ZIMBABWE:ZIMBABWEANS HOLD to the ideals of democracy in the face of dictatorship and have voted for change, Morgan Tsvangirai has said.
Speaking at the 55th Congress of Liberal International in Belfast yesterday, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the ruling Zanu-PF party had "lost its legitimacy and lost its popular support".
He said president Robert Mugabe was once a hero to him and to countless other Zimbabweans. However, people across the country now felt "betrayed by a party that once offered so much". Following the results of the March general election which saw the MDC win a majority, Mr Tsvangirai said voters would stand by the democratic process.
"It is a dream that they will not allow to be stolen or to be corrupted, a faith that they refuse to renounce in spite of the consequences," he said. "Zimbabweans dared to cast their vote for change, knowing that there was every likelihood that this act would result in their homes being burned down, their food stocks being stolen, their families beaten and their bones broken."
Mr Tsvangirai added: "On March 29th, the people won a solid victory, overcoming enormous odds to vote the Movement for Democratic Change into parliament with a clear majority. Their reward has been the most appalling violence, orchestrated and conducted by a political party that has lost its legitimacy and that has lost the support of the people.
"The most appalling acts of brutality are being inflicted against innocent civilians who dared to vote to rid themselves of this evil regime. As I stand here today, no Zimbabwean living within the confines of our borders is safe from the wrath of this desperate dictator. Thousands of our people have been targeted in this wave of violence."
This would not stop the people of Zimbabwe from seeking a better future through the democratic process, he said.
Speaking before news emerged from Harare that the run-off election had been scheduled for June 27th, the MDC leader said people had not lost hope. "Their faith in their right to choose a government that promises them some dignity, hope and freedom has never wavered. Their courage has never faltered and their dream has never disappeared," he said.
"This devotion to democracy has meant that, despite the brutality meted out by the ruling regime, the ideals that they dream of, their future, are the ones they live for today."
That brutality was reminiscent of the minority rule regime headed by Ian Smith more than 30 years ago, he claimed.
He pledged that, on his return, work would begin to restore Zimbabwean democracy.
"The MDC began as the people's project," he said.
"Never again will we take something so precious as freedom for granted. The first act of a new parliament will be to begin the consultation on a new constitution. This will recognise that fundamental human rights and freedoms are universal and inviolable."
Mr Tsvangirai was joined on the platform by Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade; former British Liberals leader Lord David Steel; the president of Liberal International, Lord John Alderdice; and Alliance leader David Ford.