S. African leader urges country to unite against racism

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

South African President Jacob Zuma has condemned recent incidents of racism and xenophobia which have sparked tensions in his country.

“Earlier this year, our country experienced explosions of anger due to racist utterances and writings,” Zuma said in a televised speech Monday as he addressed a Human Rights Day rally at a sports stadium in Durban.

He said recent racist utterances targeting black people reminded South Africans that the vestiges of white supremacy and racism still existed in certain parts of society.

In January, Penny Sparrow, a former estate agent of the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, compared black South Africans to monkeys in a Facebook post.

Sparrow made the remarks accusing blacks of allegedly littering a Durban beach on New Year’s Day.

Durban businessman Justin Van Vuuren also followed Sparrow’s footsteps weeks later describing blacks as animals in a Facebook post.

Their comments generated wide condemnation across the country.

Zuma said the racist comments made it clear that there were people who still yearned for the past.

“The struggle against apartheid was […] a struggle against racism, which is the notion that one group of people is better than others, and is superior to others simply because of their skin color,” he said.

Zuma said although the damage caused by the apartheid regime was deep, his government was determined to put an end to racial discrimination in the country.

He urged South Africans to unite against racism and xenophobic incidents that targeted migrants from other African countries.

Last April, mobs of disgruntled South Africans looted homes and businesses belonging to African migrants accusing them of stealing their jobs and committing crimes. Seven people lost their lives.

The system of racial segregation known as apartheid ended in 1994.