AfriForum condemns vandalism on UFS campus – demands management to take action and offers support
23 February 2016
AfriForum demands urgent action by the management of the University of the Free State (UFS) in response to the vandalising of a statue of Pres C.R. Swart on the Bloemfontein campus. The statue was damaged with inter alia a hammer, saw and burning tyres. It appears as if campus security did not intervene to stop the vandalism in any way.
According to Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO of AfriForum responsible for heritage issues, AfriForum demands that:
- The vandals should be prosecuted;
- The statue should be restored; and most importantly that
- The university should provide guarantees regarding the protection of students, staff, as well as heritage and other assets on campus against these perpetrators of violence.
AfriForum and AfriForum Youth are ready to lay criminal charges against all involved if the university management were not to do so. AfriForum is also prepared to provide expert advice and a contribution for the restoration of the statue.
According to Bailey, the spate of vandalism on campuses against heritage resources and assets is a cause for grave concern. “Similar incidents that took place elsewhere in the world often resulted in large-scale violence. Just as we cannot condone physical violence against people on campus, we therefore also cannot allow actions of this nature. The removal of a statue is just as unacceptable – removal sends a graphic, negative message to all that certain community members are not welcome in a specific space and that it is appropriate for them to disappear from there too.
A university campus is an intellectual space where differences should be resolved in a civilised manner and where all should literally and figuratively feel safe to air their opinions and differ from each other, while maintaining mutual respect and recognition. The longer this senseless violence and vandalism continues on campuses, the more permanent will be the damages sustained by not only material assets, but also by academic freedom, excellence in education and stability in South Africa in general.
Statement issued by Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO: Heritage Issues, AfriForum, 23 February 2016
