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ZIMBABWEANS from all walks of life yesterday commemorated Heroes Day and will today celebrate Defence Forces day in the country’s provinces as they pay tribute to the gallant sons and daughters of the soil who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the liberation struggle. Yesterday’s commemorations were held in the various provincial capitals with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs reading the President’s speech. The Heroes and Defence Forces holidays are important in the country’s history as they celebrate the departed and living heroes. Thousands of Zimbabweans died in Mozambique, Zambia and within the country in the 1970s during the protracted guerilla war pitting Zanla and Zipra forces against the racist minority Rhodesian army.
Camps in Mozambique and Zambia were routinely bombed by the Rhodesian Airforce and the most brutal of these were at Chimoio and Nyadzonia. Memorials have been erected at these sites and every year around this time, living heroes of the struggle trek back to these shrines to honour and remember their fallen comrades.
Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle was a long and painful chapter in the nation’s history and the atrocities committed by the Rhodesians are still a lingering memory in the psyche of some of the heroes of the war.
At independence in 1980, then Prime Minister Cde Robert Mugabe announced a policy of reconciliation and extended an olive branch to the white settler regime. For this, he was lauded by former colonial master Britain and other Western nations.
Cde Mugabe also honoured the Lancaster House Agreement which proposed a 10-year moratorium on land reform during which the willing-buyer willing-seller concept applied. During this period, the pace of land redistribution was slow as white farmers – most of whom were multiple land owners – frustrated the process by holding on to their vast tracts of land.
The Conservatives – who were in power in Britain – also offered little support for land reforms. After the 10-year period lapsed, the Labour government of Tony Blair literally thumbed their noses at Zimbabwe, arrogantly declaring through a letter written by International Development secretary Clare Short, that they were not bound by the agreement signed by the Conservatives and were therefore not going to fund land reforms.
Zimbabwe then embarked on the land reform programme and through the fast track resettlement exercise, acquired land from about 4,500 white farmers. This precipitated the country’s current problems with Britain and its allies who maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe to this day.
President Mugabe has steadfastly maintained that the reason why the war of liberation was waged and thousands of lives lost was to reclaim the land stolen from blacks by white settlers. Most war veterans led the occupation of white farms at the turn of the millennium and were at the forefront of the land reform programme. To them, true independence means ownership of the means of production – in this case the land. Thus Zimbabwe is one of the few countries to complete the cycle of independence and achieve complete self determination.
The country is politically and economically independent with the indigenisation and economic empowerment policy consolidating the ownership of the economy by the majority black population. Zimbabwe now boasts successful black commercial farmers, miners (both small and large scale) and industrialists and it is President Mugabe’s vision to see more people taking the initiative and supporting the government’s programme to empower them.
So as the nation commemorates, Heroes and Defence Forces holidays, it is crucial that Zimbabweans take time to cherish the peace and tranquility that prevails in the country and not take it for granted. They should honour the gallant sons and daughters who perished so that they could enjoy the opportunities brought by independence. In the same vein, our Defence Forces deserve to be honoured for maintaining peace and security in the country since independence. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces are a disciplined army with a distinguished record.
The ZDF has participated in various peace keeping missions across the African continent. In 1997, they stopped rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo from over-running the capital Kinshasa and seizing power. They also assisted the Mozambican army to contain the threat of Renamo bandits in the 1980s and 1990s. As a force, they are a disciplined and well drilled unit and Zimbabweans should be proud to have them.
Online Reporter