Below is Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy(YARD) leader, Temba Mliswa’s press statement regarding the disturbance of the YARD Press Conference of Wednesday 27th April 2016:
Wednesday’s riotous disturbance at the Media Centre during YARD’s press conference was certainly no surprise. We were expecting this sort of behaviour and now have the violent nature of Zanu Pf and its youths clearly evidenced.
This is what we are up against as citizens of Zimbabwe , the regime in its full brutal glory. If ever there was any doubt about Zanu PF’s affiliation to ZICOSU or of the party’s intimidation tactics and violent nature then the truth has been exposed for all to see!
What is sad to note is that the poor misguided youths have been brainwashed to serve political expedience at the expense of students rights and basic needs. Students continue to be victimised in institutions, fees continue to be out of reach of the ordinary student, basic sanitation and living conditions continue in their deplorable state whilst the rate of sexually related infections and diseases continues to sky rocket as our youths are forced into compromising situations to get by.
Are these the education standards that were envisaged when the free education initiative was implemented? Is this the educational environment that parents look forward to for their children and died during the liberation struggle for? No wonder why all the top brass send their children abroad for further education and yet they are the very same people who create the unsavoury environment that our children are forced to deal with.
Our streets are littered with thousands of degreed vendors who even after struggling to go through the university system continue the struggle after school….when does it all end?
We are victorious that the regime played into our hands and we will be making a report to the police to further test the judiciary system. Let us see how unruliness is handled. This display will not deter us, it is this very anti-tolerant and violent nature that we as YARD advocate against. One by one the youth will realise that there is no future in chaos and although a process, Zimbabwe will one day overcome. We cannot fault the youth as its is the system that has turned them into the monsters that they are today but all is not lost and sanity will be restored and that restoration lies with each and every one of us who yearns for a democratic, peaceful Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe we once knew and were safe, the bread basket of the continent that had its own currency in before greed and corruption stole our heritage.