Generals can meddle in politics: Chinamasa

In an interview just before the departure of visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay on Friday, Chinamasa said, by making political statements, generals were merely pointing out the way they wanted the country to be ruled.

“The army people were liberators and you cannot deny them the voice to keep this country on course, so that there is justification for those who died for the country and those who lie in unmarked graves,” he said.

Chinamasa claimed that the political statements by generals were meant to serve as a warning that returning the country to colonialism and opposition to the land reform programme were unacceptable.

“Their colleagues died so that we could control our own resources,” he said.” They died for political independence and sovereignty of the country, so anything that is going to diminish what they fought for, the army should have a voice and unashamedly so.”

Chinamasa said the generals were only going to respect those leaders who espoused the founding principles of the country.He dismissed calls for the generals to resign and join full time politics, insisting that their behaviour should not in any way be labelled meddling, but a right to decide the future of the country by virtue of having brought freedom to Zimbabwe.

Chinamasa made his comments just after Pillay had finished a press conference, where she expressed concern at the role of the military in politics, including a recent statement by a senior army officer, suggesting the army should throw its weight behind one political party.

“For any country to be called a democracy, its army must observe strict political neutrality.” She said. “As the GPA clearly says, state organs and institutions do not belong to any political party and should be impartial in the discharge of their duties.”

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About three weeks ago, Zimbabwe Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Martin Chedondo, stirred a storm when he said soldiers must be involved in national politics in order to remain “loyal and defend the nation’s territorial integrity and interests”.

Last year, Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, also declared that no one would rule Zimbabwe without any revolutionary credentials, insinuating that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC would not be allowed to become President even if he won elections.

Nyikayaramba, who has since been promoted to the post of Major-General, was repeating a similar statement by service chiefs, who a few years ago vowed that they would not salute anyone without liberation war credentials, even if that person won elections.

The MDC-T MP for Mbizo, Settlement Chikwinya, has since moved a motion in parliament to declare partisan utterances by the securocrats treasonous.Zanu PF is fiercely resisting calls for security sector reforms, as the party was benefiting from partisan military and other security agents, who were in 2008 accused of gross violation of human rights. They violently campaigned for President Robert Mugabe’s re-election during a bloody run-off.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), also told Pillay during her visit that there was a need to reform the security sector in order to avoid a repeat of the bloody June 2008 run-off.

In their submissions to Pillay, the CSOs said although stipulated in the GPA, the police, military and intelligence services remain largely, if not completely, unreformed and unrepentant.

“The military has become increasingly vocal in supporting one political party and threatening unconstitutional action in the event that its favoured political party candidate is not elected, whether the election is free or not,” said the CSO’s.