AfriForum criticises bid to criminalise old flag
It is mulling action against the Nelson Mandela Foundation
AFRIFORUM will consider taking action against the Nelson Mandela Foundation court application to have the displaying of the old South African flag criminalised.
AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said although they were against the display of the flag, they felt that criminalising it would be going a step too far.
“We don’t use the flag at any of our events and we are not in support of it, but banning it would be against freedom of speech and would make South Africa look like a police state. We won’t take a decision to challenge the court application today, but it is something we will consider,” said Kriel.
The foundation made the application earlier this week in the hope that the court would agree with them that the “gratuitous” display of the old flag constituted unfair discrimination, hate speech and harassment. The foundation said such a declaration would establish a basis for holding people accountable.
The foundation said the decision for the application came after intense consultation with various groups, including AfriForum, whose members were heavily criticised for displaying the flag during the Black Monday march last year against farm murders.
Kriel, however, said his organisation was never consulted.
The foundation’s chief executive, Sello Hatang, said the decision to launch the application comes after years of watching public displays of the old flag and hoping that such behaviour would stop.
“These displays demonstrably compound the pain experienced by millions of black South Africans who suffered under apartheid and continue to struggle under its legacy. Displays of the old flag at demonstrations against farm murders on Black Monday, October 30, 2017 where at least two were verified, persuaded us that the time had come to act,” Hatang said.
He pointed out that the foundation had a deep appreciation for the importance of history and memory, especially in a country like South African that was still healing, as well as the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in the constitution.
“The very vision for which the foundation was established is a society that remembers its past and listens to all its voices, but also one that pursues social justice,” Hatang added.
“The old flag is undeniably a part of our history, but that is where it belongs: in museums, documentaries and cathartic creative works.”
Hatang said courts had been used in other countries with a painful past, like Germany,
It will make SA look like a police state, says activist body
to discourage people from displaying Nazi symbols.
“The foundation is not pressing for criminalisation in relation to gratuitous displays of apartheid symbols. Instead, we are using the law to discourage their use.
“The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Equality Act), passed in 2000, empowers the equality courts to fashion appropriate remedies for behaviour that undermines equality and human dignity, such as apologies, community service and sensitivity training,” added Hatang.