POLITICS

Apartheid and colonial public signs must all fall – EFF

Fighters say Die Stem should also be removed from anthem

EFF statement on Heritage Day

24 September 2019

The EFF joins the country in marking Heritage Day. The country ought to summon a collective heritage that allows it to launch into a more just future followed a divided, painful and unjust past. Heritage, by definition is inheritance, valued objects and qualities that are passed from generation to generation. This means first and foremost, we look into the past to summon names, traditions, cultures and objects of value and celebrate them in order to demand better of ourselves and the future. We memorise the pain of the past so that we do not repeat it.

Therefore, the beginning of all heritage is the land; the foundation of African people's claim to any heritage is the land. Without the land all else is meaningless. We therefore reiterate our call for land expropriation without compensation for equal redistribution to ensure that and returns to its rightful owners.

On this day we also reiterate our call for all apartheid and colonial public signs to fall. All statues of apartheid and colonial murderers must be taken down, including street and public property names like Kruger National Park.

To truly honour our heritage, the EFF has long called for Cape Town Intemational Airport to be renamed Winnie Mandela International Airport; and that the East London Airport to be renamed Steve Biko Airport.

Finally, we call on President Ramaphosa to remove the apartheid celebrating anthem from democratic South Africa's anthem. Die Stem must fall from our national anthem and be banned in the same way as the Apartheid flag has been banned by our courts. No one, particularly white people, should take pride in openly singing Die Stem in any of its version; this is a direct insult to the very constitutional objectives of healing the divisions of the past.

To socialise blacks into accepting Die Stem over the past 25 years is the greatest mental slavery facilitated by the slave capture government of the ANC.

Only when the above is done will there be a genuine celebration of heritage; a heritage that allows the post-apartheid society to stand on common ground and launch into a new future, united in diversity.

Issued by Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, National Spokesperson, 24 September 2019