Verbatim Transcript of latter part of interview of RGM from tape.
18/04/00 ZBC TV1 1300 hr news
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ZBC: Yesterday you had.. er.. had.. some talks with the
commercial farmers - did they voice any concern about this violence which
they say is obtaining in their farms?
Yes of course, they say they are worried .. they err.. ah would want to get on with their farming business, and especially with er.. er.. with their tobacco, and.. and they.. they would want to prepare themselves for the marketing of tobacco - and also for the growing of the er.. of the er.. of tobacco nurseries er.. the development of their nurseries in May, and er.. tobacco nurseries that is, and of course preparation for er.. for.. of their wheat lands, and they say they can't do this in disturbed circ.. circumstances, and er.. especially in the er.. area of Macheke where recently we had that problem.
We saw er.. some lives being lost, and ah.. they wanted some assistance, naturally. We discussed quite a lot with them their stance and their rejection of the er.. clause that we have now incorporated, because as I say to them that clause was actually meant for them to, benefit them, and I told them that our.. our.. ah.. present state of mind is that you are now our enemies because you really have behaved eh.. as enemies of Zimbabwe that.. that we are full of anger and our entire community is angry and this why you have the war vets now you know seizing land and.. and that this will require a real transformation on their part.... transformation in a positive way... for us to accept that they are.. are our allies, and would want to live side by side with us otherwise er.. we continue to regard them as (now) - as in the future as enemies of.. of our people .
ZBC: And their participation in opposition politics, againest your party? ...did you by any chance.........
We.. we.. we... I say to them - we have er.. there is nothing wrong in er.. their joining any party of their choice, but for them to have banded together to the man, in opposition to government, and for that matter to have gone much further - in mobilizing - actually it's coercing - their labour forces, you see.. on the farms to support the one position opposed to government, has shown them as er.. exposed them, as not our friends, but enemies, and they couldn't be just political enemies, they are definite enemies, in the sense of wanting to reverse our.. our.. er.. revolution and our Independence.
Well I -- it was frank talk -- and eh.. they said well eh.. "Yes, they... realized they should have supported the.. the Land Clause now".