EM BARGOEL UNTIL DELIVERED

FOURTH SESSION OF THE FOURTH KWAZULU LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

STATEMENT BY THE HON. THE CHIEF MINISTER

9 JUNE 198 6

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Honourable Members, ever since the Minister of Education and Culture, the Hon. Dr. O.D. Dhlomo, made the suggestion in this House that it was time that I had a discussion with Dr. , there has been a barrage of comments and observations from numerous different quarters. I need to put · these in perspective because a lot of them are misleading and ~ay confuse the minds of ordinary people. A lot of the misconceptions can in fact be traced to Mr. Ismail Ayob who acts as one of Dr. Mandela's legal representatives. I have received reports that Mr. Ayob was very indignant because the question of my meeting with Dr. Mandela was not first discussed with him . . South Africa hears for the first time that before you can even seek permission to speak to Dr. Mandela you need Mr. Ayob's approval. Mr. Ayob is acting quite outside his professional competence he when postures as manipulating a jailed son of South Africa for his own purposes - whatever they are. Perhaps some light is shed on these purposes by the report in the Sunday Times of June 8. In this report, the ANC Mission in Exile's spokesmen Mr. Tom Sebina said that I should have approached them first for permission to talk to Dr. Mandela. We thus have two statements about whom I should have spoken to before agreeing to the Minister of Education's suggestion, supported as it was from this floor, that the time was now ripe for me to speak to Dr. Mandela. In the Sunday Times report Mr. Sebina was also ittributed with the views that there were prospects that the ANC Mission in Exile may be prepared to t~lk to me in the future.

Mr. Speaker, this just shows the Alice-in-Wonderland situation which some people live in. Delegation after delegation of South Africans who have trotted off to Lusaka were told in no uncertain terms that the ANC Mission in Exile was not prepared to talk to me. In broadcast after broadcast from Radio Freedom, ANC Mission in Exile spokesmen after ANC Mission in Exile spokesmen have attacked me bitterly, called me a traitor and as recently as .29 May, Mr. Mac Maharaj, a member of the National Executive of the ANC Mission in Exile said:

"Who are the moderates? I suppose he [Mr. P.W. Botha] means Gatsha [Buthelezi]. Well that's a nice way to defend his henchman and hatchet-man. No question about it. Our people - we are in an era of mass politicisation. Our masses are putting through demands that were unheard of a decade · ago. They have been radicalised by the system, by their daily experience. And, of course, to divide our people in terms of radical and moderate is simply to try and suggest that they fall into this division and perpetuate their lies." 2

This is the voice of the South African Communist Party speaking in ANC Mission in Exile. The Central Committee of the South African Communist Party issued a statement recently which inter alia said:

"The rural workers and the working masses require our special attention. They constitute a vital mass reserve of the revolutionary proletariat. Of them it can truly be said that they having nothing to lose but their chai ns. The importance of this political and organisational work is further Emphasised by the fact that these working people are at the n.arcy of backward, counter-revolutionary elements such as are exemplified by Gatsha Buthelezi. The struggle demands that these rural masses should be won over to the side of the revolution and that they should turn against all those who represent their continued oppression and exploitation, be they black or white. The demand ' l and to the tillers' must bec ome a rallying call mobilising the landless masses to seize w~at is theirs."

As recently as the 12th May, the ANC Mission in Exile distributed~ statement in which they described me as "the major political foe tf the ANC inside South Africa". How dare an idiot like Mr. Tom Sebina suggest tha; I should have asked them for permission to speak to Dr. Mandela. Mr. Maharaj says it all when he says as he did say in a radio broadcast in speaking about the possible release of Dr. Mandela: "Because even if he [the State President] releases Comrade Mandela what change does it bring? It doesn't even take us back to the situation we were in before the ANC was banned in 1960. It doesn't even take us back to the situation when the Communist Party was banned in 1953." Dr . Mandela is far more use incarcerated in jail to the ANC Mission in Exile than he would be released. This is an Alice-in-Wonderland situation. I am described as the the ANC biggest enemy in South Africa. The ANC Mission in Exile attacks me left right and centre and then I am blamed for not approaching them to see Dr. Mandela as though he numbered amongst the goods and chattels they own and they could deal with him as they wished. This is making a pawn out of Dr. Mandela.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Honourable Members, in this debate which has now arisen subsequent to the Honourable Minister of Education's suggestion that the time is ripe for me to meet with Dr. Mandela, many do not understand a great deal that is vital to understand. We have had many struggles for liberation in the world since World War II. They have produced great leaders but in all the annals of the history of people struggling for their liberation,· I find no precedent where a leader who has been jailed for more than 20 years was eventually released to find his chair being vacated by somebody who did no more than keep it warm for him. Dr. Mandela does not even know the ANC Mission in Exile as an organisation. It was established after he was incarcerated in jail. His analytical 3

mind would be aware of the difficulties which beset his erstwhile colleagues in exile. He would know that Mr . Olive r Ta mbo's prime function in life would be to keep a semblance of un ity in what really is three separate organisations jacked up in one . He would know that Mr. Tambo is not free to lead as a pre sident . Dr. Mandela would know all about the realities of Thi rd Force developments. Dr. Mandela would know that there a re right now in this country already wayward unc o ntrollable violen t b a nds who a ct in the name of the ANC Mission in Exile, but who are beyond t heir control. Dr. Mandela would know that forces in the UDF and COSATU are developing into tails powerful enough to wag the dog. Dr. Mandela would know about p o litical ambition and the cut-th roat business that those involved in exiled scra mbling and trampling over each other to become important . If Dr. Mandela is releas ed from jail, he will have t o stride into a raging battle f o r the con trol of the ANC Mission ~n Exile . Dr. Mandela wo uld ha ve to come out of jail and put his ho use in order before he could even b e gin to live up to the expecta tions which s o many peop l e have o f him. Po litical time is a terrib l e thing . Hist o r y wil l n o t f eel s orry f o r Dr . Mande la wh en he c om es o ut o f j a il. Vast forces will hurtle onwards and South Afr i ca wil l be l ucky inde ed i f Dr. Mandela triumphe d ove r all a d versi t y a nd assumed an e ffecti ve c ommanding po si t i on in the ANC Mi s s i o n i n Ex ile.

I b e lie ve soone r o r l a ter, Dr . Ma ndela wil l have to be released. He kn ows as we ll as I know that I wil l be pol iti call y alive and well when that hap pens and he knows that if he has to face the c hallenge of un i fying Bla c k Sout h Africa, he will have to thrash some elemen ts in the ANC Miss i o n i n Exile who a re responsible for t he · v icious ve ndetta wh i ch is be i ng c arried out against me and I nkatha b y them. If Dr. Mandela were rel eased f rom jail , there would be no smooth red-carpeted road way to e f fective national leadership for h i m. The ANC Mission in Exile has buggered his road up . In effect , I hear Dr. Mandela's suggestion that we postpone d iscussions un t il he is released from j ail as saying that he will need me a s an ally when that takes p lace. I a m not s uggesting, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members, that Dr. Mandela wi ll not be man enough t o f i ght his own battles. I have said befor e that the internal p robl e ms o f the ANC Mi s s ion in Exile are matters which Dr . Mand e l a will have to sor t out with Mr. Oliver Tambo. He does not need me to do so, but Dr. Mandela is aware that no Black leader with any kind of grasp of reality could possibl y think that there could be a solution to our country's problems unless Inkatha with its 1 . 3 million members was taken fully into account.

It was reported to me that Mr. Ayob is now saying that the approach for me to see Dr. Mandela was a dev i ous attempt · to drive a wedge between Dr. Mandela and the ANC Mission in Ex ile. I hope for the sake o f Dr . Mandela that Mr. Ayob is a better lawyer than he is a political a nalyst. I have got no Party political reason why I want to see Dr . Mand ela. In the face of every possible resistance by the ANC Mi ssion in Ex1le against what I was doing, I have built Inkatha up i n to the largest Black politic al constituency ever to have been s een in the history o f our c ountry I n ten long years o f 4

personal turmoil and personal sacrifices, I have never once gone running to Dr. Mandela to seek his assistance. I am man enough to fight my own political battles. I did not want to see Dr. Mandela because I wanted to gain an Inkatha political advantage from doing so. I wanted to see Dr. Mandela, whom I have known for over 30 years, as a brother in the struggle. Were he a stranger to me, it would perhaps be a different matter. It wa s Dr . Mandela who wound up the Estate of my late father-in-law. I have k nown him for the majority of my adult years and I certainly do not have to ask an Indian lawyer to see a fellow African friend and brother.

This House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, knows the extent to which I am race-blind both as a politician and as a South African. But this House also knows that I am not only race-blind but that I have also waged a relentless war against racism in whatever guise it presented itself. There is a very strange k ind of subverted racism amongst some of our Indian brothers and sisters in this coun1:r y. They run lucrative professional practices. They do not suffer w th the poorest of the poor but they specialise in seeking their c wn credibility by posturing as professional friends of those who trL .l y do struggle and suffer to eradicate and injustice. G ) W dare Mr. Ayob make superficial pronouncements to my detr i ment a .•d to his own glory. Does he struggle with us? Or does he grow f c t on Swiss Bank accounts with the money the South African legal system screws out of those who suffer? We remember Shun Chetty and what his own legal profession said about him after he fled this country. That breed of Indian lawyer does not number only two. I say to Africans: Beware these Indian wolves in sheep's clothing. - Look at Mac Maharaj's views on me, look at Aziz Pahad's views on me. I can add more to that list locally.

These are not racist statements. Some of my closest and strongest friends and supporters are found in the Indian community. I value their friendship and support, but it is my duty to expose villainy wherever it is found. I do not hesitate to expose villainy amongst Africans as all Africans are not angels, and it would be racist of me to shy away from exposing villainy amongst Indians. It is my duty to warn my people against the kind of Indian professional I have been talking about who benefits materially from African suffering, while at the same time driving wedges between one Black brother and another Black brother.

If I must see Dr. Mandela only after grovelling in the dust before Mr. Ismail Ayob, then quite clearly I may only see my brother, Dr. Mandela, hereafter beyond the grave for I will never ever humiliate my huge constituency by prostrating myself before an Ayob to do so. Mr. Ayob forgets that I am a constituency leader. I have a huge Black constituency in Inkatha a~d beyond it. I have the Zulu nation, as well as my constituency at regional level. I have White, Coloured and Indian constituencies. I will not do anything which belittles or humiliates any of the people I represent. Not even when Mr. Ayob tries to use our greatest martyr Dr. Nelson Mandela both to promote his credibility or to line his pockets, 5

will I succumb to Mr. Ayob's promptings. I will revere the name of Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela as long as I live. But just because I do so, is no reason why I should sell my soul to the Ayobs of this world.

This whole issue has arisen as a result of this House's view that I should now speak to Dr. Mandela. It has fallen into a terrible South African morass, and it is tragic to see the extent to which South Africa's newspapers and respected journals are floundering around in that morass.

Dr. Mantiela has corresponded with me and with my wife in the past. In December 1985 he wrote me a note thanking me for my message before he was operated on. 'In 1984 Zinzi Mandela, his daughter, conveyed a warm message to me via my then Principal Urban Representative, Mr. Gibson Thula. In March this year one of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons passed on warm greetings to me from Mandela who told him of his high esteem and love for me. The message he has sent in response to Dr. Dhlomo's suggestion contains greetings and thanks for my efforts to have him released. You do not convey messages to someone you intend to snub. I know that Dr. Mandela's position is a very difficult one in view of the External Mission of ANC's campaign of villification against me.

Incidentally the Eminent Person who talked conveyed greetings from Mandela to me also told me that he, Dr. Mandela, was very concerned about this conflict between the External Mission and myself and that he, Dr. Mandela held Mr. Tambe and myself in high esteem and was anxious to do something about this once he was released.

Just because certain journalists are pro-ANC or pro-UDF and have promoted th~ fallacy that I am beyond the pail as far as all leaders of ANC are concerned, is no excuse for deliberately distorting Dr. Mandela's message as a "snub."

Most of the Ex- prisoners from KwaZulu/Natal have over the years passed warm greetings to me from Dr. Mandela the moment they were released. They were advised by Dr. Mandela never to do anything that would bring them to Robben Island again and he advised them to go to me as soon as they were out to assist me in my work. No less than four of these ex-Robben Island men work closely with me and are members of Inkatha.

On June 6 Mr. Mono Badela, writing in the City Press, said: "Jailed African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela has flatly rejected an offer of a visit to by KwaZulu leader, M.G. Buthele~i" and after quoting the text of the telex which Mr. Ayob sent me on behalf of Dr. Mandela, Mr. Badela says that this was merely diplomatic language to convey Mr. Mandela's outright rejection of a discussion between himself and myself. Mr. Ayob is 6

quoted as saying that the telex was designed to "dis courage Buthelezi from 'imposing himself on Mr. Mandela.'"

Here again we have the intermingling of atti t udes attributed to Mr . Ayob and the paltry reporting by journalists who haven 't got the faintest grasp of political realit i es in this country. The City Press has repeatedly shown itself to be out of tune with all political reality. One day i n the distant future when the story of the rise of the South African press is told in history, commentator~ will show the true shame of newsp~per s like the City Press in this day and age. We who have suffered so much as Blacks should at least learn some things in life . The City Press shames Black self-respect and documents the extent to which apartheid has done its hideous work and dehumanised some Blacks. The City Press is not a newspaper; it is a small-time rag and many thousands of Black South Africans are being misled by the atrocious lack of professional jour na lism and journalistic ethics in the City Press.

There is an irony about the role of The City Press. It is a Nasionale Pers newspaper. I do not know to what extent the leader of the National Party, Mr. P.W. Botha , understands the extent to which this National Party rag is doing its damndest to make it impossible for many Black leaders such as myself eager to talk to him. This newspaper sows seeds of enmity between Black a nd Black more than any other newspaper I know in this country. There are others of its kind posturing as the voice of the radical left but in promoting Black disunity, The Ci ty Press takes the cake, as the saying goes.

Mr . Deputy Speaker, Sir, Honourable Members, it is tragic to have to take time off from the urgent business of this House to deal with the issues which I have had to raise today. There is a raging battle for the minds of Black South Afric ans now being waged in our country, and what political idiots say is spread across the country in the media and every political leader knows that he has to deal with sdme things which really are beneath his dignity even to touch. Were I just involved as a person in these issues, I would not even deign to comment. My comments are entirely analytical and I make them simply for the sake of South Africa.

------0------