'Miracle' needed for Zim poll
2005-02-24 22:22
Special Report
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, accused of ethnic cleansing and bankrupting his country, has been appointed by the UN to become the new international envoy for tourism, a report says.
Pretoria - It would take a miracle to save the credibility of the controversial Zimbabwe elections scheduled for the end of next month, Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Thursday.
However, he said Cosatu would not call for a postponement of elections up front - even though it was probably required - as the trade union movement was "somewhat disarmed" by the decision by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to participate.
Speaking in Pretoria, Vavi said the gains of the revolution in that country had been completely undermined.
He called for the "war veterans" who had been behind violence, including the occupation of commercial farms, to be "confined to barracks".
The trade union federation leader further demanded that repressive laws be repealed, a genuine independent electoral commission be set up in line with the guidelines of the Southern African Development Community, and that the "shambles" of a voter's roll be sorted out.
"Zimbabweans must live with an array of oppressive laws -not dissimilar from those under (former white minority leader) Ian Smith."
He outlined realities affecting the election's credibility as:
ongoing violations to workers rights giving the trade union movement no space to operate;
massive human rights violations;
the removal of rights to assembly and freedom of speech and
unemployment affecting between 60 to 70% of people in Zimbabwe, most of whom live in dire poverty.
"People are even dying of hunger," Vavi said.
It was widely regarded that a liberation movement such as Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party would be automatically progressive, but Cosatu had the opposite view.
"It is like looking at a soccer team. You look at its current form, not what it once was."
Vavi warned that South Africans must make sure their liberation movement did not go the way of Zanu-PF.
"We are not saying this will happen, but we must protect the gains of the national democratic revolution.
"In these endeavours, solidarity is critical, it knows no borders. Civil society in South Africa must unashamedly act in solidarity with their counterparts in Zimbabwe."
Vavi said there was a lot of "blind loyalty" to Zanu-PF and Mugabe.
"They are 'absolute heroes' in the minds of ordinary South Africans. Across South Africa's townships there are songs of praise for them.
"Mugabe and Zanu-PF were steadfast and stood firmly against white minority rule in South Africa.
"This history has made it easier for people for people not to face current realities."
- SAPA