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Addressing the main Heroes Day commemorations at the Na-tional Heroes Acre yesterday, President Mugabe urged Zimbabweans to remain vigilant as the Western machinations of regime change could be targeted at Zimbabwe.
NATO forces have been attacking Libya for the past six months, claiming to be protecting civilians while targeting President Mua-mmar Gaddafi.
“And so you get mad people in Europe. Mad people who refuse and reject the truth. Mad people who defy international law.
“Look at what they are doing in Libya. Nato, against international law, is attacking Libya under the pretext that they are protecting civilians.
“But outwardly and in a brazen way, they seek to kill Gaddafi. They have in fact, deliberately killed some of his children.”
He said Nato forces continue to bomb President Gaddafi and his family.
“Now when they do that deliberately and it is exactly what Al Qaeda and the Talibans do. What is the difference in terrorism between what they are doing and what the other states condemn?”
President Mugabe said Nato was involved in terrorism as it continues to ignore international law.
“If it defies international law. It has no rules and those out blatantly wanting to kill, that is terrorism. That’s murderous, brazen murder, assassination and who then can set it as a law abiding organisation? It has lost its legitimacy, it has become terrorism,” he said.
President Mugabe said: “And beware, this they can do on any other African country than Libya. We must always be in a state of preparedness.”
He said interference by the West in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs was divisive.
“Let’s closely guard ourselves against the divisive antics of neo-colonialism. The people in Europe, by wanting to choose who should rule among us, also, undertaking that campaign in a divisive way. It’s a divisive campaign.
“If they come to you assuming the responsibility of regime change. Choosing who shall rule during the next election, who should, who should rule us in our country during the next election. Then they are interfering in our domestic affairs,” he said.
President Mugabe said the Europeans believe they are superior and have influence in other countries’ domestic affairs.
“That is the neo-colonialism that I am referring to. That air of superiority and if you look, it’s only the Westerners who try to do that. Europe and America, combined.
“They, for one reason or another, have it in them that they are superior to any other people and therefore have the God-given right to determine the destinies of others.
“And that is what we fought against. They do not seem to understand the meaning of our liberation struggle,” he said.
President Mugabe said Zimbabweans fought the liberation war for its sovereignty.
“The fact of what they call in the United Nations Charter, the ‘right to self determination’. To determine our own future. To be ourselves. To be our own thinkers and not to have other people think for you,” he said.
President Mugabe also bemoaned the maintenance of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
He said time had come for Zimbabwe to retaliate against countries that have imposed the illegal sanctions.
“We call upon those who have imposed the illegal and punitive sanctions to remove them forthwith. We are tired of crying for them to remove the sanctions. They do not listen
“So now because they do not heed our cry for them to remove the sanctions, we want to reiterate that we cannot continue to receive the battering of sanctions without hitting back.
“We are going to have to hit back and let them heed this warning. The British have 400 companies here and we have done nothing to them at all during all this period the British have had sanctions imposed on us, but tomorrow we are not going to treat these companies in a favourable way. Vachazvionera pamhuno sefodya,” he said.
Countries that have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, President Mugabe said, did not deserve to be treated fairly as countries that have remained loyal to Zimbabwe.
“We will have to discriminate against countries that have imposed sanctions against us. How can companies from these countries continue to mining our minerals?”
President Mugabe said Zimbabwe has to go for elections as the inclusive Government was not meant to last forever.
“It (inclusive Government) was never meant to have the durability of five years or properly earned term through an election…
“It was a quasi-legal thing. Others had not gone through the electoral process. It was a political thing put together in order for us to correct what went wrong in 2008.
“But we should not take undue and want to stretch to the limit.”
He said although the principals have to discuss the election issue, Zanu-PF has become disillusioned but the lack of pace in preparing for the elections.
President Mugabe said the parties were however guided but the mandate of the people to drive the country into total development.
President Mugabe said Zimbabweans should celebrate the Heroes Day by following in their footsteps.
“We have to keep the legacy of all the departed souls. Those buried here (national shrine), various other centres across the country and in unmarked graves. In Government, in our parties, non-governmental organisations we should all keep the legacy and protect our heritage,” he said.
President Mugabe said the Zimbabwean legacy should be redeveloped, not only for today, but for future generations.
“We need to protect our heritage so that it does not go back into the hands of the colonialists. Zimbabweans should always stand by the truth and its principles that the liberation struggle was fought for.
“The truth is the issue and it is the national question.”
He castigated Zimbabweans working with external forces to reverse the gains of Zimbabwe’s independence.
President Mugabe said Zimbabweans working with foreign governments should be exorcised to remove the demons afflicting them.
He said the same enemy faced during the liberation struggle have not rested and are still trying to find more ways to colonise Zimbabwe.
“The struggle is on. We should be at our utmost preparedness to defend the country against the colonial machinations of regime change.
President Mugabe said were it not for the solidarity shown by Sadc countries, the British government led by Prime Minister Tony Blair was prepared to invade the ountry.
Online Reporter