Zimbabwe’s people ‘still live in fear’

HARARE – Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Saturday ‘political persecution’ of his supporters had not halted under the country’s unity government and the people were still living in hunger and fear.

Opening a conference of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, Tsvangirai warned that many democratic reforms had not been achieved and spoke of the difficulties of making the coalition government with President Robert Mugabe work.
He said his party remained committed to democratic ideals, but spoke of severe problems still to be addressed.
‘It is these ideals that show me that we have not yet succeeded in restoring the rule of law, that our people do not live free from fear, hunger and poverty, that our state media remains partisan and prejudiced, that freedom of association is not yet a right that all can enjoy,’ he said.
According to Tsvangirai, progress under the power-sharing government formed in February was ‘being undermined by those that are threatened by the democratic changes contained in the global political agreement’.
‘In addition, despite our party being committed to restoring the rule of law, our members continue to be victims of political persecution,’ he said.
Eighteen rights and opposition activists accused of seeking to overthrow Mugabe were recently re-arrested after their case was referred to the high court for trial.
Tsvangirai said there were limitations to what he could do as prime minister in the coalition government that has led to an uneasy sharing of power between the two former arch-rivals.
‘We have to recognise the limitations of a coalition government. We are in a coalition with (Mugabe’s) Zanu-PF,’ he said. ‘The MDC is in government but we are not the government.
‘These are the limitations in a marriage of convenience. Those in government will tell you this government is walking on a thin thread.’
Tsvangirai also decried the atmosphere of political intimidation that plagued his MDC supporters.
He said regional leaders should help resolve a dispute over the appointments of the central bank chief and attorney general.
Supporters of Tsvangirai and Mugabe have clashed over the president’s decision to keep Gideon Gono as central bank chief and Johannes Tomana as the attorney general.
Gono, who has been widely criticised for failing to stop the Zimbabwean economy’s slide into world record inflation, is a Mugabe ally. Tomana has declared his allegiance to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.
The matter was referred to the Southern African Development Community regional bloc following the dispute.
Tsvangirai said though the new government had brought some relief to Zimbabweans who have endured years of economic crisis and political tensions, there was a much to be done.
‘In the 107 days since the formation of the inclusive government, the MDC within that government has been instrumental in stabilising our economy and bringing it back from the brink of a truly national disaster,’ Tsvangirai said.
‘In fact, we have been able to bring our rate of inflation from a world-record breaking rate of 500 billion percent to minus three percent as at the end of March.
‘While we must recognise the positive difference that our entry into government has brought to the people of Zimbabwe, we must also admit the fact that we have not moved as far or as fast with these positive changes as the people demand.’
– Nampa-AFP