The nation worshipped the sacrifices of the heroes and if the land remains in the hands of the whites, then the heroes died for nothing, Cde Mugabe said.


"Thank you war veterans for starting the Third Chimurenga. Thank you all war veterans and all who supported them," he said.


He dismissed as unsubstantiated claims that the land repossession exercise was lawless, did not uphold the rule of law and does not observe property rights.


The President blamed the British government of Mr Tony Blair for what happened because it reneged on the promises of the 1979 Lancaster House Conference. The conference agreed that Britain would provide funding for land reforms but when Mr Blair came into power he breached the contract.