Last week, another one who cowardly masquarades under a false identity (Tabona Manje), comically labelled the BNF a threat to national security. In this response to the two contributions, I seek to demonstrate to the public why it is self-deception for any serious politician to think that the BNF is dying. Ordinarily, one would not expect a response to such blatant untruths, but as it is common knowledge, lies when they are often told, eventually assume the status of truths.
The BCPs crusade of propaganda against the BNF is a waste of time and resources. Somehow, certain quarters within the BCP are still obsessed with the old University of Botswana student politics where the tactics revolves around character assassinations and malicious propaganda. While some of us who had the occassion to participate in student politics will not be misled by such vitriolic unjustified attacks on the BNF, certain sections of the public may be misled if some of these mischievous attacks go unchallenged. As a democratic mass organisation, the BNF has a substantial interest in the growth of Botswanas democracy, and we can only realise that if we encourage our brothers from the other camp to desist from politics of demagoguery and embrace critical and informed debate which is based on the national pillars of respect (Botho).
BNFs contribution to the countrys democracy is immense and need no over-elaboration. Through the BNF, a lot of democratic reforms were realised long before the BCP was formed. The BNFs Social Democratic Programme has informed a lot of welfare policies that the government had undertook. The BCPs own Democratic Development Programme borrowed a lot from the BNF SDP, albeit a lot of capitalist reforms were introduced therein that pulled the BCP towards the right and closer to the BDP. A clique of those BCP founders who broke away from the BNF in 1998 achieved national recognition because of singing the BNFs SDP chorus. In parliament, the BNF members have been a force to reckon with. The BNF members since 1999 when voters shunned the BCP, have held the government accountable through effective parliamentary motions that exposed a lot of corruption. The BNFs programme remains people-centred, and the wave of capitalist-reform euphoria that currently engulfs the BCP has not shaken our party. The poor masses remain our main concern, while the BCP is following a programme that seeks to reinforce the status quo by adopting capitalist policies.
The BNF can therefore not be a threat to national security. On the contrary, the association of the BCP with the terrorist British Labour Party is a threat to national security. The Labour Party led government not only supported the mad war in Iraq, but also sent troops to Iraq to massacre innocent Iraqi people. The BCP, as a sister to the Labour Party, is as responsible for the war in Iraq as Tony Blair and Bush, on account of having a working relationship with the Labour Party.
As such, the unholy marriage between the BCP and the British Labour Party is a threat to Botswanas national security. The Labour Party and the Britons at large, because of their neo-colonialist policies that have contributed to the crisis in the middle-east, remain targets of the so-called terrorist organisations. By associating itself with the Labour Party, the BCP is therefore vicariously liable for the consequential effects of the policies of the Labour Party. Hence, terrorist organisations will not hesitate to strike in Botswana on account of the BCPs support for the Labour Party policy of aggression.
The devastating, illegitimate war in Iraq was led by both the Labour Party in conjunction with the US government. As it would be expected of an organisation that thrives on political dishonesty and hypocrisy, the BCPs reaction to the war was a quick unequivocal condemnation of the war. It raised an alarm and called on the both the Labour Party led government and the US government to respect the UN. It is now common cause that Tony Blair and Bush remained resolute in waging a war against Iraq. A principled organisation that respects Human Rights and International law would have demonstrated its stance against the disrespect shown by both Blair and his government to the international community by severing its ties with him and his party. However, the power of the British pound constitutes the main priority at the BCP. Principle is trampled upon with contempt. The hunger for political power, as opposed to the up-liftment of the lives of the ordinary masses who live in abject poverty, is the sole reason why the BCP has forged an alliance with the British Labour Party.
Ironically, the British Labour Party on many occasions has sung praises of the current BDP regime, the same regime that the BCP seeks to replace in power. The successes of the BDP-led government have earned many government officials and ministers accolades from the Labour Party government. This political paradox is easy to explain. The BCP and the BDP are sides of the same metal, and there exists no fundamental differences between the two. The BCP, by wooing the Labour Party, is trying to replace its twin-sister (BDP) as daddys most favourite daughter. It would be recalled that even in Zimbabwe, the ZANU-PF used to enjoy cordial relationship with the British Government. But sensing that the Zimbabwean government was stubborn in introducing free-market reforms, a neo-liberal and capitalist oriented puppet organisation in the name of the MDC was actively promoted through funding from the British government. The Labour Party is actively contributing in the instability in Zimbabwe through financing the MDC.
Kagiso Thebeetsile
Mahalapye
