Denialist reporting in relation to apartheid legacy is of concern

08 March 2013

The Presidency is concerned about the knee-jerk and ultra-sensitive reaction of some sections of the media to any reference to the impact of apartheid colonialism on South African society.

This has been the case with the reporting of the President's speech to the National House of Traditional Leaders in Cape Town yesterday, 6 March 2013. It  has happened on other occasions as well. Such denialist reporting of what the President said infringes on the public's right to information.

President Jacob Zuma said amongst other things in his address to traditional leaders that South Africa had emerged from a highly violent society where any demand by the oppressed was met with violence. Some newspaper houses have run headlines taking the angle that the President blamed apartheid. They omitted to give their readers an opportunity to read what exactly the President said about the need to rebuild our communities and create a more caring society.

In describing the impact of apartheid the President had said the following; 

"These incidents remind us that we come from an immensely violent culture. We survived a cruel system of governance which was described as a crime against humanity by the United Nations. The apartheid system could only be sustained through violence, and violence became entrenched. When we correctly demanded freedom, equality, justice and human dignity, the response was violence, murder and mayhem. For that reason, our struggle became deliberately a struggle to eliminate all forms of violence. It was a struggle to achieve a peaceful, caring, stable society. We cannot turn our backs on that legacy of dignified, principled struggle for peace, freedom, human rights and justice. That is why South Africans are outraged at the incidents of violence. However, in expressing our disgust, we should not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of the 52 million South Africans are peaceful, caring, law abiding citizens".

The President therefore emphasised that our struggle sought to reverse the violent legacy. The democratic government also seeks to continue to reversing this legacy but needs the support of all sectors of society including the media.

The tendency to over-react to references to the impact of decades of apartheid does the country a disservice. Apartheid had a profound impact on our country. It will take years to reverse the legacy and build a caring, equal and prosperous society. The President's continuous message is that we should work together and take responsibility for building our country. To be able to do so, we should all accept the impact of the past, and work to reverse it and also to prevent its recurrence.

Statement issued by Mac Maharaj, The Presidency, March 8 2013

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