In a letter to the two factions, Coltart noted that some of the leaders are skeptical about his intentions and his ability to play a mediation role. So in this final segment, I first asked him about his personal views and where he stands.
COLTART: I think it’s inevitable, let me say this, I have been viewed with suspicion by both sides and that is an inevitable consequence of adopting the position that I have. I do have personal views which I am not going to reveal on this programme because it’s not the right time to reveal those views.
I recognise that time is running out and I will have to make a decision fairly shortly because it does appear as if my attempts to broker peace, to broker an amicable divorce, are not going to be achieved. But having said that, let me say that I believe both sides are to blame for this division. I am not going to apportion blame, or rank blame this evening but I think that ultimately it was a collective failure of leadership, it was a collective failure (and) both sides are to blame.
All of us are not immune from blame. I think it is a collective responsibility. I am responsible for this, and everyone should recognise that there are no saints in politics, there are no saints on either side. It has been a failure of both sides of the MDC, it’s been a failure of people in the media, it’s been a failure of people in civil society and human rights movement who have taken such absolutist views and positions, and in so doing, they have ensured that this dispute will become permanent, that this divorce will become permanent.
I come back to the theme of intolerance. I have been appalled by the intolerance shown on both sides. I believe that had we had seen more responsibility, more restraint shown by leaders on both sides early on, way back in October and November, this still could have been resolved and both sides could have been reconciled.
But at the end of the day I recognise that this attempt to reconcile will probably fail, and when that happens, I am going to be forced to make a decision. I am going to be forced to one or other camp, but let me say this, ultimately my decision is going to be based on what for me is the core issue, and that is our commitment to non-violence.
Let me stress this Violet, that there are many different tiers, many different reasons why this dispute has taken place. The personal issue for me is the issue of our commitment to non-violence and ultimately my decision will be based on which group, which faction has demonstrated a greater commitment to respecting the principle of non-violence.
VIOLET: But do you not think right now is the time you should make your position clear or known for the sake of progress as you say time is running out, and maybe if these issues were thrown out into the public domain people will be able to make the right decisions. Do you not think that you have been sitting on the fence for too long?
COLTART: Well I think, first of all let me say that I disagree with that phrase ‘sitting on the fence’. Sitting on the fence implies that a person is waiting to see which way the wind is blowing and then the person just goes with the direction in which the wind is blowing hardest. I don’t believe I have been doing that. I believe that in the position I have put myself in, I have if anything, developed suspicion from both sides. I didn’t attend either congress, I could have, I am sure gone to one of the congresses and tried to get a much higher and lofty position than I am sure I may be offered now by either faction.
So I dispute this notion of sitting on the fence. I think I have been more in the political wilderness on my own trying to broker peace, but having said that, I agree with you that I think that the time is rapidly coming that I do have to make a decision. I think I have given this a full go, I think that I have tried for six months now, I hate to admit but I think I have failed and now I will have to make a decision and in fact I already have started a process of consultation. As I see it, I have four possible options.
The first is to join the Tsvangirai faction. The second is to join the Mutambara faction. The third is to try to become an independent and the fourth is to resign from politics completely and go back to my roots which is of course the civic society and the human rights movement.
And I have started speaking to people I trust and respect right across the board to gauge their opinion. The majority opinion seems to be at present that I should not leave politics. In the course of the next few days and weeks I will get greater clarity on what decision I have to make.
VIOLET: What’s your gut feeling though?
COLTART: (Laughs) Well I know that you are keen on the scoop Violet and unfortunately I can’t give you that tonight. But of the four options, civil society doesn’t appear to be an option because virtually everyone has said that I should remain in politics, that I have an obligation to people who elected me. Some people lost their lives to get the likes of me elected and it would be irresponsible for me to abandon my constituency.
I think constitutionally, that is, in terms of the Zimbabwe constitution, it would be difficult to become an independent. So I am probably down to two choices, will I join the Tsvangirai faction or the Mutambara faction? That’s the decision I have to make and I am sure I will make in the not too distant future.
VIOLET: And you said earlier on in the discussion that the issue of violence is what’s going to determine your decision isn’t? Now in your letter to the two groups, you said that you notice that there is an even more disturbing trend and that is that of violence. Who is primarily responsible for that and who do you blame for frustrating your efforts to try and reconcile?
COLTART: Let me say this, that there has been violence perpetrated by both sides in the last six months. I was absolutely appalled by the assault on Bekithemba Nyathi on the eve of Morgan Tsvangirai’s star rally in the run-up to the senatorial elections. I have known Bekithemba Nyathi for a long time, he works in a law firm close to my law firm and that young man lost his eye as a result of that assault which was perpetrated against him by hooligans in what is now termed the Mutambara faction even though Arthur Mutambara of course didn’t have a role at that time.
But equally, the other faction, the Tsvangirai faction, has been recently responsible for equally disturbing assaults in the form of hijackings and verbal assaults in the form of Morgan Femai the Harare chairman saying that their goal was to, and I quote, ‘stamp out the Mutambara faction before they move on to tackle Zanu PF’. Now that’s unacceptable in my view. I am not on this programme going to say who I believe is responsible for most violence, I will do that in a very considered way. I will write about it because I think people need to understand my thought process, and it’s impossible on a radio interview like this to go through the full history and to explain who I believe to be most responsible for violence. Let me say that as I make decisions, I will be seeking assurances from people on both sides regarding their commitment to non-violence. Let me say that I am not talking about mere lip service, if you look at that letter that I wrote regarding the Alabama human rights movement and the pledge drafted by Martin Luther King, at one stage he says that people are to refrain from the violence of the fist, tongue and heart.
And the point I am making in that letter is that it is very easy for leaders to refrain from the violence of the fist and the tongue. The question I put to leaders is whether they are prepared to refrain from the violence of the heart. And by heart I mean the issue of leaders who are prepared, behind closed doors, to encourage young people to go out and perpetrate acts of violence so long they, that is, the political leaders, are not in any way associated with that.
Let me bring in my own history. As everyone knows, I fought for (Ian) Smith. As an 18-year-old, I was conscripted to go and fight for Ian Smith as a gullible, impressionable 18-year-old. I was subjected to peer pressure, and let me say against the wishes of my parents who were liberals who did not want me to go and fight for the white minority regime, I went and fought and I could have lost my life. I thank God that I didn’t lose my life but I saw and I learnt a lesson then that all the politicians are very often willing to sacrifice young, gullible, impressionable men and women in the pursuit of their own political goal.
I am very disdainful, I’m very skeptical of political leaders who are prepared to act behind closed doors in Zimbabwe today. And so I am not impressed simply by mere statements by political leaders at rallies that they condemn violence, that they are committed to non-violence.
What I want to see is a political leader who behind closed doors is prepared to deal with violence, prepared to tell his or her followers that they will not tolerate violence in any form. I seek those types of assurances from leaders in both factions, and it is that issue that will ultimately determine which faction I go to.
VIOLET: Now, just to end, do you still believe that the MDC is a viable party and can they lead mass action?
COLTART: I suppose it depends what you mean by the MDC. As I said right at the outset in October and what I have consistently said since then, I don’t believe that these two entities, these two factions, will ever be as strong independent of each other as they were as one united political party. There is no doubt in my mind that this division has greatly weakened opposition politics Zimbabwe.
And whilst it is encouraging to see how many people have turned out for the Tsvangirai faction’s rallies, that is not a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. And Morgan Tsvangirai has always managed to attract people but the sad reality is that despite all the rhetoric and the propaganda, he is still not attracting the same number of people that the united party used to attract. That is an indisputable fact and because of that, and this is the sobering reality of our situation, (sic) let’s assume that the Tsvangirai faction continues to grow from strength to strength I still believe it will not be as strong as it was when it had the likes of Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga, Welshman Ncube, Gibson Sibanda and all the other patriots who were not with that group. And likewise, the Mutambara faction is greatly weakened without the talents of Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti.
Everyone needs to understand that and those who have adopted such biased, intolerant positions should recognise that we all need to work together even as two separate political factions or entities or political parties, we need to work together because we are not going to bring democracy to Zimbabwe until we start respecting each other and working together albeit as two separate organisations.
VIOLET: We have to end here, thank you very much Mr Coltart.
COLTART: Thank you very much Violet.