THE STAR'S APOLOGY ON MALEMA NOT ENOUGH TO UNDO DAMAGE DONE - ANC

While the African National Congress (ANC) today (31 March 2011) notes the selective apology by The Star - the Independent Group's flagship newspaper - we are nonetheless, angered by the deliberate untruths that were inserted in ANC Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema's speech at the recent Mopani ANCYL regional conference.

If The Star newspaper truly prided itself on its slogan - "Telling it like it is"  - we wonder whether this poor quality and unethical journalism, which has caused serious damage to the reputation of President Jacob Zuma, the ANC, comrade Malema and the ANC Youth League, is a reflection of all that can be expected from the newsroom one of Johannesburg's biggest dailies, especially during the crucial period of local government elections.

We also believe that any intervention or sanction imposed by the Press Council and the Press Ombudsman will not undo the damage caused by yesterday's publication of the story in The Star. It is in this vein that South Africa should look at other means to stop this type of non-objective reporting.

Fabricated phrases like "President Zuma having bad advisors" and "making bad decisions since 2007" is a reflection on the part of The Star newspaper, its intention to create a standoff between the ANC and its Youth League. This was further meant to create an impression - particularly during an election period - that the ANC  was "at war with itself and therefore cannot be trusted by the South African electorate," which the Democratic Alliance (DA) bought.

We are also convinced that through these untruths that made headlines all over the country and the world, The Star newspaper intended to force the ANC into blindly taking disciplinary action against the President of the Youth League. If our assumptions are not true, we again, request The Star newspaper and its Independent Group owners to make available to all South Africans the basis and the source from which this malicious story was written.

In this regard, the filed article on the matter by the relevant journalist would come in handy. In the absence of a filed story by the said journalist, his handwritten notes will also assist the South African populace in determining whether The Star newspaper or the African Eye News Agency (AENA) were misled or deliberately (which is our belief) fabricated the story for political purposes.

With regards to Libya, the ANC fully supports the Government's signing of the United Nations (UN) resolution 1973 on Libya to intervene in our North African neighbour in the international community's interests to end the mass killing and butchering of Libyan civilians by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his troops.

We are studying comments attributed to comrade Malema on Libya as well as the Youth League public statement on the matter. We believe that these comments and public statements should have rather been raised within the leadership structures of the ANC like the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of which comrade Malema and the ANCYL enjoyi full participatory status. We also want to put it on record that the ANCYL is guided by ANC policies on all matters, including international relations. Any deviation from an ANC policy by any of its structures, including the ANCYL and its President, will be dealt with internally within the ANC. 

Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, ANC national spokesperson, March 31 2011

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