MDC President in Court
The MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai today appeared at the Rotten row Magistrate Courts in Harare at around 11:30 am.
However the case could not proceed because the MDC defence lawyers, led by Advocate Eric Matinenga requested that the proceedings be recorded and there was not such facilities at the court.
The case will now proceed on Monday, 9 June 2003. This means that Tsvangirai will remain in police custody until Monday. It is unclear how the process will unfold on Monda. Tsvangirai is scheduled to be in the High Court for the long running treason trial. Court procedures demand that the first hearing be at a magistrates court. So the High Court may be forced to adjourn to allow Tsvangirai leave to go the magistrates court for a fresh hearing, or something like that.
We eagerely await the regime's next move.
Paul Themba Nyathi
MDC Spokesperson
Paul Themba Nyathi, can be contacted on this number 091291727.
THE MDC’S PRESIDENT’S REMARKS AT A NEWS CONFERENCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE JUNE 2-6 2003 PHASE OF THE PEOPLE’S MASS ACTION.
Harare, June 6 2003.
It is a matter of public record that Zimbabweans from all walks of life overwhelmingly responded to the first stage of our final phase of democratic resistance.
The call by the MDC for a national shutdown and mass action represents a national effort to challenge an unpopular regime. This was the first dose of action in the final phase of the people’s collective push against this regime under our code: The Final Push.
True to form, the regime responded with the predictable brute force and mass reprisals. But as expected, this failed to stop the people from demonstrating their unflinching support for the MDC.
Special tribute goes to the men and women who braved the brutality of the Mugabe regime. Some were killed. Others were injured. Scores were arrested.
In a normal democracy, the people’s response to our call for action could have led to the resignation of a sitting regime. Instead, Robert Mugabe still thinks the mass action was a flop.
The national effort to challenge the Mugabe regime to resolve the current crisis will now continue with greater intensity from today. More action is coming as we apply internal pressure on Mugabe for national dialogue.
We have a natural right to intensify the fight for good governance.
In our short history of the struggle against tyranny in Zimbabwe, the June 2 to 6 2003 mass action has been the most successful and indeed, the most devastating in terms of sapping the morale and confidence of the Mugabe dictatorship.
Through peaceful mass action, the people of Zimbabwe delivered a mortal blow to the dictator. They have aptly demonstrated their capacity to set the limits to the dictatorship.
From Monday, June 2, up to today June 6, Mugabe was not in charge of this country. He was busy marshalling his forces of repression against the sovereign will of the people of Zimbabwe. However, even in the context of the brutalities inflicted upon them, the people’s spirit of resistance was not broken and the jackboot or the sound of gunfire will never silence their demand for change and freedom.
For the past five days, therefore, the people of Zimbabwe reclaimed their sovereignty. They were in charge. This was a major installment, indeed a landmark towards a permanent recovery of their freedom.
Throughout the world the struggle against tyranny and the retrieval of stolen freedom and liberty has never been a single event, but a traumatic process of relentless sacrifice and utmost dedication. We in Zimbabwe are not exempt from following the route charted by democrats and fellow fighters for freedom the world over.
Consequently, the peaceful mass action that we embarked upon is the beginning of new multifaceted phase towards a permanent resolution of the crisis. Whereas in the past our mass action concentrated on stayaways, we have now entered a qualitatively different phase where we have added peaceful marches to confront the dictator on the streets of every city and every town.
As a result the dictator is now cornered and reduced to using the hit and run tactics of a bandit against defenceless people.
As we progress in the fight for our freedom we shall continue to explore and add new sites and arenas of struggle on our agenda for change until the ultimate goal is achieved.
The people are now well aware of the exact nature of the crisis and the dimensions and sites of the struggle and in future there will be no need for trumpeting resistance to the dictatorship.
From now onwards we will embark on rolling mass action at strategic times of our choice and without any warning to the dictatorship. The spirit of resistance has sunk organic roots in the people and the Mugabe dictatorship will never be allowed again to trample on people’s rights with impunity. More action, as I said, is certainly on the way.
Mugabe has now been exposed as a violent and illegitimate dictator with absolutely no pretence to any semblance of civil mass support. He continues to shamelessly hang on to power through brutal force.
The current phase of the people’s mass action has demonstrated to Mugabe where his power lies. He is now under no illusion about this.
His power now lies completely in the forces of repression supervised by a coterie of his bootlickers.
He has ceased to be a civilian leader ruling with the consent of the people.
He is now a civilian dictator propped up by sections of a subverted police and military.
Not even his regional and continental supporters can alter that fact. The regime is now a self-serving dictatorship in pursuit of its own narrow material interests at the expense of the welfare of millions of Zimbabweans.
Through their weapon of peaceful and steadfast protest the people of Zimbabwe have demonstrated their resilience and determination to confront the dictatorship in the face of mortal peril.
The people have been tortured, brutalized and murdered by a regime that is meant to protect them. Their only crime is that they sought to peacefully demonstrate against the dictatorship, assert their democratic rights and reclaim their freedom.
The people’s message of peace was met with blood and iron. All these atrocities are not in vain. They lay the foundation for a future democratic culture that will never again allow one dictator and his cronies to capture the state and use it as an instrument to oppress the people.
There is life at the end of all this suffering. As I said before, if we want life we must expect pain.
I therefore want to say to the people of Zimbabwe: You have demonstrated tremendous courage in the face of evident danger. You have remained disciplined and peaceful. You have remained steadfast.
The struggle for freedom demands unwavering commitment and sacrifice. Lets maintain our unity of purpose and lets travel the last mile together towards our freedom.
Victory is inevitable.
Morgan Tsvangirai
MDC President.
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