ANC spokesperson, Keith Khoza's remarks that Helen Suzman didn't take any real action against the apartheid regime reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of parliamentary politics, the Helen Suzman Foundation said on Friday.
Khoza was responding to the DA's "Know Your DA" campaign, in which flyers of Suzman and Mandela embracing were circulated this week.
Francis Antonie, director at the Helen Suzman Foundation, said Suzman's legacy was essentially about advancing liberal constitutional democracy.
"Firstly, we are non-party political organisation and we therefore don't want to be dragged into the political fray. However, we are prepared to work with anyone who advances the ideals of liberal, human rights-driven democracy," Antonie said.
He said ANC spokesperson, Keith Khoza, showed what appeared to be a "fundamental misunderstanding" of parliamentary politics in his remarks that Suzman had taken "no action" against the apartheid regime.
"I've been watching the events unfold around the DA's campaign and I must say, I'm quite dismayed at Khoza's remarks, that Suzman did not take any action against the apartheid regime.
"Anyone who was involved in the activist struggles of the 70's and 80's knows that Suzman was asking questions at a time when nobody else was asking them. It was a time when there was massive censorship of the press, for example, and Suzman's questions provided a constant stream of information to activist networks on the ground.
Misunderstood
"Her legacy appears to be misunderstood. Khoza's remarks are a reconstruction of events. One of the platforms of the struggle against apartheid was Parliament. In that respect, I think her legacy is unsurpassed.
"It must have been extremely difficult for her; alone in Parliament with all those white men. But she kept her principles alive in that particular forum."
Antonie said that while Suzman often questioned certain sectors of the liberal so-called "left", she remained a member of the DA's predecessor. And while the DA was therefore entitled to count her legacy as their own, the ANC was equally entitled to do the same.
"If the ANC came along and used the same photograph, showing Nelson Mandela embracing Helen (Suzman), I would be delighted. There are various groupings who celebrated her role in opposing the apartheid government. It would be wonderful if the ANC used the opportunity to reconnect with their own history of liberal values."
He said the relationship between Mandela and Suzman was "very close and very warm".
"That photograph doesn't lie. There is a recognition of Suzman's role there. And if the DA wishes to claim that legacy, they are entitled to do so. My concern, however, is that Suzman's contribution is not being recognised by the ANC for what it was," Antonie said.
Clowns
Meawhile, the ANC on Friday rubbished reported attempts by the Democratic Alliance to compare it to the National Party. ANC spokesperson, Jackson Mthembu said the DA had "run out of ideas" and had "morphed into clowns".
The Mail & Guardian revealed on Friday that a leaked draft document, which seemingly sets out part of the DA's election campaign, would also use visual imagery to compare the current and apartheid regimes. In one image, the ANC's black green and gold flag was replaced by the colours of the old South African flag.
"The Democratic Alliance has stooped to its latest lows with the blatant distortion of the African National Congress and its insignia in their desperate campaign for legitimacy and relevance," said Mthembu.
"The emblem of the African National Congress has always been and remains an important visual expression of the hardship, resilience and triumph of the African people. The ANC logo is a symbol of hope and progressive thinking and occupies a special place in the hearts of the majority of South Africans.
"Changing the colours black, which represents the African majority, green which represents the land and gold which represents the mineral wealth of our country, to the colours of the apartheid regime is an insult to not only the organisation but the efforts of the African majority to build social cohesion and reconciliation in this country," Mthembu said.
He said that comparing the ANC to the National party was not only disingenuous, but it was also not factual.
"History can in fact prove that those who today compare us to the National Party, they themselves were part of the South African Defence Force that killed our people. The African National Congress will respond to these spurious allegations in our engagement with our people. The African National Congress continues to uphold the highest values of a free, transparent and democratic country, which cannot be comparable to the erstwhile apartheid system.
"The people of South Africa know the history of this country, its struggles and their leaders. It is quite clear that the Democratic Alliance has run out of ideas with which to appeal to the electorate and in their desperation have morphed into clowns. This latest publicity stunt by them remains exactly that: a publicity stunt with no genuine basis to build a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it as evidenced by this latest attack on our history," he said.