SACP STATEMENT ON THE PAROLE FOR MESSRS CLIVE DERBY-LEWIS AND JANUSZ WALUSZ
The SACP notes and welcomes the strong stance taken by the Minister of Correctional Services, Cde Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, on the matter relating to the parole of Messrs Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walusz.
These are the two assassins who cut short the life of our General Secretary, ANC NEC and NWC member and MK Commander Cde Chris Hani with an intention of causing instability in the country.
This assassination is indicative of the strategy of the imperialists to destabilise popular left movements and/or leaders in Africa in order to entrench their influence post-independence. Popular left leaning leaders like Herbert Chitepo of Zimbabwe, Anton Lubowski of Namibia and Patrice Lumumba of Congo were all assassinated with the help of external imperialist forces who had economic interests in those countries. Cde Chris Hani and the SACP, we believe, posed a major threat to economic interests of many, thus the well calculated assassination.
Often these assassinations are carried out with the help of local imperialist puppets, in this case both Messrs Derby-Lewis and Walusz.
The two, when it suited them, applied for amnesty at the TRC under the guise that theirs was not just an ordinary crime, but an act inspired by their political beliefs. Today, they have the courage to cry foul and accuse the SACP and others of politicising their parole action.
If the matter was not political what were they doing in the first place at the TRC?
Mr Derby-Lewis in particular has ran a consistent media campaign characterized by the worst form of deceit in order to get out of jail as quickly as possible. In this campaign facts about his health have been distorted and relevant circumstances around the assassination concealed from the family and the public. A picture has been painted in the media which, by its crude colouring, will persuade the ordinary citizens that government is unfairly treating him and succumbing to the whims of the SACP, that his course is righteous and that the indisputable wickedness of the SACP and the Hani family has been proven beyond doubt.
The SACP will not succumb to this blackmail and we applaud the Minister for seeing it for what it is; a desperate attempt to get out of jail without taking full responsibility for ones' actions. The SACP will settle for nothing less than full disclosure by the two of the full circumstances around the assassination. We are not interested in media gimmicks that Mr Derby-Lewis played some years back when he made threats to tell it all. So long as that is not forthcoming we wish the two a good stay where they belong.
We will continue to mobilise our people to oppose any possible granting of parole to the two. Whilst we cannot deny that the dastardly assassination did have a negative effect on the organisation, it however had a completely opposite impact generally about the role of the SACP in our society than that intended.
Today, in memory of Cde Chris Hani, we have built a dynamic and vibrant SACP which continues the battle for socialism, with and for the workers and the poor!!
Statement issued by the SACP, November 7 2011
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