Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:48:03 +0000
WE APPEAL to the United Party for National Development (UPND) top leadership to heed the advice of the Zambia Police to put off the planned rally in Kanyama and demonstration at Parliament buildings until the current high tension in the country has abated.
UPND is acutely aware that the political atmosphere in the country is so think and heightened that you can literally cut a knife through it. Events of the last few days in Parliament and the subsequent national debate outside points to the fact that Zambia is politically polarized and needs to heal from such high blood pressure.
We know that the UPND as a political organization of significance has the legal and democratic right and privilege to apply for permission from the police under the Public Order Act regulations to address its members and Zambians in general over issues it feels it needs to communicate with them.
No doubt its leaders must be anxious to state their position on various contentious issues such as its boycott of the State of the Nation address to Parliament by the republican President and the political storm that has erupted in the wake of this uncalled for decision which has only helped to distance the UPND from the mainstream political leadership of the country.
But UPND leaders must not forget that what they do and say has an impact on their political competitors. The second defiance in less than six months by UPND MPs against the leadership of President Edgar Lungu has infuriated his supporters and this can be vividly demonstrated by the rowdy scenes in Parliament over the last few days in which ruling party Members of Parliament have been pushing for a physical confrontation with their UPND counterparts in the House.
Patriotic Front MPs and the entire support base are furious that UPND has consistently and arrogantly refused to recognize President Lungu as Head of State. More so PF members are enraged by the unguarded comments of UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema which many of them have interpreted as deliberate provocation.
The suspicion that the UPND wants to use University of Zambia students to rise against the Government using the debate over the full sponsorship of university students is another divisive issue which cannot be swept under the carpet. It is real and has consequences.
It is therefore quite clear that political daggers between the two biggest parties are drawn and the situation puts the country’s security and safety at risk. Holding a political rally, especially in Lusaka by the UPND, would be equated to throwing a burning match stick on a political tinder box. This is what the police, who are the custodians of law and order, are advising against.
The current high political tension is the country calls for responsible leadership, national desire for peace and unity and putting Zambia first before any personal or individual aspirations. Political rallies will come and go, but there is only one Zambia. We cannot afford to sacrifice it on the altar of selfish egos and amateurish political ambitions.
Zambians need peace and togetherness. Whatever political inclinations we espouse, we are One Country, One People. UPND and PF are only two political organizations formed under the country’s democratic dispensation to pursue policies and goals that will make Zambia a better country to live in.
In other words UPND and PF, despite their divergent manifestos and policies, have one goal as President Lungu put it during his State of the Nation address: – ZAMBIA FIRST. Or is it forward?
It is from this premise that we appeal to the entire UPND leadership and membership not to risk putting Zambia on fire. Wait until this tension has eased and then you can have your cake and it. For now dialoguing with the police on the way forward would be the best option.
As we see it, there is real danger that the planned demo at Parliament and rallies at the University of Zambia campus or Kanyama compound have the potential to cause unrest. And the police are mandated by law to stop them before they take place.
