Zimbabwe Says West Should Forget About Regime Change

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe speaks at the United Nations. The country has heightened security amid western threats aimed at destabilization.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos

West should forget about illegal regime change: Ndlovu

Herald Reporter

Western countries should forget about illegal regime change in Zimbabwe as the country has a solid basis based on the liberation struggle and the demise of the colonial regime, the Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said yesterday.

Dr Ndlovu made the remarks in his keynote address during the commemoration of the death of the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s revolution, Imam Khomeini, in Harare. The minister said Zimbabwe, like Iran, went through a taxing revolution which brought about a nation of determined people and leaders.

"We are stronger because we were born out of a revolution. Zimbabwe did not come on a silver platter and that is where Western countries are lost.

"Puppets have no basis as their hope lies in the oppressor. All stooges have ended miserably and I do not know why they do not learn. Western leaders will never support a strong leader who stands for the people. Iran is a very strong nation," Dr Ndlovu said.

He said Zimbabwe and Iran were being persecuted for their strong stance against imperialist forces and urged the people of the two countries to remain resolute.

"If you do not fight for your land, that is the greatest sin you can make. The late Imam is among the greatest," Dr Ndlovu said.

Speeches and works of the late Imam inspired liberation war fighters and the late Vice President, Dr Simon Muzenda, led a delegation of liberation fighters to Iran for assistance. Dr Ndlovu said up to now the works of the late Imam continue to motivate Zimbabweans in the wake of aggression by the West.

"Today, as Zimbabwe continues to prosecute its struggle against imperialism and Western hegemony, at this third stage of our struggle, I wish to point out that as a nation we continue to be inspired by the commitment of Imam Ayatollah Khomeini to the struggle for national sovereignty.

"As he stood for the total emancipation of the ordinary people, so we are standing against the resurgence of imperialist interests and dominance in this country and region," Dr Ndlovu said.

Because of that shared experience and history, Dr Ndlovu said Iran and Zimbabwe enjoyed cordial relations.

He said Iran had assisted Zimbabwe in various fields ranging from agriculture to broadcasting and called for more collaboration between the two states.

The minister also took a swipe at the outgoing British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, whom he said appeared on television yesterday lecturing to Moslems.

He said Mr Blair had no moral authority to lecture to Moslems since his country was leading the persecution of Arabs. Speaking at the same occasion, Iran’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Rasoul Momeni hailed the cordial relations between the two countries.


HARARE, Zimbabwe 1 June 2007 Sapa-AP

MUGABE SAYS SECURITY FORCES ON ALERT AGAINST WESTERN-BACKED TERROR

President Robert Mugabe accused Britain of backing what he
called a terror campaign by his opponents and said his nation's security forces were on heightened alert, the official media reported Friday.

Mugabe, addressing police recruits at a parade, urged his
countrymen to unite against "shameless arm twisting tactics" by Britain and political opponents seeking his ouster, state radio and the official Herald newspaper said.

Independent human rights groups say police, troops and ruling
party militants were responsible for most of the violence that has wracked the country in more than six years of political and economic turmoil.

The agriculture-based economy in the former regional breadbasket collapsed after Mugabe ordered the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms in 2000.

"Our security forces have heightened their vigilance to thwart
the subversive maneuvers of those who engage in crimes of political violence and ensure that violence of whatever nature is not allowed to rear its ugly head in this country," Mugabe said.

The government accuses the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change of mounting a series of gasoline bomb attacks in recent
months, charges the opposition denies.

While Britain and its Western allies criticized police for
enforcing law and order, they ignored opposition violence that
occurred after the main opposition party was "egged on by its
masters," Mugabe said.

"The so-called masters of democracy, who are known for their
double standards, have ignored or underplayed this vicious campaign of unrestrained acts of terror and instead sought to besmirch the government for enforcing law and order," he told recruits Thursday at the Morris police depot in Harare, according to the state media.

In March, Mugabe praised police for violently crushing an
opposition-led prayer meeting and assaulting opposition leaders in custody. Several opposition leaders suffered broken bones and most, including opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, required hospital treatment.

Lawyers defending opposition activists were beaten up by police as they dispersed a lawyers' demonstration outside the Harare High Court last month.

The lawyers were protesting the arrest of two colleagues accused of obstructing the course of justice by contesting police evidence against clients detained for alleged involvement in petrol bombings, saying police evidence was faked and activists could not have been involved in at least one incident because at the time they were already in jail.

Mugabe on Thursday praised the police for their "dedication to
duty" and said authorities would not tolerate strikes and other protests.


Young women’s league to be established

Municipal Reporter

The Zanu-PF Women’s League is pushing for the establishment of a women’s youth league to champion issues of the young women and help recruit them into the party.

Women’s League secretary for commissariat Cde Tracy Mutinhiri said the idea had received positive responses from the party’s leadership but could not be immediately implemented because the party’s constitution does not provide for it.

She said once the necessary mechanisms were in place, the young women’s league would be established and would become the breeding ground for future women leaders.

It seems the idea followed realisation that young women fail to get positions in the Zanu-PF Youth League whose leadership is dominated by men.

"We are encouraging young women to join the party so they can also rise within the party structures. We also feel by forming the young women’s league, issues that concern the young women can be adequately addressed," said Cde Mutinhiri.

She said at election time, the young women’s league could forward its own candidates for consideration by the party.

"We would use the league as a platform to groom women into future leaders. The Women’s League would act as advisors to the young women. At the moment there seems to be a vacuum between the old women and the young women. We want that gap reduced," she said.

Cde Mutinhiri urged all women to take advantage of Government’s various empowerment vehicles by applying for loans.

She said women should also actively participate in politics and discuss Bills and Acts passed by Parliament as well as educate each other on the benefits of such laws.

Cde Mutinhiri cited inheritance and domestic violence as issues that should be discussed among women as the relevant Acts were passed to protect them and their children.