ANC, ANCYL agree to disagree

2008-09-02 19:25

Johannesburg - The ANC and its Youth League have resolved to disagree in private, following accusations by the league last week that it was being attacked in public by a party senior.

"It was agreed to handle internal differences internally to avoid any public spats. Both organisations retain the right to robustly raise issues of public interest without accusations and attacks on the other," they said in a joint statement said on Tuesday.

It was issued after an extended National Working Committee (NWC) meeting on Monday.

The league voiced its displeasure last week over articles quoting ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe in the City Press and the Mail&Guardian.

In the City Press article, Motlanthe said recent attacks on the judiciary were being made by people "predicated by ignorance", referring to recent statements by the Congress of South African Students (Cosas), that judges were "drunks".

The Mail&Guardian reported Motlanthe as saying that he had told the ANCYL it had to take responsibility for its statements and should not copy the 1976 generation, which confronted apartheid security forces though mass protests.

Zuma case 'divisive'

The Youth League has also most recently had to explain itself for statements that it would "kill" for ANC president Jacob Zuma.

The league and the ANC-aligned Cosas and the SA Students Congress have been vocal in their support for Zuma as the country's next president. They have criticised rulings made by some of the judges that have handled Zuma's various court applications.

In a separate statement, the ANC said the Zuma case was dividing the country and was not in the national interest.

"This case has been and continues to be divisive, resulting in the expression of sharply divergent views. It has become deeply politicised, with South Africans being asked to take sides."

The organisation reiterated that it believed Zuma's rights had been violated by state institutions and his dignity impaired "without cause".

"It is clear that the continuation of this case does not serve the interests of South Africa. It has long ceased to be a justifiable prosecution that can be said to be motivated by nothing more than the pursuit of justice.

"The NWC urges all South Africans to look beyond entrenched positions to find common ground in a concerted effort to answer this challenge."

ANC spokesperson Brian Sokutu said party had thrown the matter open for public debate.

Political platforms

Sokutu said: "South Africans should use each and every political platform - be it town hall meetings, branch meetings - and let them discuss this issue. Let them write letters to the editor - let them get it on the agenda."

Sokutu said the ANC supported Zuma's campaign for a stay of prosecution and for a political solution.

"We will vigorously campaign for that and support him, but at the same time the ANC has respect for the integrity of the judiciary. We are not saying to judges, 'this is the way you should see things' because South Africa is a democratic country with a Bill of Rights."

He said the party had not yet decided how the ANC would gauge what the final common ground was. In response to a question he said it was not considering a referendum to determine public opinion at this stage.

- SAPA