Text of letter to ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe from ANC and ANCYL members, March 19 2012:
ATT: ANC Secretary General Cde Gwede Mantashe
CC: ANC Chairperson for the Western Cape Cde Marius Fransman
ANC Secretary Western Cape Cde Songezo Mjongile
ANC YL Secretary General Cde Sindiso Magaqa
RE: Complaint from concerned ANCYL and ANC members after being denied our freedom of expression and our freedom of association.
Comrade Secretary General, it is through great disappointment and with great concern that we write this letter. We are members of both the ANC and the ANCYL and we were thrown out of a meeting for ANC and ANCYL members in our province. It is extremely serious that we as members were denied our right to express our political views within the youth structure of our beloved movement. We were of the opinion that since the ANCYL advocated for the right of youth to express themselves we would therefore be allowed to express our views on our leadership.
In line with the methods used by ANCYL leaders in ANC meetings we believed that singing and displaying signs, hand signals or messages on leadership would be tolerated in an ANCYL event. Instead of being allowed to sing and dance songs supporting the current president of the ANC we were removed forcefully by members who were instructed by the organizers of the event to do so. Although the members who removed us did not assault, as to their credit the comrades who threw us out exercised an element of self-control, we were greatly humiliated and ended up leaving the event before the main speaker arrived.
Overview of what happened at the event
On Friday the 16th of March 2012, we went to express our views at an ANCYL cadre's forum in which ANCYL president Cde Julius Malema was meant to start at 5pm. The ANCYL Dullah Omar region organized the event. We arrived at the venue where we observed the so-called "Malema group" dancing and singing songs about our president Cde Jacob Zuma.
These songs included hand gestures that were insulting and the following words "Mr Shower man is giving us problems" and "its time for you to move on" with hand gestures used when athletes are substituted.
We were in a group and thought that we would be allowed to sing songs that indicated our support for the president of the ANC. We sung "mushini wam" a song that our president used to sing. A small group arrived with banners so we joined them, as we agreed with what was written on the banners.
To our surprise the group had difficulty entering and when we entered one of the organisers, who we can identify, said on the mic "get rid of the banner" and he also said "those ones with Zuma Tshirts and all comrades that are against Julius Malema must leave". The REC members and PTT members-then forcefully removed every one of us who was wearing "Zuma" tshirt from the premises about 2 hours before Cde Julius Malema spoke. He was about 3 hours late. One of us even had her t-shirt torn off.
We would like to point out the following:
* We were peaceful and did not threaten or insult any of the people who were in the meeting.
* We were wearing our ANC shirts and are members of the ANC and also members of the ANCYL
* We had no intention of disrupting the speech of the ANCYL leader who is appealing his expulsion, nor did we engage in any violence or throwing of chairs.
* It is before the speaker arrived that we were singing and dancing expressing our views on leadership.
* Some of our members were told that they are not allowed to tell media what they thought- in there capacity as members.
* Some of our members were told that they were "banned" from entering the event.
* We are told that a few ANC PEC members were part of the group that insulted our ANC president.
* Some of us were victimized because we were wearing ANC issued t-shirts with our leadership on them.
We would like to state the following:
* It is the so called ANCYL "Malema camp" that continues to sing songs insulting our current national ANC president inside and during ANC events
* They sing rude and insulting songs about ANC leaders- songs and slogans that aim to insult and embarrass our leaders personalities and private lives, not challenge them politically.
* Their so called "Malema group" of members has never been thrown out of ANC meetings. With the exception of when they were violent in the Western Cape Good Hope center -even following violence, only those who had been identified as violent were removed. In their case the police removed them and there was no announcement or demonization of them over the microphones.
* We were termed banned and demonized, with the speaker demanding our removal from the venue, because of our political views and loyalty to ANC leadership. Our removal and the general announcement he made amounted to intimidation and bullying.
* The ANCYL has diverse views, we want to express ours without our Youth League provincial structures, REC or branches being disbanded and without members being suspended or expelled when we do not conform to the views of current ANCYL leadership.
* Democracy is threatened within the ANCYL when only certain members are allowed into public ANCYL meetings.
* We believe that the so-called "Malema camp" of the ANCYL has exposed rank hypocrisy with their double standards.
* We are informed by comrades that the deputy chair of the ANC in the province, Cde Abe Bekeer said "If you take Polokwane and compare it to Mangaung, where we'll be going later this year, Polokwane will look like a Sunday school picnic,"
We request the following:
* That the ANCYL leadership allows members who wish to sing songs supporting the ANC leadership to be allowed into meetings, not "banned" and that they stop singing songs that insult our ANC national leadership.
* That the ANC disallow the ANCYL from singing insulting songs about any of our current ANC leadership in all ANC public meetings unless they are willing to allow ANC members of the ANCYL to sing songs expressing our views against the comrades who were convicted of ill-discipline.
* That the ANC protect our rights as youth in the ANC to be members of the ANCYL, if any of us get suspended where can we will go as youth?
* That the ANCYL NEC publically provides clarity around if we are allowed to sing songs supporting ANC leadership.
* We request that the ANC get clarity from ANC Western Cape deputy chairperson Cde Abe Bekeer on what he meant (for members and the public) -as we are concerned that he appears to be making a threat of some kind.
It cannot be accepted that youth insult senior leadership and then disallow our views. We hope that you will take our complaint seriously.
"It is better to die standing than to live on our knees" Ernesto Che Guevara.
Yours comradely,
Michelle Bana
Julia Malema
Nonki Simakade
Braam Hanekom
Yolanda Bana
Lerato Majela
Sweety Lebea
Zukhanye Ngqingo
Christian Dingana
Zolani Gogoba
Anda Mpayipheli
Sizwe Godongwana
Luthando Ngqingo
On behalf of all the comrades who were thrown out of the ANCYL cadres meeting on the 16TH of March
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