Durban - The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) has joined the Nelson Mandela Foundation in denouncing the use of the old Apartheid flag in the new democratic dispensation.
PAC national spokesman and National Executive Committee (NEC) Member, Kenneth Mokgatlhe said: “The Apartheid flag stands for white supremacy and advocates the inferiority towards an African child. That flag is a sign and product of crime against humanity, it symbolises the blood that was shed when the land was stolen from our ancestors.”
The flag, Mokgatlhe said, was a constant reminder, “Of rapes and sexual assaults that our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends had gone through by those who stole our land.”
“That ‘bloody’ flag represents exploitation and cheap labour that our fathers have gone through in building this country, the mines that were dug by mere hands to please selfish ‘masters’”, he said.
Mokgatlhe slammed government, accusing it of not seeing any wrong in the use of the old flag. He, however, lauded the Nelson Mandela Foundation for decrying the use of the flag.
The foundation brought an application in the Equality Court saying displaying the old apartheid flag constituted hate speech, unfair discrimination and harassment based on race.
The foundation wants the flag to be banned. The apartheid flag had allegedly been hoisted in some public demonstrations including the Black Monday march against farm murders in October last year.
This prompted uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans in KwaZulu-Natal to stage a counter-march where its chairperson, Themba Mavundla issued a stern warning against anyone who used the old flag.
During the march held at the N3 near the Marianhill toll plaza, the veterans burned the apartheid flag.
The PAC also called for a referendum on the land issue. Parliament on Tuesday passed a motion brought by the EFF, to carry out land expropriation without compensation.
The national assembly instructed its constitutional review committee to review the constitution in line with the successful motion and report back to it by 30 August 2018.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE