Opinion: Tsvangirai, the man who had deserved to be President!

There are some fellows walking on this earth, who has deserved with their persistence and leadership, with their potential and their spirit. That they are justified to become President. The way they are and their aura. It is rare and unique. Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change – T (MDC-T) had deserved to carry that mantle. The way he carried himself through the oppression and the hacks who took him for granted.

Tsvangirai has proven to resilient and strong, he got played, but still showed his character. No one would have judged him if he had given up after the Second Round Elections and the rigged affair of 2008. With all the merciless use of force and the obvious stolen elections. Someone could have given in and said enough. Instead, he shown his leadership abilities. The way he continued to build his party and take a path towards a better tomorrow.

Tsvangirai shouldn’t just be remembered for being the main opposition of former dictator Robert Mugabe, who ruled until last November 2017. Who kept him away from the office and from the Presidency, by all means. Tsvangirai tried by all means to get there and used with peace. He didn’t want to take power by the guns, like Mugabe did and never left. He was tricked by the Global Political Agreement that made him Prime Minister, even if he won the 2008 election. That shows the conning ways of Mugabe and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) helper Thabo Mbeki. His weakness of Mbeki and wishes for stability by any means. That gave Mugabe a freeway to stay in power.

Therefore, Tsvangirai was risked on the alter and ZANU-PF, the Mugabe Presidency lingered on and the MDC-T and the MDC turned into different fractions. That is why it’s with time become the MDC-Alliance. Where some has given up Tsvangirai and others still has hope for the man. Even if he has been sickly and weak, there has still been hope that he could run against ZANU-PF new President Emmerson Mnangagwa. However, today we know, that Mnangagwa doesn’t need to fear Tsvangirai. His body gave way and he finally got peace.

Tsvangirai has fought a battle, he has risked it all and seen comrades die in the street. He has campaigned for a just cause, he has done it with swift actions and persistence. No one can take that away from him.

He has often spoken of not retribution against the regime, against Zanu-PF and Mugabe. Even as he has used the military and police to stifle the MDC. This Tsvangirai did even with the International Community and with communications, which been leaked in United States Embassy Cables. Therefore, Tsvangirai proved his legacy and his wishes of peaceful transition. Not making the same mistakes as in the past of violence and retribution. That could have been understandable with the violations and the harassment of the MDC. Still, he wouldn’t budge and give-in.

That is leadership and consistency. He had deserved to win in 2008, he won it in 2008 by my definition. It was ZANU-PF and SADC who gave it Mugabe. Tsvangirai knew this, but on the alter of International Pressure and a transition, while struggling with hyper-inflation. He gave in and gave way to Mugabe. This is sooner used and his men got the powerful positions. While Tsvangirai was the galleon figure to the international community.

There are people who says he lost 2013 because the party was confused, well, it wasn’t like he would have had the same backing or powerful message after been in power as Prime Minister. A position made to shut him down and not give him enough to be a problem for Mugabe.

Tsvangirai has run against Mugabe since 2002 and has had decent results, he shown that character and resilience matters. I think that he would have been a worthy successor and would have made changes worthwhile. He wasn’t an international stooge, but the world wanted someone else than Mugabe. Mugabe had gone from Liberation Hero into a totalitarian dictator. He had shown his despicable ways. That Tsvangirai proven to different from and wanting a peaceful transition.

Tsvangirai tried to cross the bridge, he tried to find the peaceful means to cross and get there. He worked for over a decade as a Presidential Candidate in the MDC-T. He had deserved to win and be it. Even during the worst economic crisis in near history. MDC could have mustered a direct change and not just a challenge to Mugabe.

Tsvangirai seemed like much more. MDC-T and could have been a great President. However he never got to call the shots, he got played and was tricked. If he in the end became tired and not as fierce as in the past. That comes with age and with experience. There is just as many times you can try the same thing and seeing no change.

Tsvangirai died today, not fool, not a loser, but a legendary politician who fought for the betterment of Zimbabwe and for its people. His service to the country should be remembered. Also his trials and tribulations. The MDC wouldn’t have a power struggle and leadership question of late, if it wouldn’t be for the foundation built by Tsvangirai.

That is just the result of the work done by Tsvangirai. This shouldn’t be forgotten.

Tsvangirai shall not be remembered because of Mugabe, but because of how he fought and did what he could to stand against him day in and day out for years. If people give up and start farming, instead of fighting dictatorship. That would be natural, but Tsvangirai didn’t. That is inspirational and should show us all. How to carry and try to make change into the society you wish for. Not that all tricks and all sorts of play work. However, you cannot deny that he didn’t do what he could.

Tsvangirai, your a hero and a lost one now. But your legacy and your achievements will be inspirational for generations to come. Peace.

Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju letter to Chief Justice David Maraga – “Re: Incidents of Open Bias by the Judiciary” (09.02.2018)

Kenya: ANC Internal Memo from Musalia Mudavadi to All ANC Party Branch Chairpersons – “Party Discipline” (13.02.2018)

FrP og Jensens skatte hykleri: Lover mindre skatter, men likevel øker de med 6,6 milliarder!

Det er gøy å se hvordan tidene forandrer seg. Var ikke lenge siden vi hørte Siv Jensen rope varsko og «Ulv, Ulv» når Jonas GharStøre var på ferde. Fordi Jensen og kompani ville ikke øke skattene. Neida, de lovde gull og grønne skoger. De lovde å både redde verden og samtidig gjøre det rimelig. Slik fungerer ikke verden, det er egentlig Fremskrittspartiet innforstått med, likevel, vil jeg vise hvordan deres løfter som vises på deres egne nettsider. Mot Finansminister Jensens svar i går på Stortingets side. Siden dette er motstridene og viser opplyst løftebrudd. At en ikke kan stole på FrP. Ikke at jeg gjør det uansett, fordi det ville være naivt. Når en har så forvridd menneskesyn, så kan ikke finanspolitikken være god heller.

Derfor, vil jeg først vise «ulv, ulv» fra Jensen i August 2017 for deretter viser svaret til stortingsrepresentant Gjelsvik. Som viser motstridene faktorer og deriblant også løftebruddet.

I August 2017:

«Økt skatt er en dårlig løsning – Vi må skape flere jobber. Det er det ikke politikerne som gjør, men næringslivet. Men vi kan bidra gjennom lavere skatter, mer forskning, infrastruktur og fravær av byråkrati. Da er det uforståelig at Støre aktivt går inn for å øke skattene. Det rammer bedrifter, vanlige mennesker og pensjonister. En ting er hva Ap lover. SV vil i tillegg gjeninnføre arveavgiften og innføre statlig eiendomsskatt, sier Jensen. Hun forteller at regjeringen har senket skattene med 22 milliarder, samtidig som skatteinntektene faktisk har økt med over 64 milliarder kroner. – Det er ingen motsetning mellom det å la folk beholde mer av sine egne inntekter og å bygge mer vei, satse på sykehjem, bygge sykehus og styrke forsvaret. Regjeringen har senket skattene for folk flest, samtidig som vi har satset på politi, forsvar, trygghet og beredskap, og sørget for at sykehuskøene går ned og flere får behandling. I tillegg gir vi flere lærere videreutdanning og ser at elevene lærer mer på skolen. Med FrP i regjering bygges det også mye mer vei og bane enn før, sier Jensen» (FrP, 2017)

I Februar 2018:

«Samlet har merverdiavgiften, særavgiftene, tollavgiftene, sektoravgiftene og gebyrene øke med om lag 6,6 mrd. 2018-kroner i perioden. Det meste av avgiftsøkningen har kommet etter vedtak i Stortinget uten forutgående forslag fra regjeringen» (Stortinget, 2018).

Jommen sa jeg smør. Dette må være pinlig, dette må være flaut og Jensen bør legge seg panne-flat. Ikke at hun vil gjøre det, for da hadde hun gjort det med Leirstein saken. Istedenfor regner jeg med beskyldninger og anklager mot Høyre, Venstre og Kristelig Folkeparti. Fordi det er innarbeidet i FrP å ikke ta ansvar eller viser annerkjennelse når en begår urett. Det har de gjort i flere tiår og dette er enda et bevis.

De roper «ulv, ulv», de skremmer folk og sier hvis du stemmer på de andre, så vil skattene øke. Når de selv sitter ved makten så øker likevel skattene. Akkurat som visse avgifter som familiegjenforening har i løpet 2 år (siden 2015) økt med ca. 150%. Uten at noen bryr seg, hvis man hadde gjort det med bompenger da hadde det blitt ramaskrik. Dette er denne regjerningen gjør, likeså har skatteklasse 2 blitt vekke fra 1.1.2018. Som gjør at om en er eneforsørger, så har en ikke rett til fritak og lettere beskatning. Fordi, de fattige og de med dårlige kår skal ut i arbeid, mens skattelette er det som bare passer for de med hus, hytte og aksjefond. Ikke de som kjøper Eldorado fajita’s på Kiwi.

Det er slik FrP driver gjøn med folk. Snakker om Støre og Arbeiderparti, Sosialistiske Venstre og andre partier ville komme med mer skatter. Likevel, når de sitter ved makten skjer det samme og, av og til også enn så det. Jensen bør være stolt av henne selv og hennes arbeid. Hun har gått rundt og løyet, lovd både brød og sirkus. Det eneste hun er mer skatter til folk flest. Det er pinlig. Virkelig pinlig.

Det er egentlig tragikomisk. Siden de vil ikke ta ansvar, likevel ser alle hva de gjør. De er ikke noe bedre. Bare mer arrogante og likegyldige. Det er fordi de selv ikke blir rammet av deres nye skatter og avgifter. Peace.

Referanse:

Fremskrittspartiet (FrP) – ‘Mindre skatt, flere jobber og mer velferd’ (23.08.2017) link: https://www.frp.no/aktuelt/2017/08/mindre-skatt-flere-jobber-og-mer-velferd

Stortinget – ‘Skriftlig spørsmål fra Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) til finansministeren’ (12.02.2018) link: https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Sporsmal/Skriftlige-sporsmal-og-svar/Skriftlig-sporsmal/?qid=71129

Sudan – South Sudan: Great Equatoria Conference – “Resolution of the First-Ordinary Equatoria Conference” (09.02.2018)

Kenya: ODPP letter to the Registrar of High Court – “Re: Misc Criminal Application No. 57 of 2018” – Miguna Miguna case (13.02.2018)

Ethiopia: Qeerroo Oromiyaa Press Release (13.02.2018)

The Oromo protest movement that is on its fourth year now is at the position where it can see the inevitable end of a dying regime. One of the success of this Qeerroo led movement was creating a real crack between the parties that make up the ruling coalition that was dominated by the Tigray People Liberation Front called EPRDF, to which OPDO is also a party. The OPDO along with the newly emerged personalities in the government of Oromia regional state felt the fever of the Qeerroo led movement and indicated an interest of joining the movement to be at the side of the Oromo people.

The movement listened to plea of the new OPDO leaders and paused its active forms of resistance to differ the tasks of presenting Oromos grievances and demands to the government of Oromia region (GOR).

However, after some visible activities that excited many Oromos, the GOR put a brake on the movement and became a unidirectional messenger of the TPLF.

Especially since TPLF started to conduct series of meetings starting with TPLF CC and EC and followed by EPRDF EC meetings, it seemed a clear mission was given to GOR to weaken and dampen the movement. TPLF being sure that GOR took the instructions seriously, started to show defiance and went on an opposite direction in dealing with the movement. That is evident from the serious of killings in Caalanqo, Ambo, Gabragurhacha, Waldiya and just recently in a refugee camp of Hamaraessa.

The fact that the GOR showing weakness in the faces of TPLF’s defiance and that leading to a fear that the movement might go in different direction, created a heightened tension in the spirits of the movement and its Qeeroo leadership. The regime was asked to stop the killings and continued jailing of Oromos for so long, in addition to releasing all political prisoners including the leaders of opposition parties like Bekele Garba and so many others.

The regime that was encouraged by weakness of GOR, wanted to show defiance that it hoped to be understood as intimidation refused to release the prisoners and even denied medical attention to Bekeel Gerba who was on the at the medically verified risk of losing his eye vision as a result of hypertensive complications that warrant emergency healthcare.

It was at this point that the Qeerroo movement decided to be reconnected to its brand form of the struggle that shook one of the strongest dictators in the world to its core.

This week, Qeerroo decided to call one of the most disciplined form of resistance on which millions in Oromia participated. The market boycott strikes called by Qeerroo was started on Monday February 12th, 2018 and aimed to be applied in the entire Oromia.

In this boycott:

1. The regime which knew this peaceful resistance could shake it to the core decided to listen to the demand of the boycott as the boycott plans were underway and being promoted days back, and decided to release Bekele Garba and other political leaders in return to the cancellation of the boycotts. Right at this point, before the Qeerroo did decide on how to respond to the offer for the cancellation, the TPLF soldiers massacred Oromos displaced from Somali region and sheltered at Hameressa camp. This changed the prospects of considering any offer from the regime as something positive, angered the whole Oromo nation and fueled the momentum of the planned strikes.

2. Oromos from coast to coast planned and executed a resistance that is highly disciplined and organized in the absence of the internet that the regime blocked to prevent this type of resistance.

3. The regime suffered a huge economic fallout from the boycott that crippled the entire import export and local markets. This was a huge blow to a regime that monopolized the entire economy. Today, it forcibly released Bekelle Gerba and his six co-defendants.

This happened because Qeerroo decided to be reconnected to its original form of resistance that put forward clear and unambiguous question for the regime to answer.

After securing the release of the said political prisoners, the Qeerroo and Qarree have evaluated on how to go about the remaining one day of the strike and boycott. It has therefore been decided to call off tomorrow’s boycotts and strikes throughout Oromia and use the day’s schedules to welcome the released political prisoners, to unblock the roads and do the clean up in cities and town where the protests went over last two days.

The Qeerroo coordinators would like to extend at most appreciations and respect to the heroic and desciplined actions of everyone who took part on these strikes and boycotts throughout Oromia.

Freedom for the Oromo people, Freedom for all people of Ethiopia!

Qeerroo Oromiyaa

Feb. 13, 2018
Oromiyaa