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Herald, 6 August, 1981
THE Prime Minister, Mr Mugabe, has warned the Republican Front leader, Mr Ian Smith, to stop making subversive statements about Zimbabwe, while forgetting that he had been forgiven by the Government under its policy of reconciliation.
Mr Mugabe, in an interview with J Ross of the Washington Post on Monday, said Mr Smith’s performances lately had left much to be desired as he had been going around talking “quite racially” during the recent by-elections for the white electoral seats.
“And the statements he has made were quite subversive. He should not have been talking as if he was the hero of the situation . . . when we have committed ourselves to the policy of reconciliation and he is a loser,” the Prime Minister said.
Expressing his misgivings over the fact that during all the meetings he had held with the RF leader, Mr Smith had used the occasion to express “white fears” in Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe said he would in future have to consider seriously whether to give Mr Smith an audience.
But, pledged the Prime Minister: “I will continue to listen to him.” He would accept those fears which were justified and reject those that were irrelevant.
Mr Mugabe was speaking in a wide-ranging interview, during which he expressed the hope that the Reagan administration would help resolve the Namibian independence dispute.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Subversive statements can be defined as those that challenge or undermine established authority or Government policies. Such statements could incite unrest.
Notwithstanding the policy of reconciliation, Ian Smith continued to be a vocal critic of the new Government because of his warped belief that ‘Rhodesians never die’. He took his intransigence to the grave as he thought that whites had more rights in Zimbabwe than black people, the rightful owners.
PM Mugabe warned Smith about his subversive statements because they posed a threat to his government’s stability and legitimacy. By addressing these comments publicly, the PM aimed to assert control over the political discourse in Zimbabwe while discouraging any external support for dissenters.
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