An Unnecessary Discourse
It seems bizarre that the ANC have adopted a discourse of revolutionary violence in a country that they themselves govern! The general mindset is one of paranoia and intolerance. MP Joel Mbhazima Sibaya states that the South African armed struggle is “suspended, not abandoned” and that in the future the ANC may once again take up arms.
His statements are hot on the heels of Julius Malema and Zwelinzima Vavi’s vitriolic assurances that they are willing to kill “counter-revolutionaries”, and Buti Mamela’s warning that there will be “hell to pay” if Zuma is not sworn in as president.
Although they might get ANC supporters cheering and laughing, the backlash from such statements is situations like the weekend knife fight at an Mpungalanga branch meeting and the recent stabbing of Western Cape ANC secretary-general Mcebisi Skwatsha. If the dominant political discourse of the ruling party is one of murder and mayhem then what else are we to expect of its followers?
At the ANCYL’s conference on Sunday delegates sang “Choose to kill for Zuma”. Malema said that the song was not meant to be taken literally and they really meant “to express our love and dedication to the ANC movement”. So what they mean is that the “love” of the ANC equates to violence and suffering and death for anyone who disagrees with them or questions their motives! Will Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu be willing to kill for Zuma? And if not would they be considered “counter-revolutionaries”?
The scary part is that after the song about killing, Jacob Zuma himself stood up and lauded the ANCYL for its good behaviour! He then reprimanded them for baring their backsides at a conference when they were unhappy about the outcome! The line between ridiculous buffoonery and savage thuggery has been blurred.
The ANC’s excuse for Malema’s call to bloodshed is that he is young and therefore fiery, impulsive and defiant. Julius Malema is definitely defiant, but it is logic that he turns his back on.
There are too many similarities between the “new” ANC and Zuma and Zanu-PF and Mugabe. The Zimbabwean dictator’s: “Only God can remove me” statements, and Zuma’s: “We will rule until Jesus comes back”, are too homogenous for comfort; as are the constant threats of violence and bloodshed against all who oppose their will.
The struggle Sibaya talks of is a new one. It is the struggle within the ANC for power and is against the interests of society at large. Zuma and his thugs have declared a war on our democracy and the Constitution of South Africa!
His statements are hot on the heels of Julius Malema and Zwelinzima Vavi’s vitriolic assurances that they are willing to kill “counter-revolutionaries”, and Buti Mamela’s warning that there will be “hell to pay” if Zuma is not sworn in as president.
Although they might get ANC supporters cheering and laughing, the backlash from such statements is situations like the weekend knife fight at an Mpungalanga branch meeting and the recent stabbing of Western Cape ANC secretary-general Mcebisi Skwatsha. If the dominant political discourse of the ruling party is one of murder and mayhem then what else are we to expect of its followers?
At the ANCYL’s conference on Sunday delegates sang “Choose to kill for Zuma”. Malema said that the song was not meant to be taken literally and they really meant “to express our love and dedication to the ANC movement”. So what they mean is that the “love” of the ANC equates to violence and suffering and death for anyone who disagrees with them or questions their motives! Will Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu be willing to kill for Zuma? And if not would they be considered “counter-revolutionaries”?
The scary part is that after the song about killing, Jacob Zuma himself stood up and lauded the ANCYL for its good behaviour! He then reprimanded them for baring their backsides at a conference when they were unhappy about the outcome! The line between ridiculous buffoonery and savage thuggery has been blurred.
The ANC’s excuse for Malema’s call to bloodshed is that he is young and therefore fiery, impulsive and defiant. Julius Malema is definitely defiant, but it is logic that he turns his back on.
There are too many similarities between the “new” ANC and Zuma and Zanu-PF and Mugabe. The Zimbabwean dictator’s: “Only God can remove me” statements, and Zuma’s: “We will rule until Jesus comes back”, are too homogenous for comfort; as are the constant threats of violence and bloodshed against all who oppose their will.
The struggle Sibaya talks of is a new one. It is the struggle within the ANC for power and is against the interests of society at large. Zuma and his thugs have declared a war on our democracy and the Constitution of South Africa!
