Shilowa
Jacquie Golding-Duffy
THE Congress of South African Trade Unions said it will “definitely not apologise” to Democratic Party leader Tony Leon after his assault by a protester during a Cosatu demonstration in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Cosatu general secretary Sam Shilowa says: “No, we will not apologise to Tony Leon. I have made a public statement that says: Although we do not condone incidents of manhandling, we must remember that Tony Leon is not an angel. He says it’s my rhetoric that provoked the strikers but he forgets that it is his rhetoric in an open letter that provoked protesters.”
Leon sent Shilowa an open letter last week Friday stating that, among other things, Cosatu represented no one and that the federation was destroying the economy. Shilowa says the contents of the letter were conveyed to protesters in Cape Town before the attack occurred.
Shilowa also denies inviting Leon onto the podium to address workers. “The Inkatha Freedom Party, the Freedom Front and the National Party – all of whom are not our friends – waited at the gates of Parliament to receive the memorandum but Leon chose not to. There is also video footage that shows that there was a person with Leon who threw the first punch.
“It is not me who provoked the crowd but his letter. We will defend ourselves against any court action he may choose to take,” Shilowa said.
Leon, together with other political party representatives, was waiting outside Parliament for a memorandum from the Cosatu leadership.
When after about 15 minutes the memorandum did not appear, Leon started to walk away, and strikers whom he described as “two fellows wearing Communist Party T-shirts” punched him in the face.
Cosatu internal relations officer Neil Coleman said Leon was “behaving like a spoilt child in an irresponsible and provocative manner” by refusing to wait for the memorandum. “He should have exercised some self-discipline rather than disregarding the chief marshall who was attempting to restrain him.”
Leon is believed to be considering pressing charges against Cosatu and his assailants. een quoted as saying that although it is Leon’s right to take legal action, any charge against Cosatu would be “ludicrous”.