Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 01-03-2018
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has applied to the Equality Court in Johannesburg for an order declaring that displays of the old official flag of South Africa constitute hate speech, unfair discrimination and harassment based on race.
The Foundation says the move follows years of observing public displays of the old flag and hoping that such behaviour would stop.
It says while the old flag is part of our history, it belongs in museums, documentaries and creative works.
“These displays demonstrably compound the pain experienced by millions of black South Africans who suffered under apartheid and continue to struggle under its legacy.”
The foundation says displays of the old flag at demonstrations against farm murders on “Black Monday” in October last year at least two of which were verified, persuaded them that the time had come to act.
“Through public debates with AfriForum, one of the leading figures in the “Black Monday” demonstrations, it became apparent to the Foundation that some South Africans do not fully appreciate that apartheid was a crime against humanity”
The foundation says Gratuitous displays of the old flag – which serve no genuine journalistic, artistic or academic purpose in the public interest – are not about remembering but rather about forgetting our painful pasts and nothing to advance social justice, national unity and human dignity.
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