Plan to end violent varsity protests
CIVIL rights group AfriForum has unveiled a plan to address the violent protest action in various tertiary institutions.
The organisation, which aims to promote Afrikaans and protect the rights of minority groups, attributed the violent flare-ups to the political agenda of Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande; the illegal behaviour of groups such as the EFF, Open Stellenbosch and Rhodes Must Fall; and the failure of university authorities to act against students found guilty of misconduct.
The plan stems from the protests that erupted at the Elsenburg College of Agriculture in Stellenbosch last week.
“We believe it’s better to take precautions and to have plans in place before similar violent protests occur at other universities,” said Henk Maree, the national chairman of AfriForum Youth.
Maree, who was speaking from the organisation’s offices in Centurion, said there were 10 points in the plan. The first was to send letters to Nzimande and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana.
AfriForum also intends to write to the various campus heads to ask what their emergency plans are and to have those down in writing.
“In the next couple of weeks, various protest actions will be launched on campuses throughout South Africa. These actions will focus in particular on the retention of Afrikaans.
“The problems experienced by students at their respective universities will also be displayed in this manner,” Maree said.
AfriForum has also consulted its legal team regarding the situation.
“The organisation’s legal team has been placed on standby to approach the court on an urgent basis for applica- ble legal advice if further threats are made against the safety of students, if classes are disrupted or if illegal protest actions take place.”
The organisation also criticised the “documentary video” called Luister, which caused national debate.
“This documentary video is stripped of all credibility and is a malicious attempt to promote a racist agenda at the University of Stellenbosch.”
The organisation will be producing its own documentary, which it claims will be a more balanced and fair view of what is going on at the university.
Other points in its plan is to train students in self-defence and to launch a petition among the Afrikaans alumni.
The universities under discussion are: University of Pretoria, North West University, University of the Free State, Stellenbosch University, Potchefstroom Agricultural College, Grootfontein Agricultural College and Elsenburg Agricultural College.