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Afrikanerbond
letter and Zille speech – reactionaries pretending
to be liberators
Dear Comrades,Yesterday I posted ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe’s reply to the Afrikanerbond’s open letter. Later, somebody e-mailed me off-list asking for the said open letter. Let me say that I do not promise to search for everything, or anything, that people may ask for. I look for and post the things I think are useful, within constraints of time and space. If others think that further, different documents are needed here, then they are at liberty to search for them, retrieve them and post them to the list, preferably within the e-mail message (i.e. not as attachments or as bare links). However, in this case I did come across the arrogant Afrikanerbond letter, at the same time as I came across Helen Zille’s outrageous pre-Freedom-Day speech. So I have reproduced both of them, below. Reactionaries pretending to be liberators Cde Mantashe called it “ironic” that “the AfrikanerBond turns around and give the ANC a long lecture on [the values that we fought for].” This is what you call understatement. It is ironic, but it is more than ironic. Helen Zille is even more ridiculously pompous. “Our purpose in politics is to overcome the legacy of apartheid,” she said, speaking in Solomon Mahlangu Square, Mamelodi; and more than that. You can read it for yourself, below. The SACP Freedom Day statement sent out two days ago said: “Consistently the ANC and the liberation forces are now being painted as the new enemy of our people.” Six days ago, in relation to “Astroturfing” and other such terms, we said that this kind of thing is nothing less than the “big lie” technique (made famous by the Nazi Dr Goebbels), being deployed in South African politics by the DA (and now by the Afrikanerbond). We said: “By means of this literary trick, the actual liberation movement – the ANC and its allies – is supposed to be rendered into its historical opposite, while the racist regime and its direct descendents, the DA, somehow reappear in the guise of liberators.” Our studies here are designed to make us intellectually strong enough and skilled enough to resist and to overcome the fraudulent propaganda of these big liars. We study in preparation for the test of life that must inevitably come. Well, comrades, here it is! Here is your test. All you cadres must work to push back the big lies of the DA and the Afrikanerbond and the “astroturfers”, which are consistently shoved out by the oppositionist mass media every day. The big lies that say the DA and Afrikanerbond are the new liberation movement have become the heart of their local government election campaign, which must therefore be fought as a campaign against the big lie – and won! We cannot afford to let this big lie pass. No Paseran! No Paseran! VC Afrikanerbond Open Letter To ANC President Jacob Zuma and ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe from Pieter Vorster, Chairperson of the Afrikanerbond, April 27 2011 Pieter Vorster, Politicsweb, 27 April 2011 A National Dialogue extremely crucial as we need a new understanding and interpretation of the SA Constitution. When South Africa celebrates the 17th year of democracy, on 27 April 2011 it is celebrated with a South African society that is increasingly polarised from each other, sometimes in conflict with each other, and where self-interest has become more important than the broad national interest. Freedom Day must be seen against the background of a minority and majority which started from a position of conflict and eventually found each other around a negotiating table. From these negotiations a national accord was agreed upon which was eventually formalised in a transitional constitution and the final constitution of 1996. Although not perfect, the constitution provides sufficient space to any government for extensive decision-making and civil rights are adequately protected. However, an overview of the current state of affairs, after 17 years of democracy, highlights the dark side of majority rule. It has become clear that the ruling party's policy implementation and public pronouncements, by some individuals, are at times bypassing the provisions and ideals of the South African constitution and at times even undermining the constitution. Where the SA constitution is very clear about non-racialism, South Africa has increasingly become a society which are defined by race. Policy implementation of affirmative action, Black Economic Empowerment, quotas, and many more, all in the name of transformation, are symptomatic of the newly defined racial divisions in South Africa. Where the SA constitution is very clear about democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, the democratic values are undermined daily by feuding factions in the ruling party in the abuse of state structures and institutions. Also fundamental rights such as property ownership is undermined by irresponsible demands for nationalisation of land, mines and banks. Where the SA constitution is very clear about a united South Africa with recognition of diversity, the diversity is at times viewed with suspicion and sometimes undermined. The constant name changes of towns and streets and the contempt of the Constitution's language arrangements are but a few examples. After 17 years of democratic government, it has became clear that the SA constitution is often subservient to the ANC's policy and implementation as dictated by the National Democratic Revolution. This is the single biggest threat to the freedom of all South Africans which has been achieved through a negotiated settlement. It has therefore become time that the ANC as ruling party, involve the broad South African society, particularly minorities in South Africa, in a national dialogue about our understanding of our Constitution, the values contained therein against the practical reality today in South Africa. Our call for a national dialogue can be a starting point in an effort to get understanding and appreciation for the history of all South Africans, as selective history is sometimes used to encourage conflict. The outcome of a national dialogue can in turn lead to a new social accord in which the constitutional provisions can be re-confirmed and consensus be reached on the interpretation of all constitutional provisions and regulations. This combined effort will allow the constitution to once again take its rightful place as the supreme law against which policy and public pronouncements can be tested. After 17 years of democracy, Freedom Day is celebrated, but it is celebrated with a measure of trepidation and anxiety. Our appeal is that the ruling party will involve the full diversity of South African society in the coming year in a national dialogue to give effect to the ideals of the South African Constitution. Only when the ideals of the South African constitution are widely accepted and practiced will we be able to give Freedom Day its true meaning. With some urgency Freedom Day in 2012 can already have new meaning and content. It however requires the necessary political will. Issued by the Afrikanerbond, April 27 2011 From: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=233031&sn=Detail&pid=71616 Helen Zille speech, (“The struggle continues”) 26 April 2011 Speech prepared for delivery at the DA's Freedom Day celebration at Solomon Mahlangu Freedom Square, Mamelodi. My fellow South Africans, Tomorrow is Freedom Day. It is the most important day on our political calendar. It marks the moment in 1994 that we, the people of South Africa, first tasted freedom. For those of us who were there, April 27 1994 will live in our memories to our last breath. And for those who come after us, it will live in history as a beacon illuminating the triumph of humanity over inhumanity. I would like to use this moment to remember where we come from. Because it is only with our past in mind that we can take on the future and take forward the struggle for a better life. My fellow South Africans, the Apartheid system was an affront - an often violent affront - to the very notion of humanity. By degrading some of us, it degraded us all. Oppression is always driven by the worst instincts of human kind - greed, fear, hatred. It is sustained by a callous indifference to the suffering of others. Whenever I pause for a moment and remember, I can feel the atmosphere that enveloped our country in the 1960s and 70s and 80s. I can feel the anger and the fear. And I remember the long shadow violence cast, hovering over the land like a funeral shroud, burying our hopes and our dreams for a better future. But today is also a day to remember those who resisted the inhumanity of oppression and fought to overcome it. There are the heroes who inspired us: Luthuli, Ghandi, Mandela, Tambo, Sisulu, Brown, Paton, Suzman, Hani. And many besides. There are also the millions whose names were not captured in the headlines, but who fought back every day for generations, and in the end, triumphed. Our constitution, with a Bill of Rights at its heart, protects us all. It is our collective response to the oppression of Apartheid. It is founded on the best of what humanity has to offer: dignity, a love of freedom, a commitment to equality and the embrace of tolerance. My fellow South Africans, we are privileged to be here today, living our freedom under a constitution that cherishes our humanity. So many lived and died without knowing this feeling. Let us remember them today. But in vanquishing a system of oppression, we have not erased the past. None of us escaped Apartheid unscathed. Its legacy lives on and oppresses us still. If we are to escape Apartheid's shadow, we must comprehend in full the legacy we have inherited. It has two components, and both must be confronted. First, there is the material cost of the past, and its name is poverty. We cannot claim freedom while millions of our compatriots are in need of life's bare necessities. Our struggle must therefore be to offer people pathways out of poverty, and the passport to those pathways is a job. Our economy is capable of providing our people with work and the opportunities that flow from it. And so our task is to create the conditions for growth and jobs and give every South African a stake in the future. We must also ensure that we provide a safety net for those who cannot access an income and life's necessities on their own. We must care by doing: by governing well, by delivering for all, by treating every person with the respect their humanity compels. The second component of Apartheid's legacy is not material. It is emotional. An abusive system leaves everyone scarred. Let us be honest and give name to the feelings that oppress us still. There is anger and resentment, natural human responses to humiliation. There is a deficit of confidence and self-esteem. There is embarrassment and guilt. And there is that most pernicious of responses to our past, the anti-feeling that is denial. In all of us, there is a yearning to be seen and heard; to be understood. We cannot engage these feelings nor reconstruct our relationship with ourselves and each other, by means of confrontation. And we cannot overcome the feelings that oppress us in court rooms. Nelson Mandela showed us the way forward. Reconciliation takes courage and generosity. And it takes time. I feel that we have lost our way a little; that we have wandered off the road to reconciliation. Let's find our way back, and commit ourselves to keep travelling that road until we reach our destination. I want to say something to every representative, member and supporter of my party, the DA. The struggle continues. Our purpose in politics is to overcome the legacy of apartheid and usher in a new kind of society, in which every person has the right and the means to live a life they value. Our purpose in politics is to vanquish poverty in our country, so that every person can taste the fruits of freedom. Our purpose in politics is to reconcile South Africans to each other. Let others divide; we will unite. When we campaign, let it be on this basis. Where we govern, let it be to this end. To my fellow South Africans, I say this: each person in South Africa has the right to support the party of their choice. That is part of what freedom means. If you choose to support the DA, you are choosing to continue the struggle for dignity, opportunity and reconciliation. Mindful of our past, you are choosing to help take South Africa forward. We are not perfect, but with your support we will become better, and better able to give every South African the chance for a better life. Issued by the Democratic Alliance, April 26 2011 From: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=232966&sn=Detail&pid=71616 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
