Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo

MDC youths have commended liberation war fighters who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country.

However the party’ s youth wing has taken Zanu PF to task for violating the fundamental principles of the liberation struggle.

Below is a statement from the MDC Youth Assembly Masvingo Urban Constituency:

We join the nation and the world in commemorating the heroic exploits and sacrificies that brought our independence in 1980.

Independence Day symbolises our freedom from colonial oppression and racial subjugation,It brought about the most valuable weapon we have- the right to vote.

We need to work collectively as we go forward to guarantee and secure this right to vote,so that forever we can freely choose those who govern us and to hold the government of the day accountable.

We are aware that our freedom fighters fought for a country where all Zimbabweans will exercise their rights without fear. As a party we believe that political violence and intimidation together with unfree and unfair elections are a mockery of a just and fair Zimbabwe that our freedom fighters fought for at the height of the liberation war.

Like the freedom fighters of that time, who saw it worthless to spare their comforts at the expense of the needs of the populace we also prefer the fulfilment of the principles of the struggle to servitude to the throne.

As a party we embrace the sacrifices shown by our freeedom fighters , as we walk in their footsteps we wish to say that we stand in the shoulders of these great men and women who went through painful circumstances and never gave up-happy Independence Day!