LETTERS No darling
Sir: I wish to respond briefly to the article 'Zulu bloodlust on the screen' (14 Novem- ber). In citing the history of King Shaka and some parts of the recent film Shaka Zulu, Mr Richard West in my opinion is attempting to justify his unfounded fears about the possibility of an alliance between the Afrikaners and the Zulu nation in South Africa. Mr West is even inviting future historians to share his fears.
The Zulu people, Inkatha and the majority of the people of Natal and Kwa- Zulu support the constitutional proposals put forward by the KwaZulu Natal Indaba for a democratic non-racial regional gov- ernment within the context of South Afri- ca. Surely this is not an arrangement between the Zulus and the Afrikaners. On the contrary some Afrikaner groups such as the AWB and the Conservative Party in South Africa have often expressed hostility and intolerance towards Inkosi Dr Buthelezi and his political demands on the South Afri- can regime. Inkosi Buthelezi is not making these political demands on behalf of the Zulus but on behalf of all black people and in the interest of all South Africans, English- speaking people included. Surely this can- not be the objective of a leader who cherishes an Afrikaner-Zulu pact against the Xhosas and the English, as Mr West puts it.
Inkatha has not set out to destroy the ANC in Natal. This statement is false and irresponsible coming from a person such as Mr West who is capable of searching for facts and truth. The black-on-black battles in Pietermaritzburg are politically moti- vated. They are the result of a revolution- ary theory imbibed by the young UDF supporters and now it cannot find practical outlet outside black townships. It is the result of political intimidations of the majority by the few who want to impose on them political activities and ideologies alien to Africans. Now that the majority have had enough and are fighting back in defence and sometimes in retaliation, the white supporters of the UDF and the media are witch-hunting for a scapegoat. Mr West should by now be aware of the fact that Inkatha is not the darling of the white-controlled media both in South Africa and abroad.
Ben M. Skosana
National Cultural Liberation Movement, 6 Wells Rise, London NW8
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