/ 30 March 2009

Cope dismisses ANC violence allegations

Allegations that members of the Congress of the People (Cope) are involved in a campaign to kill African National Congress (ANC) members are irresponsible and risk inciting violence, a Cope spokesperson said on Monday.

The comments, allegedly made by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on a national radio station on Monday morning, had the potential to ”fan flames of violence”, Cope spokesperson Phillip Dexter said in a statement.

”Mantashe’s comments are a violation of the Independent Electoral Commission Act, which prohibits parties from making inflammatory statements, especially ones that they cannot substantiate with solid evidence,” he said.

ANC spokesperson Brian Sokutu said there was no way Mantashe could have made inflammatory remarks as this was not ANC policy.

It was important, he said, to understand the context within which Mantashe had spoken.

”The ANC believes in political tolerance in the run up to the elections,” Sokutu said.

”We are a multi-party democracy and we believe in democracy and adhering to that. There is no way that the ANC secretary-general can make any inflammatory remarks to the effect of inciting any violence.

”It is important for us to understand context of what the secretary general said.” — Sapa