Smith Still Believes in Zimbabwe's Future

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 20, 2001 | by James P. Lucier

So I went to see him. Every time I had gone to see him before, he welcomed me, thanked me for coming, for giving him the benefit of my experience, for telling him what the white people were thinking -- we had an incredibly amicable relationship. I reminded him that since he came to power I had not raised one word of criticism against him, and I said I had asked my backbenchers to be reasonable, to give him a chance and do the right thing.

So I said to him, "Why are you doing this? You're breaking confidence in the future of the country. I haven't criticized you up to now, but I have to tell you that, if you go on like this, I will have to criticize you in public for the first time since you came to power."

I could see he was immediately displease& in fact, incensed. From that day on he has refused to talk to me -- and that was 20 years ago. Under a one-party Marxist dictatorship, you agree -- you don't disagree.

Insight: How many seats does the opposition have in Parliament now?

IS: The MDC's got just a couple less than Mugabe. I think there were three seats less, but they are challenging some of these seats, and there has been a decision by the high court that there had to be reruns in some of the districts. Clearly massive intimidation has been proved in court. And the judge who gave this decision a few weeks ago resigned the next day because he said he simply couldn't go on being a judge under those circumstances. He feared for his family.

Insight: Where is the political situation heading now?

IS: It just hinges on one thing: Can we get rid of the gangsters? If we can get rid of one man, in particular, and the philosophy of communist Marxism, all will be well.

Insight: What is the next political milestone? When is Mugabe up for election?

IS: Next year. And the issue is whether it will be a free and fair election.

One of the good things about our situation is that the position of South Africa has changed for the good. For a long time, people were disappointed in [South African President] Thabo Mbeki. But I think that is unfair. Mbeki is the most important leader in Africa, since he rep resents the most important country. And we are told that, although on the surface he's spoken kindly about Mugabe, he has made it clear in private that South Africa has had enough.

And I think I'm correct when I say that Nelson Mandela, that great statesman who was the new South Africa's first leader, also has made it clear, according to reports that we have, that they have had enough of this man, Mugabe. So it looks as though the net may be closing.

Moreover, the majority of the Politburo of Mugabe's own party has told him it is time he retired. And we are reliably told that some of his young members of Parliament are fed up and are prepared to work with the young members of the MDC opposition to remove him.

Insight: Who would replace him?

IS: You can never make that assessment under the communist system -- they never have a leader in waiting. But once a decision is made by the Politburo, nobody dares step out of line. That's how it works. Whether it's Marxism, whether it's fascism, whether it's Nazism, they're all the same. There's no difference. They are all one-party dictatorships, and their main function in life is to stay in power -- that's all; you just stay in power. If you allow yourself to be removed from power, then you've bungled it.