Quit army and face me Tsvangirai tells generals

By Tonderai Kwenda

As tensions in the shaky inclusive government escalate, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has challenged security chiefs who are dabbling in politics to remove their uniforms and openly contest for power. Tsvangirai said this while addressing a packed Mkoba Stadium Sunday afternoon where he insisted that security chiefs – the real power behind President Robert Mugabe – should declare their political interests openly and stop intimidating people.

The country’s partisan service chiefs have long declared that they will never accept Tsvangirai or anyone else who is neither Zanu PF nor hasn’t got liberation struggle credentials, as president.

“Some say we don’t support Tsvangirai and we will not support him but let’s wait and see what happens after the elections. Why can’t we cross the bridge when we get to it. If you want politics remove the uniform and we will show you what politics is. It is not guns. Stop intimidating people – convince Zimbabweans to vote for you,” Tsvangirai said.

Describing the utterances by the security chiefs as “treasonous”, Tsvangirai added: “We don’t argue with the soldiers. The institutions of the army and police are national organs not owned by individuals so if it’s about elections remove the uniform and we meet in the political sphere”. Amid thunderous chants from the 10 000-strong crowd that Chihuri must go, Tsvangirai repeated his assertion that he doubted that Mugabe was still in control of the country.

He also accused state security agents of fanning political violence across the country.

“The violence that we are talking about here is not ordinary violence. We are talking about state-sponsored violence where the police, the army, the CIO and all state organs are used to beat up people because they are not Zanu PF.

“That’s what we don’t want. But if you see that persisting then you know that the civilian authority of the state is lost,” said Tsvangirai, who was accompanied by Ministers of Home Affairs Theresa Makone, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, party Organising Secretary Nelson Chamisa and party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.

Tsvangirai revealed that he has repeatedly confronted Mugabe over the issue of security arms orchestrating violence against civilians, in their Monday principals’ meeting.

“I ask Mugabe that you call yourself Commander in Chief, you give policy direction but if these institutions continue to beat up people so who is sending them? So it means that these institutions are in defiance of your commandership,” he said.

Speaking at the same platform, Biti said security sector reform was an urgent issue which the inclusive government needed to deal with as soon as possible.

“We have a politicised military.They are everywhere, terrorising people. There has to be security sector reform, soldiers must stay in the barracks, police must stay in the barracks,” he said. Turning to the swirling propaganda about what happened at the last Sadc summit held in Johannesburg just over a week ago, Tsvangirai said Zanu PF should stop lying to the people on the matter.

“The problem in this country is that people like lies and don’t want to tell the truth. We were also there and can’t be lied to. It’s surprising that a grown up man lies about what happened but we will tell the truth,” Tsvangirai said.

“Zuma is the facilitator and he gave a supplementary report which means that he was adding onto his report from the Livingstone summit, giving a review of what has been happening in Zimbabwe since the Livingstone summit. He went on to give his recommendations,” he said, adding that Zanu PF should instead talk about their leader’s blunders at the summit.

Tsvangirai said Mugabe had said he wanted to thank Mandela when it was South African President Jacob Zuma who was now facilitating the Zimbabwean problem.

“That man is old and now needs help from young people like us,” he said.

Among other things, the Johannesburg summit had directed Zimbabwean parties to implement the GPA in full and that the negotiators continue to negotiate outstanding issues. Tsvangirai also said no elections would be held in the country until all the GPA requirements were fulfilled.

“When Zanu PF insists that it wants elections, they want to run elections according to their own rules and you know what those rules are. It is violence, fraud and all activities that will affect the holding of free and fair elections,” he said. Daily News