(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Every day, Nkululeko Sibanda and other students in Zimbabwe used to demonstrate in the streets to show their opposition to President Mugabe. After countless arrests and episodes of violence, they have now decided to build underground resistance for next year's election.
- Before, we used to gather and go out on the streets and demonstrate almost every day. Now the strategy going forward is to build the opposition in secret, says Nkululeko Sibanda. Most likely, elections will be held next year, and the goal is for everyone to exercise their right to vote then. In the last election, many of those eligible to vote did not vote, and President Mugabe could then "fill in" with his own votes. But if everyone agrees, it will be more difficult for Mugabe to manipulate the result, Sibanda continues. He is studying political science and has been central to the student movement in Zimbabwe for several years. Last year, he and Tinashe Chimedza were in Norway and received the Student Peace Prize on behalf of the Zimbabwe National Students Union, ZINASU. These days, Chimedza has just come out of the hospital after being beaten by the police, while Sibanda is visiting Norway in connection with a student campaign under the auspices of the Students 'and Academics' Aid Organization, SAIH.
Violence
In Zimbabwe, political opposition figures are increasingly being subjected to harassment, violence and abuse. – The problem now is that the violence is more often directed at individuals rather than institutions and organizations. The violence is not as hidden as before either, we are beaten up by the police in uniform and it happens to a greater extent in public, as with Tinashe. He was beaten unconscious by the police when he was to give a speech at a student meeting two weeks ago, Sibanda says. – Before, such things happened preferably after being arrested, at the police station. The authorities' new strategy is to beat people up in public to scare people from opposing the regime, says Sibanda.
Due to his political involvement, he has been arrested countless times. He has had several lawsuits against him since 2000, and since the court system never completes the cases, he is always in danger of being arrested, under the pretext that he will be brought before the court. – The judges are appointed by the government and therefore protect the authorities. Thus, the judiciary and the courts are used politically to crush the opposition, says Sibanda.
After the growing threat of being exposed to violence, the students have decided to change strategy, and focus on gathering people towards next year's election. "We will use the election as a tool to mobilize people politically and to remove President Mugabe," he said enthusiastically. – If he still does tricks with the election and retains his position after the election, people will be prepared – ready to rebel and show resistance. It was the same strategy they used in Serbia when they removed Milosevic. They also waited until after the election, says Sibanda.
youth Militia
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since the 1980 revolution. Throughout the 1980 and 1990 century, Zimbabwe was seen as a promising country. It was not until the referendum on constitutional amendment in 1999 and during the 2000 parliamentary elections that Mugabe began to face opposition from a growing opposition. And since then, the situation in the country has been getting worse. In a report by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) of June 2003, it is alleged that serious violations of human rights have been systematically and dramatically increasing since 2000. This has particularly affected key figures in the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), other politically active and the free press. Public demonstrations and protests were banned in 2002 under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). You can apply for permits to hold meetings, but they are often disturbed and stopped by police or militia despite public permits.
The ruling Zanu PF party organizes and trains young people for a kind of paramilitary activity. These youth militias are spread across the country and set up checkpoints, patrol and harass MDC supporters. HRW's report claims that the youth militia has been involved in a number of episodes of violence. Recently, it became mandatory for all young people to undergo this training. – Completing the military training is a prerequisite for entering public universities, so in practice this goes beyond everyone who wants to study, Sibanda says indignantly and continues: – This is something the authorities do because they want everyone to think about a particular way and to see everything from just one point of view.
Privatization of universities
Mugabe claims his policies are anti-imperialist, and he accuses the opposition of being the running guys of the West. At the same time, the authorities are privatizing large parts of the public sector, such as the universities. The fight against the privatization of universities is one of the fad horses of the student movement. The demonstrations have primarily focused on the consequences of the privatization of the university. School fees have become more expensive, food has become more expensive, student loans have been moved from state to private banks with sky-high interest rates, and many have not graduated in two years because teachers are striving for higher salaries. Zimbabwe has an inflation rate of about 600 percent, which also explains much of the situation. The privatization of the universities has taken place in phases and was started three years ago.
"The privatization of education is Mugabe's policy, and although he often accuses the opposition of running the affairs of the West and the colonial powers, I do not think he is as anti-Western as he wants it to be," Sibanda said. – And, I say this even though I'm in Norway, but I do not think the IMF and the World Bank are our best friends.
Weak opposition?
The Movement for Democratic Change is the largest opposition party in Zimbabwe. Negotiations between the MDC and the governing party Zanu PF have broken down, and in addition the opposition has proved ineffective. In March this year, the opposition party MDC launched a new economic strategy, "Restart". The strategy is a response to criticism that the opposition lacks concrete proposals for an alternative policy for Zimbabwe. But the student activists are not impressed.
- Restart is not important, it only exists to satisfy the elite in the opposition. People at the grassroots are skeptical of the strategy and it is also insignificant to them. People are more concerned about the violence and harassment that afflicts them every day. This is what they want to end. Many have begun to doubt whether the opposition party can create change, Sibanda believes. – In addition, there are many things in the Restart program that we students are skeptical about, such as the wording that university education should be "affordable". This is ambiguous, and probably means that the universities will continue to be privatized, he continues.
It has proved difficult to bring the various opposition groups and organizations together for a common struggle. Thus, opposition in Zimbabwe appears shaky and fragmented. For example, the MDC has indicated that it will boycott the election next year, but it has not been decided. Sibanda believes that they must decide, so that everyone can support a common strategy. – If you are going to boycott, as many people as possible must boycott and if you are going to vote, you have to work to get as many people as possible to vote, he believes.
