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robert mugabe’s independence day address, april 1980 « the wild frontier

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 Prime Minister Robert Mugabe’s address to the Zimbabwean nation in April 1980 (read the whole thing or, if life’s too short, the parts I’ve highlighted in bold.) Long live our Freedom! The final countdown before the launching of the new State of Zimbabwe has now begun. Only a few hours from now, Zimbabwe will have become a free, independent and sovereign state, free to choose its own flight path and chart its own course to its chosen destiny. It s people have made a democratic choice of those wh o as their legitimate Government , they wish to govern them and take policy decisions as to their future. This, indeed, is the meaning of the mandate my party secured through a free and fair election, conducted in the full glare of the world’s spotlight.While my Government welcomes the mandate it has been freely given and is determined to honour i t to the letter, it also accepts that the fulfillment of the tasks imposed by the mandate are only possible with the confidence, goodwill and co-operation of all of you, reinforced by the forthcoming support and encouragement of all our friends, allies, and well wishers in the international community. The march to our national independence has been a long, arduous and hazardous one. On this march, countless lives have been lost and many sacrifices made. Death and suffering have been the prize we have been called upon to pay for the final priceless reward of freedom and national independence. May I thank all of you who have had to suffer and sacrifice for the reward we are now getting. Tomorrow we shall be celebrating the historic event, which our people have striven for nearly a century to achieve. Our people, young and old, men and women, black and white, living and dead, are, on this occasion, being brought together in a new form of national unity that makes them all Zimbabweans.Independence will bestow on us a new personality, a new sovereignty, a new future and perspective, and indeed a new history and a new past. Tomorrow we are being born again; born again not as individuals but collectively as a people, nay, as a viable nation of Zimbabweans. Tomorrow is thus our birthday, the birth of a great Zimbabwe, and the birth of its nation.Tomorrow we shall cease to be men and women of the past and become men and women of the future. It’s tomorrow then, not yesterday, which bears our destiny. As we become a new people we are called to be constructive, progressive and forever forward looking, for we cannot afford to be men of yesterday, backward-looking, retrogressive and destructive. Our new nation requires of every one of us to be a new man, with a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit.Our new mind must have a new vision and our new hearts a new love that spurns hate, and a new spirit that must unite and not divide. This to me is the human essence that must form the core of our political change and national independence.Henceforth, you and I must strive to adapt ourselves, intellectually and spiritually to the reality of our political change and relate to each other as brothers bound one to another by a bond of national comradeship.If yesterday I fought as an enemy, today you have become a friend and al ly with the same national i nterest , loyalty, rights and duties as myself. If yest erday you hated me, today you cannot avoid the love that binds you to me and me to you.Is it not folly, therefore, that in these circumstances anybody should seek to revive the wounds and grievances of the past? The wrongs of the past must now stand forgiven and forgotten.If ever we look to the past, let us do so for the lesson the past has taught us, namely that oppression and racism are inequities that must never again find scope in our political and social system. It could never be a correct justification that because whites oppressed us yesterday when they had power, the blacks must oppress them today because they have power.  An evil remain s an evil whether practiced by w hite agai nst bl ack o r b y bl ack a gain st whi te. Our majority rule could easily turn into inhuman rule if we oppressed, persecuted or harassed those who do not look or think like the majority of us.Democracy is never mob-rule. It is and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules. Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the right to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will.It is not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act, as they desire. I, therefore, wish to appeal to all of you to respect each other and act in promotion of national unity rather than negation of that unity. On Independence Day, our integrated security f orces will, i n spite of their having on ly recently fought each other, be marching in step together to herald the new era of national unity and togetherness. Let this be an example of us all to follow. Indeed, let this enjoin the whole of our nation to march in perfect unison from year to year and decade to decade towards its destiny.We have abundant mineral, agricultural and human resources to exploit and develop for which we need perfect peace. Given such peace, our endeavours to transform our society and raise our standard of living are bound to succeed.The mineral resources lying beneath the surface of our country have hardly been scratched, nor have our agricultural and industrial resources yet fully harnessed. Now that we have peace, we must go fully out to exploi t them. We already have a sophisticated infrastr ucture. Our expertise is bo und to i ncrease as

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  • PrimeMinisterRobertMugabesaddresstotheZimbabweannationinApril1980(readthewholethingor,iflifestooshort,thepartsIvehighlightedinbold.)

    LongliveourFreedom!ThefinalcountdownbeforethelaunchingofthenewStateofZimbabwehasnowbegun.Onlyafewhoursfromnow,Zimbabwewillhavebecomeafree,independentandsovereignstate,freetochooseitsownflightpathandchartitsowncoursetoitschosendestiny.ItspeoplehavemadeademocraticchoiceofthosewhoastheirlegitimateGovernment,theywishtogovernthemandtakepolicydecisionsastotheirfuture.This,indeed,isthemeaningofthemandatemypartysecuredthroughafreeandfairelection,conductedinthefullglareoftheworldsspotlight.WhilemyGovernmentwelcomesthemandateithasbeenfreelygivenandisdeterminedtohonourittotheletter,italsoacceptsthatthefulfillmentofthetasksimposedbythemandateareonlypossiblewiththeconfidence,goodwillandcooperationofallofyou,reinforcedbytheforthcomingsupportandencouragementofallourfriends,allies,andwellwishersintheinternationalcommunity.

    Themarchtoournationalindependencehasbeenalong,arduousandhazardousone.Onthismarch,countlessliveshavebeenlostandmanysacrificesmade.Deathandsufferinghavebeentheprizewehavebeencalledupontopayforthefinalpricelessrewardoffreedomandnationalindependence.MayIthankallofyouwhohavehadtosufferandsacrificefortherewardwearenowgetting.Tomorrowweshallbecelebratingthehistoricevent,whichourpeoplehavestrivenfornearlyacenturytoachieve.Ourpeople,youngandold,menandwomen,blackandwhite,livinganddead,are,onthisoccasion,beingbroughttogetherinanewformofnationalunitythatmakesthemallZimbabweans.Independencewillbestowonusanewpersonality,anewsovereignty,anewfutureandperspective,andindeedanewhistoryandanewpast.Tomorrowwearebeingbornagainbornagainnotasindividualsbutcollectivelyasapeople,nay,asaviablenationofZimbabweans.Tomorrowisthusourbirthday,thebirthofagreatZimbabwe,andthebirthofitsnation.Tomorrowweshallceasetobemenandwomenofthepastandbecomemenandwomenofthefuture.Itstomorrowthen,notyesterday,whichbearsourdestiny.Aswebecomeanewpeoplewearecalledtobeconstructive,progressiveandforeverforwardlooking,forwecannotaffordtobemenofyesterday,backwardlooking,retrogressiveanddestructive.Ournewnationrequiresofeveryoneofustobeanewman,withanewmind,anewheartandanewspirit.Ournewmindmusthaveanewvisionandournewheartsanewlovethatspurnshate,andanewspiritthatmustuniteandnotdivide.Thistomeisthehumanessencethatmustformthecoreofourpoliticalchangeandnationalindependence.Henceforth,youandImuststrivetoadaptourselves,intellectuallyandspirituallytotherealityofourpoliticalchangeandrelatetoeachotherasbrothersboundonetoanotherbyabondofnationalcomradeship.IfyesterdayIfoughtasanenemy,todayyouhavebecomeafriendandallywiththesamenationalinterest,loyalty,rightsanddutiesasmyself.Ifyesterdayyouhatedme,todayyoucannotavoidthelovethatbindsyoutomeandmetoyou.Isitnotfolly,therefore,thatinthesecircumstancesanybodyshouldseektorevivethewoundsandgrievancesofthepast?Thewrongsofthepastmustnowstandforgivenandforgotten.Ifeverwelooktothepast,letusdosoforthelessonthepasthastaughtus,namelythatoppressionandracismareinequitiesthatmustneveragainfindscopeinourpoliticalandsocialsystem.Itcouldneverbeacorrectjustificationthatbecausewhitesoppressedusyesterdaywhentheyhadpower,theblacksmustoppressthemtodaybecausetheyhavepower.Anevilremainsanevilwhetherpracticedbywhiteagainstblackorbyblackagainstwhite.Ourmajorityrulecouldeasilyturnintoinhumanruleifweoppressed,persecutedorharassedthosewhodonotlookorthinklikethemajorityofus.Democracyisnevermobrule.Itisandshouldremaindisciplinedrulerequiringcompliancewiththelawandsocialrules.Ourindependencemustthusnotbeconstruedasaninstrumentvestingindividualsorgroupswiththerighttoharassandintimidateothersintoactingagainsttheirwill.Itisnottherighttonegatethefreedomofotherstothinkandact,astheydesire.I,therefore,wishtoappealtoallofyoutorespecteachotherandactinpromotionofnationalunityratherthannegationofthatunity.OnIndependenceDay,ourintegratedsecurityforceswill,inspiteoftheirhavingonlyrecentlyfoughteachother,bemarchinginsteptogethertoheraldtheneweraofnationalunityandtogetherness.Letthisbeanexampleofusalltofollow.Indeed,letthisenjointhewholeofournationtomarchinperfectunisonfromyeartoyearanddecadetodecadetowardsitsdestiny.Wehaveabundantmineral,agriculturalandhumanresourcestoexploitanddevelopforwhichweneedperfectpeace.Givensuchpeace,ourendeavourstotransformoursocietyandraiseourstandardoflivingareboundtosucceed.Themineralresourceslyingbeneaththesurfaceofourcountryhavehardlybeenscratched,norhaveouragriculturalandindustrialresourcesyetfullyharnessed.Nowthatwehavepeace,wemustgofullyouttoexploitthem.Wealreadyhaveasophisticatedinfrastructure.Ourexpertiseisboundtoincreaseas

  • moreandmoreeducationalandtechnicalinstitutionsareestablishedtotransformourskilledmanpower.Thewholeworldislookingonusthisday.Indeed,manycountriesintheinternationalcommunityareamazedathowwehavesoquicklyandunexpectedlymovedfromwartopeace.Wehavecertainlywonthegoodwillofmanycountriesandcanconfidentlyexpecttobenefitfromtheeconomicandtechnicalaidtheyareableandwillingtoprovideforus.MayIassureyouthatmyGovernmentisdeterminedtobringaboutmeaningfulchangetothelivesofthemajorityofthepeopleinthecountry.ButImustaskyoutobepatientandallowmyGovernmenttimetoorganizeprogrammesthatwilleffectivelyyieldthatchange.Therearepeoplewithoutlandwhoneedland,peoplewithoutjobswhoneedjobs,childrenwithoutschoolswhoneedschoolsandpatientswithouthospitalswhoneedthem.Wearealsofullyawareoftheneedforincreasedwagesinallsectorsofemployment.MyGovernmentwillcertainlydoitsbesttomeettheexistingneedsintheseareas.Butyouhavetoassistusbybeingpatientandpeaceful.Inowfinallywishtoappealtoyou,whereveryouare,toparticipatefullytodayandSaturdayintheIndependencecelebrationsthathavebeenorganizedthroughoutthecountry.Thereare,ofcourse,thoseofyouwhohavethedutytomaintainessentialservices.Theseservicesmustindeedbemaintainedsothatthecelebrationsarefacilitated.Maintainingsuchessentialservicesduringthecelebrationsisasignificantcontributionoftheirsuccess.IwishtothankHerMajestytheQueenforhavingsentHisRoyalHighness,PrinceCharles,thePrinceofWalestorepresentherandofficiateatourIndependenceceremony,wherehewillperformthesymbolicactofseveringourcolonialtieswithBritain.Asyouareaware,thishistoricceremonywillbewitnessedbyHeadsofStateandGovernmentandrepresentativesofnearly100countriesplusrepresentativesofseveralinternational,politicalandvoluntaryorganizations.Theceremonywillbealsobereportedandrelayedtomillionsofpeopleintheworldbythemassmedia.MayIenjoinyoualltoregardthissolemnoccasionwithhonouranddignity,andparticipateinthecelebrationsthatfollowitwithjubilation.Letusrejoiceoverourindependenceandrecognizeinittheneedtodedicateourselvestonationalunity,peaceandprogress.InowwishtopaytributetoLordSoames,ourGovernor,forthemostimportantrolehehasplayedinsuccessfullyguidingthiscountrytoelectionsandindependence.Hewasfromtheveryonsetgivenadifficultandmostunenviabletask.Andyetheperformeditwithremarkableabilityandoverwhelmingdignity.ImustadmitthatIwasoneofthosewhooriginallynevertrustedhim,andyetIhavenowendedupnotonlyimplicitlytrustingbutfondlylovinghimaswell.HeisindeedagreatmanthroughwhomithasbeenpossiblewithinashortperiodIhavebeenPrimeMinister,toorganizesubstantialfinancialandtechnicalaidfromBritainandothercountries.IampersonallyindebtedtohimfortheadvicehehasconstantlygivenmeontheartofmanagingtheaffairsofGovernment.Ishallcertainlybemissingagoodfriendandcounselor,andsowillourindependentZimbabweandallitspeople.IalsowishtothankallourdistinguishedquestsforthehonourtheyhavegivenusbycomingtoattendourIndependencecelebrationsonbehalfoftheircountriesororganizations.Theirpresenceinourcountrysignifiesabondofsolidarityandfriendshipbetweentheircountriesororganizationsandourcountry.Withoutthesupporttheyhavegivenustowardsourliberation,thisdaywouldneverhavecomeabout.Thanks,therefore,forallthematerial,political,diplomaticandmoralsupporttheyhavegivenus.SonsanddaughtersofZimbabwe,IurgeyoutoparticipatefullyandjubilantlyinourIndependencecelebrationsandtoensurethatallourvisitorsarewellentertainedandtreatedwithutmosthospitality.Ishallbeoneinspiritandlove,inloyaltyandcommitmentwithyouall.ForwardwiththeYearofthePeoplesPower!LongliveourFreedom!LongliveourSovereignty!LongliveourIndependence!


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