A special project team to coordinate the commemorations for the Ten Years of Freedom has been set up in the Presidency of South Africa. This team has the full support of Cabinet and is made up of senior officials from the Presidency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and the Department of Arts and Culture. It is clearly a powerful body within government.
The Ten Years of Freedom refers to the ten years of democracy South Africa has experienced since the first full democratic elections were held in 1994. The culmination of a series of year-long celebrations is set for April 27, 2004 - the anniversary date of the historic election that put the African National Congress firmly in control of government.
On April 27, there will be a huge music concert at a stadium in the Pretoria area, and if an election date is announced early this year, it is conceivable that President Thabo Mbeki could be inaugurated for his second term of office as President of our young democracy.
The Project team is serious about promoting the Ten Years of Freedom to include members of all races and to use the celebrations as a unifying exercise in a country that is still deeply divided along racial lines. However, it has already picked up warning signs that the white population might not be willing to buy into the celebrations.
White South Africans did not turn out in large numbers for the December 16th, Reconciliation Day celebrations, and now there are fears that the Ten Years of Freedom Commemorations might be perceived as yet another "Black Party".
Black South Africans will see the absence of white people at the commemorations as further evidence that most whites still hanker after the privileges of the apartheid past. Blacks will believe that whites do not care about the long and bitter struggle for democracy.
4 January 2004
1 January 2004
President Thabo Mbeki was in Haiti today. He went there to commemorate the 200th aniversary of independence of the country. He was full of praise for the island state because he said it was the first Black republic in the world.
Instructions came from senior levels within the SABC to take a two hour live feed of the celebrations in in Haiti. What we never counted on was rebel activity against the local government and strong objections to Mbeki's association with the event.
One of the TV stations that the SABC had made provisional arrangements to send the TV feed was apparently taken over by the rebels. A second station was still in the hands of government.
Mbeki made a point of singling out Haiti because it was the first "Black" republic - in so doing he effectively ignored some of the republics set up by black runaway slaves in Brazil presumably because their hidden states were not given official recognition by the European status quo nations.
He also brushed asside the many African countries who had been independent long before Europeans claimed African terriotry for themselves. It is true that the independent African countries were not traditional republics in accordance with standard western definitions - but then again, is Mbeki relying on European yardsticks to determine where he should celebrate the new year?
In holding up Haiti as a model of Black achievement, Mbeki is as misguided as he was when he suggested that South Africans can learn from Zimbabwe. Haiti might have declared its independence from France two hundred years ago, but it has done just about everything wrong since then.
Haiti has been ravaged by a perpetual low-level civil war between citizens who are Black and those who are of mixed race. Its political history is known for a series of coup de etats and cruel dictators in the mold of Papa Doc Duvalier and his son Baby Doc.
Pehaps Mbeki should have found out more about the notorious Tonton Macoutes before he began lecturing critics on the importance of celebrating 200 years of turmoil in Haiti.
Instructions came from senior levels within the SABC to take a two hour live feed of the celebrations in in Haiti. What we never counted on was rebel activity against the local government and strong objections to Mbeki's association with the event.
One of the TV stations that the SABC had made provisional arrangements to send the TV feed was apparently taken over by the rebels. A second station was still in the hands of government.
Mbeki made a point of singling out Haiti because it was the first "Black" republic - in so doing he effectively ignored some of the republics set up by black runaway slaves in Brazil presumably because their hidden states were not given official recognition by the European status quo nations.
He also brushed asside the many African countries who had been independent long before Europeans claimed African terriotry for themselves. It is true that the independent African countries were not traditional republics in accordance with standard western definitions - but then again, is Mbeki relying on European yardsticks to determine where he should celebrate the new year?
In holding up Haiti as a model of Black achievement, Mbeki is as misguided as he was when he suggested that South Africans can learn from Zimbabwe. Haiti might have declared its independence from France two hundred years ago, but it has done just about everything wrong since then.
Haiti has been ravaged by a perpetual low-level civil war between citizens who are Black and those who are of mixed race. Its political history is known for a series of coup de etats and cruel dictators in the mold of Papa Doc Duvalier and his son Baby Doc.
Pehaps Mbeki should have found out more about the notorious Tonton Macoutes before he began lecturing critics on the importance of celebrating 200 years of turmoil in Haiti.
30 November 2003
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