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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Palestine wants to partner the Museum of African Liberation (MAL) in Harare in an effort to share information on Palestine and its collaboration with Africa in their respective struggles for independence and self-determination.
The African Liberation Museum was established to chronicle the continent’s struggle for independence and yesterday Palestine Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tammer Almassri said he would facilitate the Yasser Arafat Museum in his country to collaborate with the MAL.
The Yasser Arafat Museum was established in honour of the late Palestine leader and his contribution to Palestine struggle against Israel’s occupation.
Ambassador Almassri made the proposal during a tour of the MAL during a tour by journalists from Palestine who are in the country for a training programme with their Zimbabwean counterparts that begins today and is being held in conjunction with the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
“I will try to communicate with the Yasser Arafat Museum to share some memories between our great leaders and not only between Palestine and Zimbabwe but also with Mozambique for example, with Cde Samora Machel, and Dr Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia, South Africa and Namibia and other African countries.
“I think we have great data that we can provide you with and also want visitors here to know that Palestine was a part of the solidarity campaign and the struggle against colonial powers and former apartheid powers in the region. So, our wish is to have the Palestinian flag raised here,” he said.
MAL chief executive officer Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi said the cooperation between the two institutions was a positive development. “You heard about the need for collaboration between our Museum here and the Yasser Arafat Museum which is only natural given these Museums are all about the quest for liberation and the struggle for liberation so we will be welcoming our brothers and sisters from Palestine so we will work with them in that regard.
“We also talked about the prospects of raising the Palestinian flag Museum of African Liberation along the other 55 African flags and the Chinese, the Cuban, the Russian and the Swiss flags that are already flying here. So that prospect is a very positive and auspicious possibility which we will be working on,” Ambassador Muzawazi.
The delegation also toured the National Heroes Acre with members of the delegation hailing the cordial relations between the nations.
Ms Duha AL-Dweik from Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates is head of the delegation. He symbolised their own struggle against Israeli occupation.
“These monuments are really close to our hearts as Palestinians because we have suffered from colonialism for many years and we are still suffering from apartheid and colonialism.
So, it is really touching to see the liberation status that Zimbabwe has achieved so far. It is really touching that we can see and feel these monuments that a nation has suffered for many years and now has achieved liberation and has independence. So it’s really a touching story that we will hold and share with our people back home,” she said.
Mr Richard Mahomva the Director for International Communication in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services described as profound, relations between the two countries.
“The starting point is that we have got very profound relations that date back to the time of the armed struggle and the fact that this delegation has the National Heroes Acre as the starting point of their tour is symbolic of their return to the source.
“The purpose of this visit relates to media training that the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services will be conducting nationally because we are going into elections and we are keen on creating reportage that is development oriented and we are keen on creating reportage that is free and fair to all given the mandate that we have as Government and that feeds overall into the NDS1 agenda for image building and we are saying these are our friends and we are going to give them an opportunity for idea exchange,” Mr Mahomva said.
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