Petition - Children's Signatures To Be Used

Mugabe has this idea that if he can produce a petition denouncing the ‘illegal economic’ sanctions against Zimbabwe, that the participating countries will conform and accede to his request.

But there are two things wrong with this idea.

First and foremost is has to be underlined that the sanctions in place are against Mugabe and his senior ZANU PF functionaries. These are specifically targeted to prevent the freedom of travel by named individuals or the conducting of business with those same individuals. This is perfectly lawful, just as Mugabe and the coalition government have control over who enters Zimbabwe.

Enough said.

But Robert Mugabe believes that a petition will solve the problem. For the record, a ‘petition’ is ‘a compilation of signatures built in order to exert moral authority in support of a specific cause’. If that is the case, then why do Mugabe and his apologists have to obtain signatures via threat of violence, the use of dead people’s identification cards to have them included on the signature listing. Why is it necessary to ‘arrest’ people for refusing to sign the petition?

And, as we discovered this morning on the internet that ZANU PF have readied schoolchildren in Mashonaland West to add their signatures?

i was forced to sign o7p81 16744

“President Robert Mugabe’s supporters have drafted hundreds of schoolchildren from Mashonaland West province to sign a petition demanding scrapping of Western sanctions against the veteran leader and his top allies.

Mugabe’s ZANU PF party hopes to collect at least two million signatures for the petition that shall be handed to ambassadors of Western countries that imposed the sanctions for onward transmission to their capitals.

High schoolteachers and children here yesterday told ZimOnline that ZANU PF activists have in recent weeks disrupted learning at several schools where they have visited ordering both teachers and senior pupils to sign the anti-sanctions petition.

“When the youths came at the school, we thought they wanted only the teachers to sign the petition but they later asked to address students in their classes,” said a senior teacher at Chikangwe High School in Karoi, about 204 kilometres north-west of Harare. "All children with identity cards were told to sign the petition," said the teacher who declined to be named for fear of possible reprisal."

In terms of the law, as best I can remember, a signature only carries any legal weight, if the holder is over 18 years of age. What makes me think that the children lined up for their signatures are under 18 years of age, and therefore, minors?

“Education Minister David Coltart was not immediately available for comment on the matter. Authorities at Chikangwe and several other schools visited by ZimOnline refused to discuss the matter, referring our reporters to Mashonaland West provincial education officer Sylvester Mashayamombe. He refused to discuss the matter.

But the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) criticised ZANU PF for disrupting learning at schools and accused Mugabe’s party of turning some schools into centres for signing the petition. “We denounce the abuse of school facilities by ZANU PF where some senior education officers throughout the county are forcing teachers to sign the petition and also turning schools into petition signing centres,” said PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou.

Mashonaland West ZANU PF chairman Robert Sikanyika said schoolchildren must sign the petition because they are also affected by sanctions. But he denied that party activists were disrupting lessons at schools to collect signatures from teachers and learners.

"There is nothing sinister to have students signing the petition as they are affected by the sanction imposed by the West. We want to surpass the two million target," said Sikanyika.

The European Union, United States, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand, imposed targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his top officials about nine years ago as punishment for allegedly stealing elections, human rights violations and failure to uphold the rule of law.”

If Mugabe and his ZANU PF hierarchy were bastions of virtue that they believe they are, then why is it necessary to obtain signatures under duress?

The petition is a two million signature lie.

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man