Joshua Nkomo of ZAPU and Robert Mugabe of ZANU, leaders of the Zimbabwe liberation struggle. This photo was taken during the revolutionary war to liberate ZImbabwe during the 1970s., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Liberation movements mull joint campaigns
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:00
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe Herald
FORMER liberation movements from Sadc will from now on help each other campaign when they are faced with elections in their countries.
This was resolved at the movements’ three-day meeting in Harare which ended on Saturday.
A communiqué containing the resolutions was dubbed the Harare Declaration.
The former liberation movements also called for the unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western countries.
They noted and strongly condemned the illegal removal of elected Governments in some parts of Africa through coups.
The meeting was attended by Zanu-PF, the African National Congress of South Africa, Frelimo (Mozambique), MPLA (Angola), Swapo (Namibia) and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzania).
“Political parties of former liberation movements should on a continual basis share election strategies and experiences to assist in closing the gaps and weaknesses that may exist in a political party’s campaign,” they said.
“The meetings called for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and called for the release of the Cuban five.”
The liberation movements noted with concern the trend in some parts of Africa where democratically-elected governments were being overthrown through coups and other illegal means.
“The developments on the continent of democratically-elected governments being overthrown through coups, such as in Guinea Bissau and Mali, must be strongly condemned and seen as retrogressive in Africa’s quest to democratise, achieve peace, unity and development,” they said.
Calls were made for political parties of former liberation movements to remain vigilant and defend their hard-won independence.
“Political parties of former liberation movements should monitor the increasing trend and machinations towards the balkanisation of Africa and develop strategies to prevent this,” it was agreed.
It was resolved that parliamentarians of political parties of former liberation movements should increase exchanges to share information and experiences.
The secretaries general of the liberation movements went on a familiarisation tour of the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland Province on Saturday and left Harare yesterday.
Last week, President Mugabe urged governments led by the former liberation movements to be alert in the face of open aggression and insatiable desire by the former colonisers to reclaim the continent through their stooges.
“This is urgent as our revolutionary ideologies have come under sustained attack, nay, renewed attack from our erstwhile colonial masters who are determined to replace our revolutionary parties with malleable, neo-liberal stooge parties deliberately formed and funded to reverse all the gains of the liberation struggle,” he said while officially opening the liberation movements’ summit last Friday.
During that summit, the liberation movements received situational reports on political, economic and social developments in their respective countries.
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