19 February 2020| 24 Jumadul Ukhraa 1441| Sabc News
Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) CEO Sello Hatang has raised concerns over rising racism and what he terms as the “denial of apartheid crimes”.
This after former deputy president FW De Klerk retracted and apologised for saying that apartheid was not a crime against humanity.
While the foundation has welcomed the retraction, Hatang says such statements hinder nation-building and reconciliation.
“We believe that this kind of statement, we want to emphasise does not take us anywhere in terms of nation-building and reconciliation path that Nelson Mandela put us on but also in terms of tackling the difficult systematic issues the nation is dealing with.”
Hatang called for engagement with the FW de Klerk Foundation in a bid to curb rising racism.
“In terms of engaging with the FW De Klerk Foundation, we believe that’s the only way forward. The rise of racism and the rise of denial of crimes such as apartheid is something that we are seeing progressing and I think if we are to do anything right is to continue to engage with those kinds of forces with the view of ensuring that we can then transform our nation into one that sees the woods for the trees,” says Hatang.
In the apology, the FW de Klerk Foundation apologised for what it said was confusion caused by the former president’s statement, saying it remains committed to a democratic South Africa.
