its own weaknesses and inadequacies.

It is the responsibility of our young peace-loving citizens to use all possible means to promote the implementation of non-violent tactics in the effort to re-establish justice in economic and socio-political relations.

We cannot fail to praise those who renounce the use of violence in the vindication of their political rights and who resort to methods of defence which are otherwise available to weaker parties too, provided this can be done without injury to the rights and duties of others.

We are also obliged to state and reaffirm that violence is neither Christian nor evangelical, and that brusque, violent political leadership changes will be false, ineffective in themselves, and certainly inconsistent with the dignity of all our people. The fact that we realise that even the best structures and the most idealised systems quickly become inhuman if human inclinations are not improved, if there is no conversion of heart and mind on the part of those who are living in those structures or controlling them.

As we have consistently and repeatedly stated, no doctrine, no principle or proclaimed political position can justify atrocious acts against any opponent. No crime can be committed in the name of politics and election campaigns.

Our young people in Livingstone are exposing something that is distinctively lacking among our politicians – a culture of tolerance and humility which places the humanity of others before self and accepts that all citizens have a right to directly participate in the shaping of their destiny without fear of being injured or killed.

Tolerance and respect for our fellow citizens should make us allow our political opponents to campaign freely and without inhibition for the positions they desire in their political parties or indeed in our government. And they don’t need our permission to do so – it is their right as members of our political parties and as citizens of this country. It doesn’t matter whether we like them or not; whether we support them or not. At the same time, we should expect them to treat us the same way. This is not something we achieve instinctively. Rather, we develop it consciously and respectfully. For our very instincts would drive us to throttling our opponents or better still, smacking them with a deadly blow. It is quite true that tolerance implies the highest respect for the human ideal, and its denial suggests a conscious and unconscious lack of humanity on our party. What we are striving to say is that we should take pride in our political opponents, whether we like them or not because without them, there will be no multi-party politics; no political competition and indeed no meaningful democracy.

Clearly, until our politicians and their cadres redress the imbalance between selfish pursuit of power and concern for the rights of others, between arrogance and self-respect and humility, between tolerance and mutual tolerance, we will forever be marching backwards in very long strides.

This is our tragedy, the inability to value every single innocent life and bring happiness to our people without attempting to brutalise them into fear. This is not democracy; it is tyranny.

Party elections that are based on violence and intimidation of others can never be said to be free and fair because people cannot be expected to freely express their will in such elections.

Political violence, in any form, seems to mean that we have not yet come up with a viable policy to broaden democracy in our political parties and indeed in the whole nation. There must be recognition in Zambian politics that our political practices must be based on sound moral values which serve to bind members of our political parties and all of us as a nation. A political party, or indeed a political system that recognises individual freedom and dignity is better placed to promote political participation. That is, the right of individuals to self-determination in pursuit of their constitutional rights in an open society not subject to politics of intimidation, blackmail and violence. And this should promote rational voting, that is, the right of individuals to choose their representatives under an institutional background which entrenches human freedom and dignity. Rational voting cannot take place in an electoral system based on intimidation and violence.

We want to hear more condemnations of those who want to use violence to protect or advance their political interests. Mike Mulongoti should feel ashamed to be corrected by young members of his party in Livingstone on this very important issue of violence.

What the Livingstone MMD youth are teaching us is that peace is the fruit of honesty, truth and solidarity; it is the tranquility of order. And to guarantee peace, to remove violence from our politics, all are called to maturity, tolerance and responsibility. Peace is a project, that is, it is something that we must work to obtain.

We hope other young people in the MMD and in the opposition will emulate the political line taken by the Livingstone MMD youth to defend and promote tolerance in their political parties and indeed in their interaction with members of other political parties. The present political divisions within the leadership of MMD cannot be resolved by violence. Only an intelligent approach seeking compromise and consensus can clear away these differences.

The membership and leadership of the MMD should realise that the use of violence or intimidation against anyone is something that puts them next to animals.
There is need for all our politicians to realise that a healthy democratic society that we are trying to build in this country is not simply the provision of an arena in which individuals pursue their own goals. Democracy will only flourish in this country if we accept the need for tolerance and compromise in public life. To build a democratic society, we need the Livingstone MMD youth type of commitment, the commitment of citizens who accept the inevitability of political competition as well as the necessity for tolerance. We need to learn how to pursue our goals in a democratic and civilised manner and ultimately how to live in a world of diversity. We say this because democracy is not a set of revealed, unchanging truths, but the mechanism by which, through the clash and compromise of ideas, individuals can reach for the truth.

We do appreciate that there are fundamental differences among the membership and leadership of the MMD over their forthcoming party convention. There are others who didn’t want the convention at all. But after months of discourse, all seem to be agreed about the need to hold a convention. However, differences still arise on who should attend or compete for the leadership of the party, especially the presidency of the party. But this should not be the basis for threats of violence against each other. This should be the basis for intensive negotiations and compromise. And they shouldn’t forget that as they exercise their freedoms, they are bound to responsible behaviour and respect for the freedoms of others.

For instance, George Mpombo’s participation at the next MMD convention may not be acceptable to Mulongoti and others who worship Rupiah Banda and who see their survival in him being the leader. But there is need to accept that he is entitled by law, by the MMD constitution, to attend the convention and participate in party elections if he so desires. It is important for all those involved in our politics not to forget that the politics they are involved in is an area of great importance for promoting justice among all. It is folly for anyone to believe that they need to use violence or threats of violence to intimidate those who don’t share their views into acquiescence.

There is need for the membership and leadership of the MMD to try and understand that today’s Zambian politics cannot be successfully conducted on this basis – on intimidation and violence. Intimidation and violence is something that should be totally uprooted from our politics.

Labels: CADRES, MMD, MMD YOUTH LEAGUE, POLITICAL VIOLENCE

posted by MrK @ 5:28 AM