Friday, September 13, 2002

This is old but, somehow I missed it before. Back in July Louis Farrakhan was in Zimbabwe visiting Comrade Bob.

I start by asking you what brought you to Zimbabwe?

We came as a result of reading the demonisation of President Mugabe over the issue of land reform. We came after witnessing the launching or the birth of the African Union in Durban to show solidarity with President Mugabe and with the idea of land reform.

Turning to politics, can you tell us your impressions about the state of opposition politics in this country?

I don't think there is anything wrong with opposition but opposition in my judgement should not be opposition for opposition's sake. It should be opposition based on ideas, plans and programmes that we may think are better than what the Government in power is offering.

It's the same with the opposition media. In a democratic society the media has a very important role to play and not opposition for the sake of opposition and the vile and ugly reporting is not, in my judgement, responsible journalism.

If we have a legitimate critical analysis of our governments, we should feel free to prove them.

But just to be vile and become very personal in our attacks on one another does not add to democracy. In fact, it begins to tear down the same governments we are trying to build.

Turning to America, what is the status of the black man now compared to 20 or 30 years ago. Has anything changed and if so what has changed?

The status of the black man in America in spite of all of the great work of many of our great leaders and organisations is very bad. The majority of the people are still suffering greatly as in Zimbabwe.

Aids has become a pandemic that is killing young Africans from 19 to 30. We find the same destructive presence of Aids in the black community in America killing mainly our young men form 18 to 45. There is much job losses and we are still fighting against police brutality and mob attacks so even though we have had some advances and we have a much large middle class that seems to be doing fairly well, even those are angry and upset because of what is called the glass ceiling - meaning they can only fog as high as their corporate bosses who are white would allow them to go. So on every state on every form in America we are still struggling and we will continue to struggle until there is total liberation of our people.

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