Garden waves away old flag
Artwork depicting both new and apartheid-era bunting removed after complaints
ETHEKWINI Municipality is yet to decide on what to do with a mural depicting the old and the new national flags that was removed from public display at the Durban Botanic Gardens yesterday after concerns that it was offensive and provocative.
Botanic Gardens employees told Independent Media that the artwork has been displayed on the wall inside the tourist attraction garden for about 20 years.
Municipal parks, recreation and culture head Thembinkosi Ngcobo said he had ordered the removal of the artwork after “I indicated to them (Botanic Gardens officials) that you must be careful when it comes to a flag since it is a national symbol in terms of the Constitution”.
When approached from one side the artwork showed an apartheid flag, and also showed the new flag when looked at from the opposite direction.
Asked what would happen to the artwork, Ngcobo said: “We will meet and take a decision through correct processes and channels.”
He said the municipality was not aware of who had created the artwork, which he said was put up without following municipal protocol.
Ngcobo said his office had received numerous complaints about the artwork. “They (Botanic Gardens officials) had their own good reasons (for displaying the art), as they thought the artwork showed transition from the old to the new era.”
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the eThekwini Region on Monday demanded that it should be removed within 48 hours “or we will mobilise young people to take it down”.
The league also demanded that the Durban Botanic Gardens Trust apologise to the public for the “offensive and provocative” drawing.
“The old flag belongs in the dustbin of history like the system of apartheid it represented. It is a reminder to many who lived under the violent system of apartheid, a system declared a crime against humanity.
“The youth will not tolerate any actions that seek to take us back,” said the league.
A Botanic Gardens worker said: “It was put up about 20 years ago for educational purposes to teach visitors about how the old flag looked. It had no intention to offend.”
Another employee said black people would often complain about the old apartheid flag.
“They would point at the flag and accuse us of holding on to the past,” said the employee.
Ayanda Luthuli, a Durban University of Technology (DUT) drama student, welcomed the removal of the artwork. “I don’t need to learn about apartheid because it belongs to the past since it brings back the pain of how our parents suffered under it,” said Luthuli
However, Dillen Gounden, a DUT homoeopathy student, said although the artwork represented a painful past it was sad to see history being removed.
“It should remain as a monument so our future youth know what our fathers and forefathers went through and how far we have come.
“It should be a reminder that it (the country) was not always as good as is now,” said Gounden.
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