CHRISTOPHER GILL'S COLUMN

Christopher Gill SPPF AND ZANU-PF - Fruits of the Same Poisonous Tree!

RECENT events in Zimbabwe are proving to test the patience of the population there much like in Seychelles, wherein the SPPF have been testing the patience of the Opposition for many years. In Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert Mugabe (famous dictator and tyrant par excellence) has turned his Country and countrymen to near dust, as he attempts to remain in power and outlive even the new born children. At 84 years old he is as feisty as when he was 24! Astute and highly intelligent, but his heart like many dictators before him is just in the wrong place: in his pockets.

The lesson from Mugabe and his ZANU - PF Party is the same-o style lesson we have learned in Seychelles under SPPF: Dictators will stay beyond their legitimate mandate and they will make their People suffer and turn their country into the subject of ridicule for the entire region and the world community at large.

Dictators Stop At Nothing

In the Zimbabwe Elections, ghosts showed up and voted. In one district, 8,500 voters had registered their residence to be a block of empty land. Mugabe, it has been alleged, imports fake voters from outside of his country to help him maintain power while his countrymen starve to death. Inflation has burst to "150,000 % and Beyond"; store shelves are empty. Citizens must carry money in a wheel barrow to buy a loaf of bread when available in the country that was once the "Bread Basket of Africa". Ghosts keep Mugabe in the running to win elections in spite of the will of the People clearly stating they want him to go and they want to live without him. Even if Mugabe has been beaten convincingly, it is not enough to lose an Election for a Dictator, Dictators must win in spite of loosing.

SPPF is no different. Under Rene, they lost all Elections up to 1974 towards the road to Independence. But Dictators do not accept defeat and they do not accept Poll Results, either. They steal what they do not deserve. Eleven months after being asked to form a Coalition Government by Mancham in 1976 in a sincere gesture at true nation building, Rene masterminded the Coup of June 5th 1977. He called it "Liberation", but in fact it was an act of enslavement of a People by a Dictator.

After all, a Prime Minister cannot take over the same Government he is responsible for and call that "Liberation". While bullshit can baffle brains for a time, eventually bullshit becomes manure and no one has an exclusive license to brains, not even the Dictator. When guns and bullets no longer can do the job of maintaining power, dictators turn to ghosts in voting booths. They use ghosts to make them win, calling them to roll call from the cemeteries of districts throughout the land. They clone loyal supporters and give them twin brothers or sisters with different names. They force the old and invalid to get out of bed, sap their dignity, to make them stay in power

If you are helpless, they will force your hand into the little red box and make you tick beyond your freewill. When you resist, they will use force and intimidation to coax you to relent and let them dictate your freedom away.

They will threaten you with taking away your job or livelihood should you not vote for them. They will fix you with a drug charge if you are aloof from their grips. In a word, Dictators stop at nothing to keep power....they will even call their own People ENEMIES! Enemies of what? The Revolution of course! What Revolution? Whatever Revolution .. just any old Revolution. They will create an enemy where there is none. They will make brothers fight each other, separate children from their parents. They will make children believe their parents are the AK-47 they hold in parades to celebrate the dictator's birthday.

All dictators need a story about a small group of people who they blame all the problems of society on. It's a quick remedy, and allows them to avoid fundamental principles of economic and social management that do not sway to their liking.

Blame Someone, Anyone!

To justify their REVOLUTION any revolution, dictators need the story. They all work the story around their surroundings. In China today, they are saying the "Dalai Lama Clique" overseas is responsible for the riots in TIBET. They say this "clique " is made up of a "small group of people in saffron robes" who want to destroy democratic advancement, economic progress and development made in Tibet for their own personal benefit. Sounds familiar?

In Zimbabwe, Mugabe had to find a small group of people to blame all his woes on. He chose the white farmers of Zimbabwe who were incidentally mostly British decent and not ethnic African in roots. Since the white farmers owned most of the productive land, it was popular. By attacking this little group, Mugabe took the "Bread Basket of Africa" and turned it into a "Basket Case for Africa", under his rule. He would tell his supporters in ZANU -PF, just go occupy the land and take it. In turn, they did, and they destroyed the Nation's economy, much like France Albert Rene did in 1984 onwards. Same style. Same-O Same-O! In this past election, Mugabe would stand in a rally on stage and raise his fist, and yell at drunk supporters to "fight for your land and your home", much like Rene did in his heyday when People still believed the rubbish and would hang their hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow on his fancy but empty words.

History has now taught us that Rene, Michel and SPPF will say anything, do anything, to keep power. This is why we must not believe anything they say or do. They are not to be trusted. Dialog at this juncture of Seychelles history is a waste of time with SPPF. They cannot talk their way out of the mess they put Seychelles into today. They dialogue to create diversions and make the voting Public believe they are still in control. The President is not in control, he is a premature lame duck President.

Today, it is Rene himself and Michel that are selling our land. Rene has only attacked the People he had a "personal problem with over the years" much like Mugabe has done in Zimbabwe. By chasing whites out of Zimbabwe, Mugabe replaced them with Chinese from Communist China. As Communist China props up Mugabe as much as it can, so it does the same in the Seychelles with SPPF. The blame game is now coming full circle for Mugabe and for SPPF. There is no one to blame anymore SPPF except for yourself just like Mugabe. Same Style! Same- O Same-O Same -O! Just the shirts are different, today!

SPPF: "The Economy Must Work For Just Us- Not Everyone”

Mugabe is famous for his luxuries and fancy living. He gloats in luxury in the name of the People of his Country. He says it makes them proud. Much like Michel's thing about "Be proud to have your President staying in 7 Star hotels in Arabia". Mugabe lives in a fancy glittering palace built by the Communist Chinese. Whatever, businesses he can have he does. His family and inner circle cronies believe the economy of Zimbabwe is just fine and they get up on the stage and dance yell a little and tell humble simple people that everything is just fine and the economy is doing fine and could not be any better. They say in unison that "offering the country to the opposition to run would mean disaster and ruin for Zimbabwe".

Mugabe calls his supporters to fight to preserve the “success” he has made of Zimbabwe. For Mugabe and his cronies, the economy is just fine. As for the150, 000 % Inflation figures, he casually tells his statistic office on a mobile phone to take off 50,000% off the Inflation Rate. As it teeters down to 100,000% the Zimbabwean supporters of Mugabe believe he is turning the economy around. Never mind that he is the cause of all the failure and suffering around them. For them, the economy works just fine, it does not matter if bread does not reach everyone....it reaches us they say. They yell and scream, "Mugabe was able to bring the Inflation Rate down by 50,000% in one day; just think my brother, what he can do with another mandate!" With that said, they make big promises to deliver everything from bread to roofing tin to shoes after the election, just like SPPF: Grand Prometteur- Pti Donneur! They let their people down, make them crawl on their bellies for another mandate, until the next elections. (Put that in Kreol SPPF).

The SPPF have become the same as Mugabe's Zanu -PF. They submit fake GDP figures to the World Bank based on an artificially fixed Rate of Exchange. They say we are rich with $8,000.00 GDP, but we are in fact poor with the actual value of that GDP being $2,000.00 or $180.00 per month after devaluation. Only the cronies of Rene's inner circles are rich. How many people have come out of Mr. F. Savy's NYS cluster today have a helicopter business. Even the guy that used to correct his cluster mates' papers can only dream of a toy helicopter for Christmas for his children. Batteries are for another dream. How does one cluster mate acquire St. Anne Island for 1.00 Rupee while the other cluster mates are told they must pay Rupees 120,000 for a little Land Bank Plot and wait 10 years since infrastructure costs are so high. This is just one gross example how the economy works just fine for some, but does not even function for others. There are many. But not enough for a majority vote to rule the country. Same Style! Same- O! Same - O! Same-O!

Where Are We Going

The power of peaceful change lies in the hands of the People of Seychelles. But as Zimbabwe has taught us, you must beat the dictator more than just convincingly. You must pulverize him at the ballot box to cause him to retreat and accept defeat peacefully. His Army and Security must come to your side to politely ask him to step aside.

The mental margins of a dictator are not the same mental margins of a man of principle. For a man of principle relents when faced with a dictator because he believes the greater good of all outweighs the need to rid all of the dictators today, for sooner or later, he shall go and he does. However, not before causing havoc and destruction to a whole nation for his own self preservation. Dictators are cowards not brave. They use force, intimidation, torture, victimization and illegal imprisonment to sap the will of the people and maintain power at all cost.

Dictators are scared to be accountable to the people for everything they do in the name of the people is not for the benefit of the people but for the benefit of themselves, their families, friends and cronies. They live by the sword and they die by the sword! The path forward is unity in the rank and file. For it is only when there is one voice and one call and one song that we will be able to sing "Adieu, Adieu, Adieu" to our dictator and gang of cronies. If we face a dictator down in division, we too will be running around in circles, up and down SADC looking for help, when the power of change lies within and not outside of Seychelles.

Thank you for allowing me to write this article and live Oh, great one... you are a better man for it! We must give credit where credit is due!

May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!!!