Youth day: Guard against "revolutionary" leaders  

15 June 2016

1976 – 2016

The youth leaders of 2016 failing South Africa and the constitution.

Symbolism of 16 June 1976

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. Much has already been said and written about the uprising which the Soweto Students' Representative Councils initiated on 16 June 1976, with the support of the broader Black Consciousness Movement. The protests by school pupils and students left a great many victims, including the 13-year-old Hector Pieterson who became the symbol of the student uprising.

A lesser known fact about the Soweto uprising is the death of Dr Melville Edelstein, who had devoted his life to the social upliftment of black people. He was stoned to death in the uprising by the enraged students and a placard was left next to his body with the icy warning "Beware". His work in upliftment was not taken into account, his political convictions did not matter; the colour of his skin was the cause of his death. These are the consequences of irresponsibly incited rage.

Fight over symbolism and not the substance of our new political dispensation 

Since 1976 the ANC has hijacked the symbolism surrounding the day. The EFF has now challenged the ANC anew. Once again Afrikaans and white people are targeted. The intervening 40-year history since 1976 has been forgotten. The fact that black and white formed a pact in 1990, with negotiations emanating from it, is not acknowledged and respected.

The ANC initially violated this pact with its contemptuous conduct against the initially negotiated founding principles as well as the spirit and intent of the 1996 Constitution. Both the ANC and the EFF have taken this contempt further in the recent past, when it trampled on the Constitution and revolutionary jargon is now jeopardising constitutional democracy with anarchistic behaviour on campuses.

The constant talk of a revolution and the promotion of the National Democratic Revolution by the ANC and the SACP, about which warnings have invariably been made, are being taken further by the “revolutionary fighters” who have now become the illustrious Economic Freedom Fighters, better known as the EFF, with its own Commander in Chief. This is defined as follows: “A commander-in-chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nation's military forces or significant elements of those forces.” 

Johnny Walker “revolutionaries” in 2016 

The Johnny Walker “revolutionaries” of 2016 are a far cry from the student leaders of the uprising of 1976.  The “revolutionaries” of 2016 are inciting rioting, violent hooliganism and vandalism but without any responsibility or accountability and this bode ill for our country and its people.  Amidst the burning of campus facilities, violent protests and service delivery protests - war cries and racial hatred have been spewed against convenient symbols including Afrikaans, Afrikaners, white people, colonialism and statues. The “revolutionaries” of 2016 in their emulation of 1976 are forgetting that they themselves are the masters of their own fate, with years of blind support for the current ideology and its leaders.

At a recent celebration of 2 February 1990, Mr FW de Klerk said: “Duringthe negotiations we reached our agreement on reconciliation and on taking vigorous action to promote national unity. We accepted that the approach ought to be based on the past, on:

- a need for understanding - but not for vengeance;

- a need for reparation - but not for retaliation; and

- a need for Ubuntu - but not for victimisation.”

Recent calls by “revolutionaries” are based on vengeance, retaliation and victimisation. There is no accountability and no responsibility by any leadership. Sewer politics are literally being waged and buildings damaged or destroyed. There is no respect for anything or anyone and that which we have build together over the last 4 decades are being destroyed by a young rabble with no respect for society, established values and property. 

In the midst of all this the ANC is the victim of its own revolution. The ANC’s own “revolutionary” cadres are plundering the state coffers through corruption, mismanagement and the appointment of more incompetent cadres in an already top-heavy public service.

Earlier this year, City Press, a Sunday newspaper aimed at black readers issued the following stark warning: “The burning of images of white people and works by white artists is an ominous development. …  the battle for the transformation of South Africa is being interpreted by young activists as a fight against the white race.” It then warns: “How long before the burning of pictures of white people becomes the burning of white humans? The leadership of South Africa needs to drum into young people that the fight against racism and white supremacy is not a war on whites.”

There is hope

Let us go back to what the majority of this country wants, because there is hope. Recent research by the South African Institute of Race Relations(SAIRR) indicates that the majority of people were still positive about South Africa and its people. The 2 250 respondents of all races had to state whether they agreed with or differed from the following statement: “The different racial groups need one another for progress and there ought to be full opportunity for all racial groups.”

- 85,1% of the black respondents answered positively;

- 84,3% of Coloured people;

- 90,5% of Indian and Asian residents; and

- 86,4% of white respondents

The youth of 1976 defined the twenty years of political development phase

1976  - The events of 1976 set a new South Africa in motion. The youth leaders started with a process which culminated in a new dispensation in 1996 with the adoption of the new constitution

1996 -  Twenty years after the student uprating, South Africa accepted a new Constitution which declares: “one, sovereign, democratic state founded on the following values: Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. Non-racialism and non-sexism. Supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law. Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness.”  The last few years of the dispensation however saw this very foundation of our democracy being eroded. 

2016 - Today once again twenty years later, we have “revolutionaries” which threaten the very existence of these values. We are in desperate need of leaders, young and old, which can stand up to defend these constitutional values. Leadership however is sadly lacking and glaring in its absence and in this environment it is much easier for social media “revolutionaries” to break and destroy than to build and create.  What will happen in the next twenty years? 

Issued by Jan Bosman, Chief Secretary of the Afrikanerbond, 15 June 2016