By Blessing Mashaya
President Robert Mugabe is unwilling to address the problems that have compelled long-suffering Zimbabweans to take to the streets, but “rather prepared to shed blood” to defend his 36-year grip on power, a Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC) report has claimed.
In the report, the civic organisation said history proves that Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF will do anything to retain power, as seen during the “Gukurahundi massacres which claimed the lives of over 20 000 civilians in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces”.
“ . . . Mugabe has shown that he is not prepared to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis but is rather prepared to shed blood to defend his stay in power,” CIZC said.
The organisation said it was calling upon regional, continental as well as international bodies to intervene urgently and prevent further loss of innocent lives in Zimbabwe.
“CIZC also calls upon progressive forces to unite in creating . . . a democratic and economically developed Zimbabwe,” it said.
The organisation blamed 92-year-old Mugabe for the rampant rights violations being perpetrated by State security agents and Zanu PF militia across the country.
“CIZC notes with great concern the increase in State-sponsored abductions and victimisation of civic society and opposition activists over the past months,” it said, adding that “on numerous occasions, and in front of his . . . Zanu PF militia . . . Mugabe has chosen to endanger the lives of civic society and opposition activists by castigating them and threatening to deal with them for choosing to differ with his ideology”.
“He has done this with the full knowledge that his party supporters are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of opposition and civic society activists over the years and on top of this, they have operated with so much impunity as their actions are meant to defend his continued stay in power.”
CIZC further said: “We thus hold the firm view that abductions, torture and murder of civic society and opposition activists have the full blessings of . . . Mugabe, who at one time declared that he was too busy to be bothered by the disappearance of human rights activist Itai Dzamara, who was abducted by State security agents in March 2015.” Daily News
