Zimbabwe Independence Day - An African Statement
Posted: Thursday, April 19, 2007

By Ayinde
rastafaritimes@yahoo.com
April 19, 2007

Yesterday the people of Zimbabwe celebrated their nation's 27th year of independence and the US and other European powers are not pleased. They hoped that the White minority settlers in Zimbabwe could have continued controlling the vast amount of land that was taken during colonial rule.

Despite the increasing pressure from the US and other European powers, the majority in Zimbabwe remain strongly aligned to the ruling ZANU-PF party and their president, Robert Mugabe. It was hoped that economic hardship fueled by sanctions and the ongoing campaign by Western countries to demonize President Robert Mugabe could have been enough to turn the majority of people in rural areas against Mugabe. So far that has failed.

The life expectancy of an average Zimbabwean, as reported by the White House Deputy Press Secretary, Dana Perino, is 36 years old and the White Western powers are doing all they can to increase the pressure on the ordinary people through sanctions and rhetoric that is designed to scare away investors and financers from Zimbabwe. In other words, if the common folks in Zimbabwe do not force their government from power, allow Whites to control the most and best agricultural land, and accept western neocolonial polices, then they deserve to suffer and die.

Many in the African-American community join Africans in the international community in supporting those in Zimbabwe who bravely speak out against sanctions, for Britain to honour the agreement to finance the land redistribution exercise and for Zimbabwe to move further way from neocolonial policies.

Zimbabwe should also be calling for compensation from colonial powers for the theft of land, the hardship that Africans endured, and the wealth that the West derived from the unjust and illegal acquisition of land in Zimbabwe.

Many Zimbabweans understood that maintaining political freedom and reducing poverty required a new direction. They understood that the government was right to move away from the IMF and World Bank policies. They also understood that the government was right to fast track the process of reclaiming lands from White settlers and returning them to the indigenous African population.

We in the African community support Zimbabwe's efforts to develop true independence, free from the dictates of western powers and poverty.

Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com

Visit: Zimbabwe Watch 

Printer friendly version

Send page by E-Mail

Homepage | Reasonings | Features | Forums | Interactive