The Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate a reported statement by African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema on the ”elimination” of the DA.
”In the context of Mr Malema’s previous exhortation for people to ‘kill in support of Jacob Zuma’, it is not unreasonable to assume that Malema is calling for the killing of members of the DA or those who are earnestly working in our judicial institutions to ensure that justice is dispensed without fear of favour,” said DA parliamentary caucus leader Sandra Botha on Monday.
”Malema may have adjusted his vocabulary, but his intentions clearly remain the same,” she said.
In a speech prepared for delivery at a funeral on Sunday, Malema said that as the country prepares for the 2009 general elections, questions need to be asked about how service delivery can be accelerated, and poverty halved by 2014.
He said this could only have meaning if ”we rise above our petty differences and work together in building a South Africa we can all be proud of”.
”We must also intensify the struggle to eliminate the remnants of counter-revolution, which include the DA and a loose coalition of those who want to use state power to block the ANC president’s ascendancy to the highest office of the land,” he said.
The DA said that given the high levels of violence prevalent in South Africa and the country’s history of intolerance, ”such comments are not only reckless in the extreme, they [also] constitute a clear and present danger to our constitutional order”.
Botha said Malema’s comments would create a ”climate of intolerance and an acceptance of violence” to further political ends.
The party believes it is important that the SAHRC clamps down on similar statements made in the future.
By accepting Malema’s assurance that he will never use the word ”kill” again in public, the DA believes the SAHRC has created the space for the youth league leader to undermine democracy.
”If the SAHRC fails to take swift action against Malema now, then it is likely that we will see Malema merely finding more synonyms for the word ‘kill’ in future statements.”
During a Youth Day rally in Thaba Nchu in the Free State in June, Malema said: ”We are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma.” He later said the word ”kill” was meant to demonstrate love and passion for Zuma.
No Vavi apology yet
A week later, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said: ”So yes, because Jacob Zuma is one of us, and he is one of our leaders, for him, we are prepared to lay our lives and to shoot and kill.”
Vavi has written a letter to the SAHRC expressing his respect for the Constitution, but has yet to apologise for his statement.
SAHRC spokesperson Vincent Moaga said on Monday that the commission will meet Vavi either this week or next week to discuss his letter. ”Even though we are going to have this meeting with him, our position still stands,” he said.
Asked whether this means that the commission still believes Vavi should apologise for his remarks, Moaga replied: ”Yes.”
Vavi has until midnight on Monday to apologise for his statement. The SAHRC has threatened to take legal action against Vavi if he does not meet the deadline, but now it will meet him first.
Moaga said Vavi’s letter, which the commission received on Friday, explains that his statement was misunderstood. ”But we will discuss that with him in our meeting,” he said.
He quoted part of the letter: ”We [Cosatu] have huge respect for the work of the SAHRC and as you know, we have in the past cooperated with the commission on some of its work. We have an absolute respect for the Constitution of the country and the Bill of Rights.”
The DA has called on Zuma to sign a declaration expressing support for the Constitution and to condemn the ”kill for Zuma” statements of both Vavi and Malema. — Sapa