Pagans lay complaint against Creecy
2013-03-21 14:11
Johannesburg - The SA Pagan Rights Alliance (Sapra) is
laying a hate speech complaint against Gauteng education MEC Barbara Creecy,
according to a report on Thursday.
The Citizen newspaper reported that pagans all over South
Africa had voiced their disapproval of a statement Creecy made on Monday.
"The practitioners from faith-based organisations are
developing an anti-harmful religious practice strategy to guide and protect
learners from spiritual attacks and abuse," she said at a press briefing.
The "harmful practices" included Satanism and
occultism.
She was speaking at a signing ceremony with religious groups,
to develop an "anti-harmful" religious strategy in schools.
"The practitioners from faith-based organisations are
developing an anti-harmful religious practice strategy to guide and protect
learners from spiritual attacks and abuse," she said.
Sapra spokesperson Damon Leff told the paper the MEC's
statement was hate speech and they would complain to the SA Human Rights
Commission.
"The MEC's statements regarding 'occultism' and
'Satanism' constitute hate speech against religious minorities who have nothing
to do with the recent cases of alleged Satanic activity."
Octarine Valur of the SA Vampyre Alliance said Creecy's
statement was creating hostility towards religious minorities.
"This encourages prejudice and intolerance towards
these groups, and may even contribute to violence against those whose dignity
and right to religious freedom is being made out to be a criminal
offence."
- SAPA
