Lesego Makhubela, ANC Tshwane-woordvoerder, het in ’n verklaring gesê dat die African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng met ‘kommer kennis neem van die aantal antagonistiese aanvalle deur rassistiese en regse groepe op Gautengse ANC-voorsitter, Panyaza Lesufi, omdat hy nie-rassigheid onbeskaamd verdedig het.’
“Die demoon van rassisme het geen plek in ons land en samelewing nie, en dit moet in sy totaliteit ontwortel word,” sê Makhubela. “Dit verdraai die denkproses en veroorsaak spanning, wedersydse antagonisme en haat in die menslike samelewing. Dit verneder sy slagoffers.”
Volgens Makhubela is die provinsiale voorsitter van die ANC een van die leiers wat hul jeug opgeoffer het, en onregverdig behandel is terwyl hy geveg het vir die bevryding van hierdie land van ’n ‘brutale, moorddadige en onderdrukkende apartheidsregering’ wat segregasie en rassisme verheerlik het terwyl dit die menseregte van die meerderheid van die land, wat swart mense is, verontagsaam het.
Die Provinsiale Uitvoerende Komitee van die ANC in Gauteng beskou aanvalle en dreigemente op sy voorsitter as direkte aanvalle op die ANC self en as ’n ‘belediging vir die vredeliewende mense van die land.’
“Ons is bewus daarvan dat regse groepe en oorblyfsels van die Nasionale Party, organisasies soos AfriForum, Vryheidsfront Plus en ander wat ’n sekere ras en taal verdedig, Lesufi vir ’n lang tydperk aanval deur hom te dreig met regsgedinge omdat hy bloot nie-rassigheid verdedig het,” sê Makhubela. “Ons wil dit so stel dat nie-rassigheid ’n beleid van die ANC is en ons gaan nie bystaan en toelaat dat wit oppergesagte aasvoëls ’n karkas maak van die voorsitter van die ANC omdat hy ons beleid verdedig het nie.”
“Presies twee weke gelede het die party wat ’n verdediger van wit bevoorregting ontplooi, die Demokratiese Alliansie (DA), hul 2024-veldtog voor Lesufi se kantoor by die Gautengse departement van onderwys van stapel gestuur onder die dekmantel dat hulle voorstelle wat in die Bela-wetgewing gemaak is, uitdaag.
“Dit is ’n wetsontwerp wat aandui dat ’n skool in ten minste twee tale onderrig word. Ons is bewus daarvan dat DA Afrikaanssprekende stemme verloor en neig nou desperaat om dit terug te wen deur voor te gee dat hulle Afrikaans verdedig, wat volslae onsin is.
“Dit is regtig jammer dat Helen Zille al die pad vanaf Kaapstad gereis het, en vergesel is deur leiers van alle provinsies om ’n nuttelose memorandum by Lesufi se kantoor af te lewer, in plaas daarvan om hul optog na kantore van die DA se eie sogenaamde ‘minister’ van onderwys in die Wes-Kaap te neem, omdat sy deel was van die Raad van Onderwysministers wat oor dieselfde Bela-wetsontwerp gestem het waarteen hulle voorgee om te wees.”
Makhubela voeg by: “Die minste wat hulle kon doen, was om na die Nasionale Parlement se Portefeuljekomitee oor Onderwys te marsjeer, want dit is waar die proses nou setel. Ons moet hulle daaraan herinner dat die sperdatum vir openbare insette oor die Bela-wetsontwerp 15 Augustus 2022 is.”
Die Provinsiale Uitvoerende Komitee sê dit is ook bewus daarvan dat die aanvalle op sy voorsitter verskerp is nadat die ANC se departement van onderwys in Gauteng begin het om skole te hernoem wat voorheen vernoem is na die ‘argitekte van apartheid’ wat ‘ongekende pyn en lyding vir ons mense’ veroorsaak het. “Ná maande se terugslae van verskeie wit oppergesags- en rassistiese groepe, het die Gautengse LUR vir onderwys en ANC-voorsitter, Panyaza Lesufi, Höerskool Hendrik Verwoerd in Pretoria amptelik na Hoërskool Rietondale herdoop.”
“Die African National Congress veroordeel in die sterkste terme ongeregverdigde aanvalle en dreigemente op ons provinsiale voorsitter vir die implementering van ANC-beleide wat gewortel is in die ontworteling van rassisme en enige simbole, artefakte en name wat die donker dae van apartheid verteenwoordig.”
Volgens Makhubela is die stryd vir vryheid steeds onvoldoende solank as wat die nalatenskap van apartheid die ekonomiese nalatenskap van apartheid insluit. “Hierdie taak vereis dus dat ons die grootste deel van die massas van ons mense bereik en voortgaan om die stryd teen rassisme te verskerp vir ons evolusie na ’n nie-rassige samelewing.”
Volgens Makhubela is die ANC die enigste nie-rassige organisasie wat altyd sal pleit vir nie-rassigheid en respek vir alle menseregte in Suid-Afrika. “Ons sal Lesufi ondersteun deur hierdie waansin van ongeregverdigde regsgedinge deur verregse groepe.”
Lees die verklaring hier onder:
ANC STATEMENT ON THE ATTACKS AND THREATS BY RACIST AND RIGHTWING GROUPS ON OUR PROVINCIAL CHAIRPERSON Panyaza Lesufi
The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng has noted with deep concern the level of antagonistic attacks by racist and right-wing groups on Gauteng ANC Chairperson Comrade Panyaza Lesufi for unashamedly and unapologetically defending non-racialism.
The demon of racism has no place in our country and society, and it must be uprooted in its totality. It brutalizes entire peoples, warps the process of thought and injects into human society a foul and toxic air of tension, mutual antagonism and hatred. Not only does it demean and dehumanizes its victims it does so also to its practitioners.
The provincial chairperson of the ANC is among the leaders who sacrificed their youth , and were unfairly detained fighting for the liberation of this country from a brutal, murderous and oppressive apartheid government that glorified segregation, racism and disregarded the human rights of the majority of this country, who are Africans.
The Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC in Gauteng views attacks and threats to our chairperson in dim light and as direct attacks on the ANC itself and as an insult to the peace loving people of our country .
We are aware that for a sustained period of time, right-wing groups and offshoots and remnants of the National Party, organizations such as AfriForum, Freedom Front Plus and others who are defending a certain race and language, have been attacking Cde Lesufi by threatening him with lawsuits for merely defending non-racialism. We want to state it categorically that non-racialism is a policy of the ANC and we are not going to standby and allow white supremacist vultures to carcass on the chairperson of the ANC for standing by and defending our policies.
Exactly Two weeks ago, the party that deploys body builders and a defender of white privilege The Democratic Alliance (DA) launched their 2024 campaign in front of Cde Lesufi’s office at the Gauteng Education Department under the guise that they were challenging proposals made in the BELA Bill, which indicates that a school must teach in at least two languages. We are aware that DA are losing Afrikaans speaking votes and are now desperately leaning towards winning them back by pretending to be defending Afrikaans, which is utter nonsense. It is really unfortunate that Helen Zille travelled all the way from Cape Town accompanied by leaders from all provinces and delivered a useless memorandum to Cde Lesufi’s office instead of taking their March to offices of the DA’s own so-called ‘Minister’ of Education in the Western Cape because she was part of the Council of Education Ministers which deliberated on the very same BELA Bill that they purport to be against. The least they could have done was to march to National Parliament to the Portfolio of Education because that is where the process resides now. We must remind them that the deadline for public inputs on the BELA Bill is 15 August 2022.
The Provincial Executive Committee is also aware that the attacks on our chairperson were heightened after the ANC lead department of education in Gauteng went on an overdrive to rename schools that were previously named after architects of apartheid who caused untold pain and suffering to our people. After months of pushbacks from various white supremacists and racists groups, Gauteng education MEC and ANC chairperson Panyaza Lesufi bravely officially renamed the Pretoria-based Höerskool Hendrik Verwoerd to Rietondale High School.
The African National Congress condemns in the strongest terms unwarranted attacks and threats on our provincial chairperson for implementing ANC policies which are rooted in uprooting racism and any symbols, artefacts and names that represents the dark days of apartheid.
The struggle for freedom still remains incomplete as long as the legacy of apartheid remains including the economic legacy of apartheid . This task therefore demands that we achieve the greatest unity of the masses of our people, inspired by the new patriotism, to continue to intensify the fight against racism for our evolution into a non-racial society.
The ANC is the only non-racial organisation which will always advocate for non-racialism and respect for all human rights in this country. We will support Cde Lesufi through this madness of unjustified lawsuits by delusional right-wing groups.
Issued by the office of the Provincial Secretary, Cde TK Nciza.