Xenophobia attacks: govt blamed

2008-05-13 18:06

Johannesburg - The attacks on foreigners in Johannesburg's Alexandra township is partly due to the inability of government to deal with these matters effectively, the SA Human Rights Commission said on Tuesday.

Human Rights Commission chief executive, advocate Tseliso Thipanyane, said government was aware of the number of illegal immigrants in the country.

Government needed to address poverty and needed to do more, to deal decisively with incidents of xenophobia.

He said these attacks had been occurring for the last ten years, and it was about time ways were found to deal more effectively with them.

Thomas Sithole from the Alexandra Community Policing Forum condemned the attacks and called on the community to allow the police to do their work.

He described the incidents of xenophobia as "purely criminal".

Mass meeting

Police, political parties, and the community policing forum were set to hold a mass meeting on Tuesday night to appeal to the community to refrain from these attacks.

Sithole cited the meeting as a "possible solution to the crisis.

"One thing about the community of Alex is that when they are warned and asked to stop, I think this whole hullabaloo crisis will end."

The meeting was set to take place at a community hall behind the police station.

Meanwhile, dozens of people who have taken shelter at the police station remained without shelter or food.

Freedom Ngubeni, from the South African Red Cross, said the society had finished its assessment of the situation and was organising food and blankets for the displaced group.

On the streets of Alexandra, people went about their business, seemingly unaware of the tension which caused the violence on Sunday and Monday.

Hundreds of patients

Chief Executive Officer of the Alexandra Clinic, Abel Mangolele, said the clinic had treated 58 patients who were victims of these attacks between Sunday night and Monday morning, another 56 patients on Monday, and 39 patients from Monday night to Tuesday morning.

He said the situation might flare up again on Tuesday night, but the tiny clinic did not have the capacity to treat that many patients.

More serious cases were referred to hospitals in Edenvale and Johannesburg.

- SAPA