Ambassador dismiss "with disdain the ridiculous accusations" France sponsored street protests. By P Guramatunhu

Following last week’s public protests that both shocked and shook the Zanu PF regime to the core; the regime had its usual knee-jerk reaction and accuse the West, specifically the Americans and French of sponsoring the protests.

“I make no excuse (for backing the protests), and I discard with disdain the ridiculous accusations against me reported earlier this week,” the French Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Laurent Delahousse answered by defiantly.

“ … they (allegations) belong to an outdated and irrelevant ideology that is not helping your country to adapt to the reality of the world today.

The Ambassador is right, President Mugabe and his corrupt and tyrannical regime are using the out dated and irrelevant ideology one would associate with Ian Smith’s racist and colonial era.

Ever since the country attain her independence in 1980 this Mugabe regime has systematically denied the ordinary Zimbabweans their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to meaningful free and fair elections and even the right to life. Whilst the white racist regime denied outright that blacks were capable of such human feeling like suffering physical and economic hardships such as strenuous labour, hunger, homelessness, etc. This Zanu PF regime has softened its position by accepting the people are capable of these human sufferings but it, nonetheless did not expect the people complain in anyway about their suffering because they can endure suffering.

“Our people have resilience!” President Mugabe has often said to explain away why the people of Zimbabwe have never protested against the country’s worsening economic situation.

Hence, if the Zimbabweans should ever say or do anything to protest it must be because someone, some “regime change agent”, has put the people up to say or do these things. Of course it is total nonsense that the ordinary people of Zimbabwe are incapable of seeing for themselves that the economic meltdown is caused by mismanagement and corruption and thus demand that the regime address these problems.

“We want our $15 billion back!” read one of the placards carried by the protesters last week. That was referring to the $15 billion President Mugabe admitted in March has looted but has done nothing to arrest those responsible. This showed that the ordinary people are rejecting the usual excuse that the economic meltdown is caused by sanctions; they know no nation on earth can ever prosper in the face of such wholesale looting. They do not need the Americans, the French or anyone else to tell them corruption is killing this nation.

“Zimbabweans should be allowed to assemble and demonstrate within the framework of the law and to use social media in a peaceful manner,” pleaded the Ambassador.

He was speaking to mark French National Day (Bastille Day) celebrations; the historic day in 14 July 1799 that brought the promise of “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!” to all the people of France and not just to the few. It is both ironic and heart-breaking that the men and women who claim to be Zimbabwe’s liberators, the founding fathers and mothers of our struggle for freedom, justice and liberty, should be the ones denying the masses their very humanity!

Of course it is heart-breaking that yesteryear we were fighting the white colonialists for our freedom, liberty and right to be treated like human beings and today, 36 years after independence, we are still fighting for our freedom, liberty and human dignity – fighting our own fellow blacks no less! We have to find a way to end this stupid cycle of yesterday’s liberators becoming today’s oppressors!

Viva la liberte!  Viva le France!

Excusez-moi, Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, pouvons-nous emprunter la guillotine. Nous avons notre propre Marie Antoinette de décapiter! (Excuse me Mr Ambassador, can we borrow the guillotine. We have our own Marie Antoinette to behead!)

Guillotine saved France from the oppressive ruling elite, it may do the same for Zimbabwe!

Beheading anyone is barbaric but there is no doubt that by beheading cured France’s ruling elite of the temptations of becoming oppressive and tyrannical brought on by power and greed. After 36 years of vote rigging, over 30 000 murdered for selfish political gain, etc. there is no doubt our ruling elite too have the bug and the guillotine may well be the only cure of the barbarism of one-party cum one-man dictatorship! Try it; what is there to lose!