Letter to friends
Dear Friends,
I don’t know whether you have been following the recent discussion on SW Radio Africa involving Tendai and Welshman. The last transcript has just been published and this excerpt is important:
“Violet: And, finally, you know, some have asked why the visionaries and luminaries in the MDC are wasting time and breath and fulfilling Mugabe’s agenda by fighting each other. Now, does the old saying ‘there’s strength in unity’ still resonate with the MDC intelligentsia and pro-democracy movements in Zimbabwe Professor Ncube?
Professor Ncube: Of course it does, and there’s absolutely no doubt that a single MDC united will have a much better chance, a stronger chance of actually dislodging the regime than a divided MDC. As we said at the beginning, the only person who is laughing all the way to the bank in respect of all the things which are happening on the ground to us as the opposition movement, as the democratic movement in Zimbabwe, is Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. So we are very, very alive to that.
Violet: Tendai Biti?
Tendai Biti: Well, I think as long as the vision remains alive and as long as all of us have hard looks to ourselves and in ourselves, I think time might heal us and I think that we should keep the flame alive. You know, I studied history; history is very funny; so many things have happened in history, so no one should write the democratic movement off. Far from it.”
Welshman has been so heavily vilified in the last year - he has been accused of being in league with Mbeki and Zanu PF. I have listened very carefully and studied all these allegations for a year and I have to say that I have not seen a shred of reliable evidence yet. On the contrary despite the errors of judgment on some issues that Welshman has made (as all of us have from time to time) I do not see someone who has been happy about the divisions in the opposition, or someone who engineered them as alleged. On the contrary I have personally witnessed someone who has been deeply distressed by what has happened and who desires unity - as evidenced by this excerpt. If I am wrong in this I am obviously a very poor judge of character and fact; and Welshman should be awarded an Oscar!
I think the time has come for us to reconsider who has actually been responsible for the divisions in the opposition. This time we must consider hard evidence and not mere unsubstantiated allegations. And if anyone has hard evidence of these allegations against Welshman could it please be produced so that we can assess it. If there is in fact no such evidence then we would all benefit from recognising who is in fact still committed to the vision of a new democratic non violent Zimbabwe and start working with them.
Congratulations to both Tendai and Welshman for their positive comments. Congratulations as well to Violet Gonda for this superb series. In my book all are patriots worthy of our praise and support.
Regards,
David
September 22nd, 2006 at 3:03 am
I’ve just discovered your website!!!!
You and the family are so in our prayers at the moment. What turmoil!!!!
October 2nd, 2006 at 6:17 pm
I note with interest that Tendai Biti used a phrase that is akin to the Flame Lily Foundation’s slogan - “Keeping the Flame alive” - when interviewed recently on SW Radio.
Was this a coincidence, or was he perhaps inspired by the FLF’s website?
The FLF is most concerned about Zimbabwe pensioners living in South Africa who have been deprived of their contributory pensions for several years - some since January 2001. To add insult to injury, the Government ignores all communications from its pensioners and from the FLF itself, and has never publicly acknowledged its debt to its pensioners, as far as I am aware.
Individuals cannot even find out from the Pensions Office what is their current monthly entitlement, or what is being held in arrears. This conspiracy of silence is tantamount to fraud, as it is money which is supposedly being held in trust for pensioners by Government, but for which there seems to be no accountability.
Could this serious matter possibly be raised by the MDC in parliament?
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I just discovered your website and I would like to commend you for the work you are doing. I know there may be many negative sentiments about you guys, but I respect your resolve and steadfastness.
You have my support, no matter what happens.
Keep strong for the future of this country.
October 8th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
David,
Why did the Welshman faction not share with the Morgan faction the money they got under the Political Party Financing Act?
Why did Welshman go shopping in South Africa for a leader when Gift and others were ready to run?
How does it feel to be vilified by Mutambara in one statement, and then to accompany him to the US in the next breath?
You talk about being a judge of character: face it, none of you politicians give a hoot about character. And Welshman is the last person who can be talked of in terms of character. I am not interested in assasinating his reputation but please, do you even know the man you are working with?
October 11th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Munakamwe - The Mutambara faction has indicated its willingness to share the money received in the recent conciliation talks between the two factions. But there must also be a general sharing of resources – we all built this together and we must not fall into the Zanu PF trap of thinking that only some have contributed to the liberation (or process of liberation) of Zimbabwe.
Welshman did not go “shopping” for a leader. Mutambara has demonstrated political leadership qualities for a long time ever since he led successful and brave protests against the Zanu PF regime in the late 1980s. He was then elected democratically at a Congress in February – surely you do not argue that the 3000 people who attended and voted were gullible? They were intelligent people who could make up their own mind as to whom should lead them.
I have worked closely with many political leaders in Zimbabwe over the last 23 years and I have no doubt about Welshman’s commitment to the democractisation of Zimbabwe. He has bravely fought for democracy in very difficult circumstances from within the country for many years – it is very easy to criticize others and another thing entirely to be in the shoes of those we criticize. I have no doubt that Welshman will not be judged as harshly as others will be both within the opposition and within Zanu PF.
Kind regards
The Honourable Mr David Coltart MP
December 5th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
thank you for keeping up the faith in the fight against the mugabe tyranny we support you all the way ,victory belongs to people with the stead fast fighting spirit that is epitomised my you and the rest of the civic society of zimbabwe
December 5th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
thank you for the informative web site our prayers go out to all the people who are fighting the corrupt govenment of mugabe ,keep the steadfast spirit of fighting on
January 31st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
David,
If you would like a book about your experiences published comes to us first. We all appreciate what you have done and what you are doing. Regards Peter Stiff