This Saturday COSATU will hold a "Celebration" at Rondebosch Common.
What exactly are they celebrating?

Statement by Occupy Cape Town

Alternative General Assembly
Date: 4 February
Time: 10am
Venue: Community House in Salt River

Many of us who participated in last week's disrupted event at the Common are distancing ourselves from the event this Saturday. We believe that:

• As COSATU was never involved in the planning of the march & summit, they had no right to appear late on Friday afternoon, and make statements as if on behalf of the Take Back the Commons movement.
• Our principles clearly state: We do not recognise leaders or celebrity speakers. We are not party political. We are not destructive - we want to protect our shared natural and cultural heritage. The way this event is being managed contravenes these principles (see below).
•  One of the purposes of the original event was to symbolically reclaim "the commons" (see below) - the public space that should be available for all. The fact that this weekend's event is able to take place is a testimony to our small victory, but - 
• Reclaiming "the commons" was just one of our aims, and to celebrate at this stage sidetracks us from the work that still lies ahead, at a time when it is important to stay focussed on our purposes and principles and to keep the momentum going.
• The celebration may provide good publicity, but it does not move us any closer to the real purposes and aims of the movement (see below). 

This position is supported by the active representatives of Occupy Cape Town - and reflects the consensus with this particular group, as well as the stated opinions of many others within the Take Back the Commons Movement.

Because of this, we are exercising our freedom of choice, and choose not to attend the COSATU event. Instead we will meet to discuss other plans, debate some of the issues we seek to address, and build our relationships with each other.

This choice in no way means that we are withdrawing our support for the movement as a whole, nor that we are excluding ourselves from it. In fact, we look forward to continuing to build it in accordance with its stated principles and purpose.

Each of the many other communities, groups and organisations within the movement is free to decide (on an individual basis, or through consensus) whether they will attend the COSATU event or the General Assembly.

All will come together again in support of the !Nou on Sunday (the KhoiSan cleansing and renaming ceremony) as well as at future General Assemblies.

Statement issued by Gizelle Rush of Occupy Cape Town / Take Back the Commons, February 3 2012

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