Tag: vengeance

    No place for vengeance

    No place for vengeance Featured

    May 4, 2021 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    Several times, I have been asked if I will avenge the injustice meted on me by some individuals in this regime. My response has been a categorical No. But the question keeps on coming up. Why? Is there fear of vengeance? From who against who? And for what? To achieve what?

    Let me make it very, very, very clear: there’s no place for injustice in the mind of a revolutionary, no place at all. There’s no place for vengeance in the heart of a revolutionary. You can be very firm in the struggle, but you can’t do it out of hatred.
    We are teaching our members ideas of justice; otherwise, our struggle for a more just, fair and humane Zambia is going nowhere. It is only upon such ideas that a more just, fair and humane society can be achieved and sustained. This can only be achieved based on principles, ideas and ethics. It’s the only way.
    We believe in people, in human beings, in their capacity to forge ethics, a consciousness, in their capacity for great sacrifices.
    In the course of history, we have seen people die for honour, for values they can understand. Someone instilled them with these values. Let the best human values of justice, fairness and humane ness be instilled in our people.
    And our intellectuals can play a very important role in this today, because only people with a certain intellectual development can instill fear in heads of those who conspire and work against justice, fairness and humane ness.
    We are convinced that a fascist-like regime will never be established, in any lasting fashion, in our country because our people have traditions, ethics and values that will prevent this. That is why those who want to impose a tinpot dictator and a third term on our people have to resort to lies.

    We consider ourselves fortunate for having understood that hatred and prejudice are not political weapons. We have political weapons and, in addition to this, experience has taught us that principles are the best possible political weapons.

    Fred M’membe
    President of the Socialist Party

    Denounce SA xenophobic attacks without preaching vengeance, says Socialist Party

    Denounce SA xenophobic attacks without preaching vengeance, says Socialist Party

    September 4, 2019 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    Press briefing of the Socialist Party on the xenophobia in South Africa and attacks on assets and businesses belonging to South African companies

    By Fred M’membe on behalf of the Politburo of Socialist Party

    Garden Compound, Lusaka

    The barbarism going on in South Africa must be condemned in the strongest terms and those responsible brought to book immediately. But it cannot be answered with barbarism, with criminal acts of destroying assets, businesses belonging to South African companies.

    We all have every right to be angered by the xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans being carried out by ignorant and criminal elements in that country.

    But the distressing xenophobic attacks we are seeing in South Africa should not turn us into animals.

    We therefore urge all our leaders, political or otherwise, to avoid inflammatory statements that can easily encourage weak souls to resort to criminal acts against South Africans, their assets and businesses in this country.

    The challenges of unemployment, poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease facing our people on this continent cannot be solved through violence, counter violence or vengeance. There’s no sense to revenge. On whom are you taking revenge? History? The apartheid society that engendered these monsters? What are you avenging?

    It is possible to denounce xenophobia without preaching hatred, vengeance.

    We who are revolutionaries, socialists, Christians don’t preach hatred, vengeance.

    What we preach is the repudiation, rejection, and hatred of xenophobia and the system that breeds it, that is neoliberal capitalism.

    We cannot be preaching hatred among human beings, because in the final analysis human beings are victims of the system.

    Anyone who engages in criminal acts in the name of avenging the xenophobic attacks going on in South Africa should be arrested and prosecuted as an outright criminal.

    Situations like these call for cool headedness, sober mindedness and not recklessness. They call for strong and clear leadership in all the affected countries, for a strong application of law and order.