Letter to the Editor
The Sowetan
Via email: [email protected]
Dear Editor:
As Freedom Day approaches, the IFP is concerned with the latest attempt by the ANC to airbrush its old rival off KZN’s political map.
The recent unveiling of a heros’ arch at Esikhawini and the utterances by President Jacob Zuma, KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize and other ANC heavyweights that painted a picture of KZN’s low intensity civil war in the 1980s, that apparently did not include victims from the IFP, must be condemned in the strongest language.
The IFP wishes to place on record its disquiet about this latest example of rehashing KZN’s painful history to suit the ANC narrative. Not only are such actions and utterances politically expedient, they are also highly disrespectful to the victims of KZN’s political violence and their loved ones.
The IFP has always acknowledged the efforts of all those who worked to bring peace to the province, but, at the same time, it also stresses that such efforts could never have been possible, or have succeeded, without an equal contribution from the IFP leaders, especially its President Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Moreover, the ANC cannot legitimately claim that it is civil to its political opponents but, at the same time, has turned a blind eye to incidents where its youth wing threatened to invade the home of Prince Buthelezi and hurled insults at him. In fact, the IFP has a comprehensive dossier on all the abuse and insults that have been hurled against it in the past, which was presented to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The IFP wishes also to reiterate its concerns, raised by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, articulated in his response to the State of the Nation address last year, to the effect that reconciliation between the IFP and the ANC has disturbingly been muscled off the agenda under President Zuma’s leadership.
Prof Themba Msimang MP
IFP Deputy Secretary General