Boesak: ANC betrayed us
2009-03-02 09:53
Johannesburg - Cleric Allan Boesak accused the ANC as he hit the campaign trial for Cope on Sunday of keeping silent while he wrongly went to jail for helping the liberation struggle.
"I went to prison because of money I used for the struggle," he told about 1 000 supporters in Paarl.
"The ANC knows but they do not have the courage to say it. I say to you that there is a God in heaven who will see to it that the truth comes out."
Boesak was flanked by Cope chairperson Sam Shilowa, who also told the crowd that Cope's candidate for premier of the Western Cape took the fall for the ANC when he was jailed for fraud and theft of donor funds in 1999.
"They know the story and they have yet to tell it."
Boesak, in vintage style, brought the crowd to its feet with a speech in which he continually accused the ANC of betraying voters' dreams.
Lavish tribute to Boesak
Boesak said: ?We?ve been disappointed for 15 years - 15 years is too long to walk on broken promises.
"We look around and we see that our basic rights are still abused and our dignity is still denied.
Boesak joined Cope in December but reports soon followed that he did so only after fruitless negotiations with the ANC in which he demanded a top posting abroad in return for his support.
Shilowa paid lavish tribute to Boesak who on Friday agreed to accept the party's nomination after turning it down earlier amidst reports that Cope's first choice was Stellenbosch University rector Russel Botman.
Shilowa warned Boesak that running for premier against Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille would not be easy.
"You may be vilified," he said, "you must stand firm."
- SAPA