Herald scribe Nyikadzino wins Iran award

HERALD political correspondent Gibson Nyikadzino scooped the first prize in an essay competition on the late Iranian army general, Qassem Soleimani.

The competition was sponsored by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Cultural Centre in Harare.

Gen Soleimani was assassinated in a drone attack near an airport in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. The attack was ordered by the United States government under the leadership of former President Donald Trump.

Highly loved and respected in Iran and the Middle East, the US considered him a threat to their interests and orchestrated his killing.

In his essay, Nyikadzino focused on the role of martyr Soleimani in spreading the thought of resistance against western dominance and interference in the Middle East.

In his acceptance address, Nyikadzino said: “General Soleimani was and is a flame of consciousness. His idea of resistance has been contagious as it has spread beyond Iran. We see his military strategies today being alive in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip.

“To him, it was crucial to counter the dominance of the oppressor through resistance. He still inspires the youths in the global south.

Cultural Counsellor at Iran’s Embassy Mr Hamid Bakhtiyar praised bilateral relations between the two countries and urged people to know about their heroes.

He said Zimbabwe had survived attacks from western countries because it had shown that it was a truly independent and sovereign country. “Gen Soleimani was a school, he was a thought of resistance. Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the idea of resistance has been premised on resisting the values of the West to be truly independent.

“Zimbabweans also have to continue the path of resistance because you are being attacked for you are truly independent,” Mr Bakhtiyar said.