SPECIAL FEATURE: ZPP STATEMENT ON INDEPENDENCE DAY 2016
18 April, 2016
STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF ZIMBABWE’S INDEPENDENCE DAY
ZIMBABWE PEACE PROJECT (ZPP) joins the rest of country in commemorating the
nation’s 36th anniversary of its independence. ZPP recognises and acknowledges that the
independence of this country did not come easy. It took a protracted liberation struggle in
which many gallant sons and daughters of the country lost their lives. Indeed such sacrifice is
outstanding and ought to be commended by all. Without these men and women, living or
dead, Zimbabwe would not have attained majority rule in 1980.
We are grateful for majority rule. We are thankful for milestones the country achieved in the
past 36 years in various areas. And we commend government for all gains realised since
1980.
However, we bemoan the reversal of the gains of liberation, which we have seen most
significantly in the past 16 years. The deteriorated general state of affairs; the
impoverishment of the masses; the snuffing out of democratic space; the repression of the
people; a haphazard style of land distribution; unequal distribution of the nation’s resources;
as well as a biased empowerment model which is neither broad-based enough nor transparent
are hardly what the gallant sons and daughters of the revolution went to war for!
We look around at the state of affairs in the country and in particular are disappointed with
the following:
Political violence that continues to rear its ugly head across the country leaving in its
wake injured, maimed, killed, as well as harassed and intimidated individuals. Cases
in point include electoral violence in the first decade and more prominent in 2000,
2002, 2005, 2008 and to a smaller extent in 2013. Not to forget the tragic statesponsored Gukurahundi exercise which claimed the lives of an estimated 20 000
civilians. The list goes on and on.
Rampant human rights violations across the spectrum – civil, political, social,
economic and cultural rights. ZPP reports for 2015 show that at least 4957 people fell
victim to human rights violations in 2528 recorded cases. These numbers are too
large for a free country where the expectation is that the general populace would
freely enjoy their rights.
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