[FFZE] Zim’s Mugabe Sends War Vets into Vote Battle Posted by zimbabweelection Fears of violence as old soldiers vow support for ZANU-PF By Nicollete Zulu in Bulawayo: President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF is set to rely once again on the support of Zimbabwe’s controversial war veterans as he campaigns for re-election on July 31. The former soldiers, the backbone of Zimbabwe’s War of Liberation that brought independence from British rule in 1980, have long been the main cog in ZANU-PF’s political machine, leading farm invasions in the land reforms, and perpetrating electoral violence against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) since 2000. Analysts said that without the backing of the war veterans, ZANU-PF would be unlikely to harness adequate support to face what is likely to be the greatest challenge to Mr Mugabe’s regime since he took power at independence. “Without the backing of the war veterans, ZANU-PF’s electioneering strategy would be thrown into disarray,” said Dumisani Nkomo, spokesman of the Matabeleland Civil Society Forum of pressure groups in the southern region. In launching his manifesto this week, Mr Mugabe used the language of the battlefield to rally his supporters. ”You are our soldiers. You have a battle to fight. Go into the battle well-armed,” he told a crowd on the outskirts of Harare. “Go into the battle with the full knowledge that there is a political enemy. This is a do or die struggle. Your victory will be our victory and your defeat, alas, will also be our defeat,” he said. The ethos of war that was harnessed in 2008 led to appalling levels of violence, most of it against MDC supporters, causing hundreds of deaths, injuries, detentions and disappearances. Mr Mugabe’s use of the language and increased reports of violence and harassment in recent weeks have fuelled fears that the same could happen this year. The veterans refer to themselves as “freedom fighters,” and to their “struggle” as an ongoing “revolution”. Jabulani Sibanda, the war veterans’ leader, has said that Mr Mugabe’s supporters will “fight to ensure ZANU-PF wins at all costs”. “When we fought the liberation struggle, we were labelled terrorists. In year 2000, we took the struggle to another level and embarked on the land reform programme and some people labelled us invaders and all sorts of names,” he told local media this week. “Now the revolution is on another level and still there are some who call us names. As freedom fighters, we will never relent,” he said. Mr Sibanda is leading ZANU-PF campaigns in rural areas and was recently in Matabeleland where he declared that he was fighting MDC “Satanism”. The MDC has accused Mr Sibanda of intimidating villagers. In May, Mr Sibanda directed village heads, headmen and chiefs during a meeting held at Makhovula Primary School, Gwampa Ward 18, to instruct their people to burn MDC party cards or face “a big fire,” according to Bulawayo Agenda. “Mr Sibanda accuses us (MDC) of being Satanic and evil. In response, all his campaigns in rural areas are a manifestation of Satanism like harassing and intimidating defenceless villagers for votes,” Nhlanhla Dube, the national spokesperson of the MDC, told local media. Thabani Nyoni, the director of the Bulawayo Agenda human rights organisation, said that Mr Mugabe “cannot go it alone,” and needs the backing of the ex-combatants as he takes his campaign around the country. “The war veterans will continue to be a key element of the ZANU-PF campaign machinery and a key component of the militarisation of that party’s structures,” Mr Nyoni said. Leaders of the security services have publicly supported Mr Mugabe, threatening soldiers and police with the sack, and rural people with the removal of benefits from the indigenisation programme if they do not vote for ZANU-PF. Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, has mobilised war veterans to assist ZANU-PF in exchange for jobs, cash and other benefits. Armed forces chiefs have said they will not support an elected leader who did not participate in the War of Liberation, a clear reference to Mr Tsvangirai. War veterans have also used their power to organise political support and get out the vote for ZANU-PF to extract financial support, which has in the past been blamed for driving up inflation and contributing to the collapse in the late 1990s of the Zimbabwean currency. Following the unbudgeted financial payouts to veterans in 1997, the currency went into free fall until it was abandoned in 2009 and the economy was dollarised. Their early role in the land redistribution also saw many inexperienced war veterans given prime agricultural land that they did not know how to farm, leading to drastic falls in production and yield of food grains, an end to grain exports and widespread food shortages that continue. While the land redistribution will not be reversed by either ZANU-PF or the MDC and there are signs of recovery in production as skills improve, the role of war veterans remains controversial, even for Mr Mugabe, who saw the potential of their support and brought them on board. Useni Sibanda, the director of the Zimbabwe Centre on Faith and Public Policy, a Christian-based organisation headquarted in Bulawayo, said he doubts Zimbabweans will be intimidated by “this time around because they want change”. “The patience shown by Zimbabweans to try and register to vote despite the many frustrations is a clear indication that the people know who have subjected them to abject poverty and want change,” he said. “Our observations are that no amount of intimidation or threats will force people to vote against their will,” Mr Sibanda said.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 18:51:35 +0000
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