Cooperation indicates the new course of the Freedom Front Plus

Cooperation is the only way through which the ANC can be stopped and it also points out the new course which the Freedom Front Plus will be following to bring about a new dispensation for South Africa to the advantage of all the residents of the country.

This was the central theme today in the message of Dr. Pieter Mulder, Leader of the FF Plus with the launch of the party's revised mission which coincided with the launch of its election campaign for 2014.

The loud cheering of the audience which filled the West End Theatre in the Pretoria Show Grounds was an indication of the mandate which the party's supporters gave to the new course.

Equally loud applause for a strong delegation of Khoi and San leaders and their supporters was simultaneously an indication of the hand which the supporters of the FF Plus had extended to other minority groups in South Africa, which share a common goal of bringing about a new dispensation in South Africa.

In his message, Dr. Mulder said the search for a solution for the oppression of Afrikaners and other minority groups in the country should be realistic, modern and fair for everybody.

"There is a place for every one of us in this country. The FF Plus' reworded mission does not only want to motivate the Afrikaners, but also other minority groups. Together we have one goal and that is to defeat the ANC, Dr. Mulder said.

Dr. Mulder strongly criticised the ANC and said that at present there is a tyranny of a majority without any say for minorities in this country.

"That is why it is imperative that a new order is established in which recognition is given to the diversity of the country and its people. In the process the FF Plus has irrevocably committed itself to cooperation with other communities."

"We ask for a dispensation for the Afrikaners, but will also fight for other minorities to obtain it," Dr. Mulder said.

The FF Plus' new logo was also introduced and on a lighter note Dr. Mulders said the party will only consider changing the logo again in another twenty years' time.

BACKGROUND, DEBATE AND RE-WORDED MISSION

A. Introduction and background:

1. The FF Plus survived in 1994 because we could adapt to the completely changed circumstances of that time. Only a few parties which had been elected to Parliament are still present in Parliament today. This adaptability has ensured that the FF Plus is one of them.

2. The FF Plus and its leadership believe that continuous debate and adjustment are necessary for a political party. Through internal debate, which had taken place over a period of time within our structures, the following conclusions were reached:

B. Our challenge:

1. The South Africa which had come into being in 1994, has become mouldy, due to affirmative action, the loss of work due to transformation, marginalisation of minorities, poor service delivery, poor management, inefficiency, cadre deployment, nepotism, political appointments, lust for power, abuse of power, corruption, self-enrichment, cover-ups, incompetence, crime, populism and ideological obsession. Everybody in South Africa, apart from the inner circle of the ANC which had benefitted, wants a country without these trademarks.

2. The FF Plus believes that it is time for a new South Africa. The ‘New South Africa' of 1994 has failed and has become an old South Africa. We dream of a new South Africa which is to the benefit of its entire people.

3. The recipe for nation building in the past 19 years since 1994 has not worked.

4. What is the truth of South Africa?

The truth is that we are a very diverse country with different languages, cultures, religions and views of history. But also with truths that over more than 360 years we have become used to being economically inter-twined and dependent on one another. That people believe that in this vast country, there could be a place under the sun for all of us.

5. Against this background, the FF Plus has worded its new mission. A mission which is realistic and which reflects the correct and whole truth of South Africa.

6. The FF Plus' new mission wants to establish a dream and an ideal which will not only motivate and inspire Afrikaners, but also other minorities, groups and as many other South Africans as possible. We believe that the ANC can and must be defeated and that it has to be replaced by another government which is also focused on that which for us, as well as other minorities, is essential and of importance.

7. It is constructed around the concept of real unity in diversity, around a real ‘better life for all', around a real equal opportunity for everybody in SA, with recognition of the truths and realities of the country.

8. At present we have a tyranny of the majority without meaningful recognition of the voice of minorities. The existence of a majority is only one part of the reality of South Africa. At present, with the current model, all minorities and non-ANC minded people, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in an open democracy.

9. The departure point should be that South Africa is ‘a nation of happy nations'. South Africa is a nation of happy and thriving individuals but also of communities, minorities and peoples which through the course of history ended up together in South Africa.

10. We urgently need a new political order in which recognition is given to the diversity of South Africa as the real building blocks of true unity in diversity - An order built on respect for each other, without discrimination and racism, with equal opportunities, but with recognition of everyone's own, as well as the commonality. This is the whole truth of South Africa. As it was proven elsewhere in the world, this approach is not in conflict with a constitutional or a liberal democracy. To the contrary, it is being described as the latest and most modern political trend.

11. The FF Plus further realises that any model for self-determination and self-management, which states as its only option that all Afrikaners and other minorities should immediately move away from their current workplaces and homes, is strongly supported by some, but at present not by the majority of Afrikaners and other minorities.

12. That is why Federalism, locality, subsidiarity and self-determination, as it is evidenced internationally, should be essential building blocks of such a political model.

13. There should be a break away from the pretense democracy which currently exists which is a tyranny of the majority - to a true democracy with equality and freedom.

C. Mission:

2. The new mission states as follows:

SECTION 3:  MISSION

The Freedom Front Plus is irrevocably committed to the realisation of communities, in particular the Afrikaner's internationally recognised right to self-determination, territorially and otherwise, the maintaining, protection and development of their rights and interests, as well as to the promotion of the right to self-determination for all communities in South Africa, bound by a common language and cultural heritage.

D. IMPLEMENTATION

1. A political party's role is to assist in establishing certain values and political models, to place it on the public agenda and through this try and obtain maximum support for it. Through this, a political space can be created which removes certain stumbling blocks.

2. A political party should restrict itself to the generalities of this. Without governing power, the specific and concrete implementation and establishment of the policy on ground level should be fulfilled by civil society. That it is necessary within the context of SA is certain. That task, we believe, falls on the way of other institutions and organisations which are organised and tasked for it.

3. The FF Plus realises and knows that its target market has in many ways changed and is still changing daily. This has significant implications for the FF Plus.

4. The FF Plus with its new vision is effectively reaching out to its voters and supporters and the interests of voters outside of the FF Plus' traditional target market.

5. The FF Plus' new mission provides for models according to which the party would be able to maintain itself in the long term, given South Africa's demographic realities and according to which the Party's core values can simultaneously be retained.

6. The FF Plus is also in favour of models according to which the Party has the potential to win an election together with others, to work with others in a coalition while we still retain our core values.

Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader, August 31 2013

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