DA playing petty politics - ANCYL
2010-11-08 22:21
Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance Youth was playing "petty politics" by focusing on the ANC Youth League in the debate over Korea, the ANCYL said on Monday.
"The stance is that the ANCYL supports the re-unification of north and south Korea," said ANCYL spokesperson Magdalene Moonsamy.
She was responding to Democratic Alliance Youth chairperson Mbali Ntuli who called for action to be taken against the league for its reported support for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Moonsamy said an ANCYL delegation had visited North Korea in preparation for the World Festival of Youth to be held in South Africa.
In responding to the DA's criticism, she said the league had taken a position in terms of the re-unification of Korea and would support leaders who "take it forward".
Rather than providing opinions over the kind of regime North Korea was, the DA should be "transparent" about the relations between the South and the United States, she said.
Ntuli called on ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe to act against the ANCYL for its "vocal support" for "dictator" Kim Jong-il.
"If it turns out that the ANCYL are indeed actively supporting the North Korean propaganda offensive, then that (is) also something President Zuma should address, particularly in light of his up-coming trip to South Korea, for the G20," said Ntuli.
Just and fair
This was after North Korea's State-run news agency, KCNA, reported that the secretary of the ANCYL "praised Kim Jong-il", saying he was the "great guardian" who "firmly guarantees peace and security not only of the Korean peninsula but the world".
The secretary being referred to was the secretary of the ANCYL's international desk.
The reports, said Ntuli, also quote a vice chairperson of the ANCYL saying the "stand" of the Democratic People's Republic (DPRK) of Korea was "just and fair".
The Korea News Service online reports date back to August and September 2010, under the headlines "Songun Politics of DPRK Highly Praised" and "Just Cause of Korean People Supported" respectively.
"The ANC and its Youth League should either distance themselves from these scandalous comments, or they should explain why it is that they are cavorting with despots," Ntuli said.
"Kim Jong-il's repressive North Korean regime is regarded by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as one of the most oppressive on the planet.
"Concentration camps house many hundreds of thousands of North Korean adults and children, where they are the victims of fierce state repression, including rape, torture and medical experimentation."
That country had one of the worst human rights records in the world, she said.
- SAPA
