Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela who fundamentally adopted non-violence as the strategy for their struggles, sometimes contemplated the violent option. When a people's struggle for liberation are stifled by an egoistic manipulative tendency to oppress them even at their lowest, then violent tendencies start cropping in. Violence is an impulsive uncontrollable outburst usually manifested out of frustration.
The bill just adopted by Parliament, to give Biya a laissez-faire joystick to toy around further with the Cameroonian people even after 25years of a failed regime is frustrating. Let the 157 simpletons who voted for that bill amending the constitution to allow Biya to rule till death and be unaccountable for his crimes, not make a toast yet with their champagne glasses. The suffering Cameroonian people whose sores have been spread with salt will not stop at lamenting. They are meticulously weighing the options-non-violence or violence. The latter may just be what the CPDM quislings have pushed the people to.
Below are excerpts culled from 'The Sacred Warrior'-
The liberator of South Africa looks at the seminal work of the liberator of India
By NELSON MANDELA
Gandhi remained committed to nonviolence; I followed the Gandhian strategy for as long as I could, but then there came a point in our struggle when the brute force of the oppressor could no longer be countered through passive resistance alone. We founded Unkhonto we Sizwe and added a military dimension to our struggle. Even then, we chose sabotage because it did not involve the loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations....
...following my address to the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA) in 1962, in which I stated, "Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence."
Gandhi himself never ruled out violence absolutely and unreservedly. He conceded the necessity of arms in certain situations. He said, "Where choice is set between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence...I prefer to use arms in defense of honor rather than remain the vile witness of dishonor ..."
Violence and nonviolence are not mutually exclusive; it is the predominance of the one or the other that labels a struggle...
Hi Dr., More grease to your elbow. I know now from which stand point to appreciate your comments on the postonline. Kudos Sir
Posted by: Simplice A. A | April 12, 2008 at 01:11 PM