[allAfrica.com] [Africa_2004] 'Don't Be Intimidated' The Herald (Harare) NEWS August 10, 2004 Posted to the web August 10, 2004 Harare Zimbabweans should not be intimidated by imperialist forces and should remain focused and patriotic to the cause of the Second Chimurenga, President Mugabe said yesterday. He was speaking to thousands of people who thronged the National Heroes' Acre to mark Heroes Day. He saluted the people for turning up for the occasion in numbers, saying they had shown their reverence for those who paid the supreme sacrifice by attending without invitation. "On this day, we look back in our history and reflect on the arduous and tortuous path we walked to get our sovereign, sacred and beloved country. "We return to this national shrine (three) days after laying another of our heroic sons of the soil, Cde Mark Dube, to rest, thus underscoring the centrality, indeed, the inviolability of the liberation struggle in the past, present and future life of our country. "Zimbabwe ndeyeropa! Zimbabwe sayithola ngempi! "This national shrine, as indeed are the district and provincial and other shrines where our fallen heroes lie, is a place of renewal and rededication that strengthens our resolve and pledge that Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again. "For, as we look at the pantheon of heroes and heroines who make our roll call today, what greater challenge, what greater patriotism is there, than to faithfully and resolutely guard that which cost us tens of thousands of lives to achieve? "Where would our honour be if we were intimidated by imperialism's tired trickery into letting go of this our sacred land?" said Cde Mugabe. Cde Mugabe said independence was won because many individuals made sacrifices, adding that the nation should remain focused to defend and protect that independence. He warned of some people who were being fronted by the British to reverse the gains of independence. Cde Mugabe said Zanu-PF had a lot of capable leaders to run the country. He said the country was prepared to go back to the trenches to defend the gains of independence if the need arose. The President said he was pleased to see elderly people benefiting from land redistribution, adding that the children of these elders had fought to liberate Zimbabwe from British colonial rule. Cde Mugabe said the education system was being revamped to ensure that it produces patriotic students who cherish the gains of independence. "In the past they produced graduates who became enemies of the struggle. If our institutions have a capacity to produce enemies of the struggle, then they are ill-equipped or do not deserve to be there. "To consolidate the vision that shaped the liberation struggle, Government has not only increased access to education and training at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, but has also made remarkable strides in improving the quality of such tuition, making our education system the envy of the sub-region and the world," he said. In pursuance of an education system that produces highly competent Zimbabweans, the Government was upgrading polytechnics to offer degrees. Two polytechnics have already shown readiness to offer degree programmes between August this year and January next year. "These are Harare Polytechnic, which will offer programmes in water and chemical engineering, and Kwekwe Polytechnic, which will focus on industrial engineering," Cde Mugabe said. Parliament recently passed a Bill to establish Lupane State University, which will focus mainly on agricultural sciences in line with the national thrust on agriculture as the lifeblood of the country's economy. The Government, said the President, was in the process of building shrines at the various sites in Mozambique, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia where thousands of freedom fighters and refugees, including the elderly, women and children, were killed in cold blood by the Ian Smith regime. He gave an example of the mass grave at Nyadzonia across the border in Mozambique in which at least 700 Zimbabweans, most of them refugees, were entombed after they were brutally murdered by the Rhodesian army in 1976. He said the nation should respect the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier at the National Heroes Acre as it represented all the gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe whose remains are not interred at the national shrine. He said because of the immense sacrifices of the fallen heroes, the Government was building a Liberation War Museum at the national shrine. The National Archives of Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the National Museums and Monuments and the University of Zimbabwe's history department, were recording oral traditions and oral histories of the First and Second Chimurengas under a national project code-named "Capturing a Fading National Memory". The recordings would be preserved at the National Heroes Acre as a collective national memory of self-determination. Government has also embarked on a project to extend the National Heroes Acre in order to make available more sites where future national heroes would be buried. Cde Mugabe said the Government would stop at nothing to wipe out corruption to protect depositors' funds in banks. "People who use crooked methods to enrich themselves should know that depositors' funds are not for the glorification of the institutions, but are meant to enhance lives of depositors and should be used properly," said the President. He reiterated that all corrupt characters, regardless of whether they are related to him or not, would be punished and that the Government would not feel any shame when arresting these people. He urged Zimbabweans to work together in order to revive the economy of the country.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================