By A Correspondent- Opposition parties and civic groups have warned the government that alleged abductions and tortures and the continued blitz on defenceless citizens by suspected state agents are putting the country’s peace at stake.

The matter came to light when the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) director Jestina Mukoko while commemorating the International Day of Peace which is usually held every year on September 21 said:

…More importantly, Zimbabweans emphasised that citizens are not each other’s enemies. Peace is not just the absence of war, but the existence of an enabling environment, where human and people’s rights are realisable.

Sadly, this year, while the Zimbabwean government was supposed to foster unity, rallying all in the fight against the common enemy Covid-19 it used this period to unleash terror on citizens who dared speak out.

In addition to understanding that human rights actors and political activists are not enemies, but have an important and justifiable constitutional role in advocating for accountability,

Meanwhile, MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo echoed Mukoko’s sentiments and said:

The peace of Zimbabweans locally and abroad is at stake. Our peace is under threat from the state. The illegitimate regime has become our stumbling block in attaining peace in Zimbabwe. As citizens we need to pursue our own peace because it is the backbone of individual and national developmen

We join all nations to commemorate this year’s International Peace Day. Both political and socio-economic peace is under threat. Education and health care systems have been destroyed. Political space has been shuttered. The human rights and fundamental freedoms is now a taboo in Zimbabwe. The generation ahead of us is plundering and destroying our resources and robbing Zimbabwe’s future

A victim of abduction and torture Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said:

The world should bridge the inequality gap to build sustainable and genuine peace. Our education systems should be used to uplift livelihoods not just to train labourers.

In the Zimbabwean context, the underpayment of teachers and other workers at a time when the ruling elites are enjoying executive luxuries is a serious threat to peace. The state repression we are witnessing is driving citizens to the edge

The Civic Groups and opposition parties sentiments come when the government is denying that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe. -standard