ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema is facing a barrage of complaints to the police and chapter nine institutions over his latest racial outburst, after he led students in singing "kill the boer". Freedom Front Plus leader and Deputy Agriculture Minister Pieter Mulder will on Wednesday lodge a hate speech complaint against Malema at the Brooklyn police station, Pretoria.
Mulder said the use of the slogan was a contravention of section 16 of the Constitution. "Freedom of speech does not include the advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and which constitutes incitement to cause harm and has in any case been declared as hate speech by the courts."
Malema, according to the Sowetan, led students at the University of Johannesburg in a song saying: "Shoot the boere [farmers], they are rapists". He told students that former president Nelson Mandela had convinced blacks to forgive, but they should never forget what was done to them. AfriForum Youth national chairman Ernst Roets said the organisation would submit a complaint to the Equality Court in Johannesburg. Roets said it was not the first time Malema sang the song reminiscent of the late Peter Mokaba.
He sang it at his birthday celebrations in Polokwane last week, in a province where six farmers were murdered in the past month, Roets said. "Julius Malema has become the biggest embarrassment of not only the youth, but also of the country. "There is no way in which you can dismiss the song as something that simply has to be viewed in a political context and that doesn't have any real consequences," he said.
The Afrikanerbond lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). "It is clear that neither the ANCYL or the ANC have the political will or power to reign in Mr Malema and his daily tirades against everything we hold dear in South Africa," it said in a statement. "We trust that the Human Rights Commission will act in a manner which will restore our faith in this institution as well as in the promotion of human rights." In the complaint, Afrikanerbond chief secretary Jan Bosman said there were about 750 to 850 attacks on farms each year, adding that last year alone 120 people were murdered on farms. "Incitement to violence is a serious offence and with the current problem with rural safety we simply do not need a politician such as Mr Malema to exacerbate the problem," he said.
In 2007, the slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was defined as hate speech by the commission. The FF Plus lodged a complaint with the SAHRC after ANC members used the slogan during two public meetings in 2006. Initially, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. However, the party successfully appealed against the finding.
Theunis Botha, acting chair of the Christian Democratic Alliance, said Malema's comments could not be ignored and dismissed as a joke. "By the ANC not denouncing statements made by Malema, the joker has now effectively countered one of the rare occasions on which farm murders are condemned by the Minister of Police [Nathi Mthethwa]. "While the slaughtering of farmers continues, we are again back to square one as far as the government's attitude to these farm murders are concerned."
Mthethwa on Monday said farm murders should not be politicised. He said additional police and efficient tactics would be employed to mitigate farm and rural murders. "Surely, if Mthethwa calls on politicians not to make politics of farm murders, the same should apply to ANC office bearers, such as Malema. "By not banning Malema from the ANC, which is apparently, the only way to cut him to size, the country is done a great disservice," Botha said.
The ANC on Wednesday said it had not yet decided whether it would talk to Malema about his comments.
Source: IoL
Showing posts with label Pieter Mulder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pieter Mulder. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, February 23, 2009
Julius Malema is not a true leader
"Julius Malema is no true leader. He is only a dangerous rabble rouser and spreader of hate. This is the easiest type of politics. To bad-mouth opponents and call them cockroaches and snakes, anyone can do. In the short term one is popular but in the longer run your followers realize that you are not making any real contribution to solutions", Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus leader said in reaction to the attacks of Malema on opposition parties.
The most difficult is to, with wisdom, give leadership to your followers. It may make you unpopular in the short term, but in the longer term you are proven to be correct and you rise as a true leader. This is the kind of leadership which Nelson Mandela had illustrated. Malema believes that ANC leaders have a history of controversy and tries to copy it on an amateurish level. As examples he however does not take Nelson Mandela, but Peter Mokaba with his "Kill the Boer" slogan and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who wanted to free everyone with matches. Just like his role models, only the best is good enough for Malema. In the midst of his follower's poverty, he drives around with a Mercedes Benz E-class and lives in the rich man's area of Sandton.
South Africa can not afford to get stuck with this kind of leader and politics. A million Tutsi's were murdered in 1994 in genocide in Rwanda. That was preceded by hate speech in which Tutsi's were described as cockroaches which had to be eradicated.
If discipline disappears out of schools and society, then an individual such as Julius Malema becomes a youth leader. As youth leader he was elected at an ANC youth conference where poor behavior, alcohol abuse, indecent exposure and damage to property were the characteristics of the conference. In a disciplined society such as Japan or China, such a conference would have concentrated on the future of the country and Malema's kind of rhetoric would not even have been seen.
In order to prevent Malema from ever becoming president of this country, the ANC has to end in the opposition seats. No opposition party can succeed with this on its own. A coalition of opposition parties can succeed with this. That is why every voter has to go and vote for the party closest to its values. After the election, truly responsible leaders work together to accomplish this.
Source: Polity
The most difficult is to, with wisdom, give leadership to your followers. It may make you unpopular in the short term, but in the longer term you are proven to be correct and you rise as a true leader. This is the kind of leadership which Nelson Mandela had illustrated. Malema believes that ANC leaders have a history of controversy and tries to copy it on an amateurish level. As examples he however does not take Nelson Mandela, but Peter Mokaba with his "Kill the Boer" slogan and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who wanted to free everyone with matches. Just like his role models, only the best is good enough for Malema. In the midst of his follower's poverty, he drives around with a Mercedes Benz E-class and lives in the rich man's area of Sandton.
South Africa can not afford to get stuck with this kind of leader and politics. A million Tutsi's were murdered in 1994 in genocide in Rwanda. That was preceded by hate speech in which Tutsi's were described as cockroaches which had to be eradicated.
If discipline disappears out of schools and society, then an individual such as Julius Malema becomes a youth leader. As youth leader he was elected at an ANC youth conference where poor behavior, alcohol abuse, indecent exposure and damage to property were the characteristics of the conference. In a disciplined society such as Japan or China, such a conference would have concentrated on the future of the country and Malema's kind of rhetoric would not even have been seen.
In order to prevent Malema from ever becoming president of this country, the ANC has to end in the opposition seats. No opposition party can succeed with this on its own. A coalition of opposition parties can succeed with this. That is why every voter has to go and vote for the party closest to its values. After the election, truly responsible leaders work together to accomplish this.
Source: Polity
Friday, July 18, 2003
HRC says 'kill boer' slogan is hate speech
It's official. The slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" is hate speech, according to a finding of an appeal tribunal of the South African Human Rights Commission. Thursday's finding came after a complaint from the Freedom Front (FF) about the use of the slogan - and an appeal against an earlier commission finding that the phrase was not hate speech. "Even though we had to struggle for three years, we welcome the finding. Finally they came to the right conclusion," said FF leader Pieter Mulder.
Declaring the slogan to be hate speech was a first step in the right direction to stop farm killings, Mulder said. "The first finding had double standards because it meant racism was only wrong when it was by whites to blacks, but now we know that it is also wrong for blacks to be racist against whites," said Mulder.
The party lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings in June last year. One was at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in Polokwane, and the other at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley. Earlier this year, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. The Freedom Front appealed against the finding. "The slogan 'kill the farmer, kill the boer' as chanted at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley and at Mokaba's funeral is hate speech as defined in Section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution," said commissioner Karthy Govender.
He said freedom of expression was a fundamental right in democracy but by the same token South African courts were clear that the freedom of expression was not a supreme right as in the United States constitution. "We have concluded that the calling for the killing of a group of people is an advocacy of hatred, which must amount to harm," he said.
Simon Kimane, of the Freedom of Expression Institute, expressed disappointment with the finding. "There is no causal connection between the slogan and any actual killings of Afrikaners in this country," he said. He said the institution's submission had pleaded for the right of freedom of expression for the young South African democracy, and that the institution feared that the finding might set a bad precedent.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was never an adopted slogan of his party. "The ANC will discourage people from using the slogan," he said.
Source: IoL
Declaring the slogan to be hate speech was a first step in the right direction to stop farm killings, Mulder said. "The first finding had double standards because it meant racism was only wrong when it was by whites to blacks, but now we know that it is also wrong for blacks to be racist against whites," said Mulder.
The party lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings in June last year. One was at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in Polokwane, and the other at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley. Earlier this year, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. The Freedom Front appealed against the finding. "The slogan 'kill the farmer, kill the boer' as chanted at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley and at Mokaba's funeral is hate speech as defined in Section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution," said commissioner Karthy Govender.
He said freedom of expression was a fundamental right in democracy but by the same token South African courts were clear that the freedom of expression was not a supreme right as in the United States constitution. "We have concluded that the calling for the killing of a group of people is an advocacy of hatred, which must amount to harm," he said.
Simon Kimane, of the Freedom of Expression Institute, expressed disappointment with the finding. "There is no causal connection between the slogan and any actual killings of Afrikaners in this country," he said. He said the institution's submission had pleaded for the right of freedom of expression for the young South African democracy, and that the institution feared that the finding might set a bad precedent.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was never an adopted slogan of his party. "The ANC will discourage people from using the slogan," he said.
Source: IoL
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
'Kill the boer' comes back to haunt ANC
The Freedom Front (FF) on Sunday vowed to a lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission against the African National Congress after incidents of alleged hate speech at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba on Saturday.
FF leader Pieter Mulder said in a statement if his party received no joy from the commission, then it would consider other legal options. Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism. He said while the crowd attending Mokaba's funeral on Saturday in Pietersburg chanted the slogan "Kill the farmer, kill the boer", a KwaZulu-Natal farmer and his wife were murdered.
Mulder said it was the responsibility of political leaders to educate their followers and to discipline them if their conduct promoted hate speech and racism. He said no funeral of a farmer had even been politicised. "What will be the reaction of ANC leaders if farmers start chanting 'Kill the Xhosas, Kill the black man' during the funerals of the Dent couple?" he asked.
If the SAHRC failed to condemn the slogan as hate speech, the Freedom Front would follow a legal path to get clarity on the issue. Mulder said the constitution was clear on its definition of hate speech. Clarity on what constituted hate speech was needed in view of the song by Mbongeni Ngema urging "valiant, strong, black men" to stand up to Indians, as well as Saturday's repetition of the "Kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan. "It does not help that leaders talk about reconciliation, but do the opposite," said Mulder.
Source: IoL
FF leader Pieter Mulder said in a statement if his party received no joy from the commission, then it would consider other legal options. Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism. He said while the crowd attending Mokaba's funeral on Saturday in Pietersburg chanted the slogan "Kill the farmer, kill the boer", a KwaZulu-Natal farmer and his wife were murdered.
Mulder said it was the responsibility of political leaders to educate their followers and to discipline them if their conduct promoted hate speech and racism. He said no funeral of a farmer had even been politicised. "What will be the reaction of ANC leaders if farmers start chanting 'Kill the Xhosas, Kill the black man' during the funerals of the Dent couple?" he asked.
If the SAHRC failed to condemn the slogan as hate speech, the Freedom Front would follow a legal path to get clarity on the issue. Mulder said the constitution was clear on its definition of hate speech. Clarity on what constituted hate speech was needed in view of the song by Mbongeni Ngema urging "valiant, strong, black men" to stand up to Indians, as well as Saturday's repetition of the "Kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan. "It does not help that leaders talk about reconciliation, but do the opposite," said Mulder.
Source: IoL
Monday, June 17, 2002
Parties unite against Mokaba 'hate speech'
Three political parties have expressed concern and outrage about the use of the slogan "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer" at the funeral of African National Congress MP Peter Mokaba. The Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (AEB) added its voice on Sunday night to the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front (FF), objecting to the use of the slogan and condemning it as hate speech.
AEB leader Cassie Aucamp said his party would refer the use of the slogan to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). He said the slogan, which was made popular by Mokaba, had previously been referred to the commission for a decision on whether it was hate speech or not. At the time the commission found that it was not hate speech if seen against the political background of that era. Aucamp said the commission would have to answer the question if the slogan, seen in the current political context, was still not hate speech. He said what worried him even more was the fact that President Thabo Mbeki had been present at the funeral where the slogan was chanted and apparently did nothing to stop it. He said the AEB would also raise the subject in parliament during Mbeki's budget vote this week.
The FF also vowed to a lay a complaint with the SAHRC against the ANC. FF leader Pieter Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism.
In his reaction, DA leader Tony Leon sharply criticised the government's failure to react. Leon said farmers were being murdered at a terrible rate - last year alone more than 900 farms were attacked and 140 farmers murdered - and the government had done nothing to stop it.
Source: IoL
AEB leader Cassie Aucamp said his party would refer the use of the slogan to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). He said the slogan, which was made popular by Mokaba, had previously been referred to the commission for a decision on whether it was hate speech or not. At the time the commission found that it was not hate speech if seen against the political background of that era. Aucamp said the commission would have to answer the question if the slogan, seen in the current political context, was still not hate speech. He said what worried him even more was the fact that President Thabo Mbeki had been present at the funeral where the slogan was chanted and apparently did nothing to stop it. He said the AEB would also raise the subject in parliament during Mbeki's budget vote this week.
The FF also vowed to a lay a complaint with the SAHRC against the ANC. FF leader Pieter Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism.
In his reaction, DA leader Tony Leon sharply criticised the government's failure to react. Leon said farmers were being murdered at a terrible rate - last year alone more than 900 farms were attacked and 140 farmers murdered - and the government had done nothing to stop it.
Source: IoL
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