South African youth clashed with police, stoned cars and attacked journalists in Johannesburg during last week’s trial of Julius Malema, youth league President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Malema is a sworn supporter of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who is pushing for South Africa to adopt Mugabe’s populist policies that have destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy during the past 31 years.
Against that background, the Communist Party of Swaziland cautioned on Friday that if not addressed at this early stage, the violence and rioting, which it described as an expression of both anti-communism and anti-socialism, should worry all people of the Southern African region.
He described the ANCYL as a “growing ultra nationalist right wing that has hijacked the language of liberation and revolution” a charge that Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) has also been accused of since the formation of the MDC in 1999.
“We would not normally comment on what some may consider an internal matter of the ANC, but feel that the situation is a cause for concern for all people in the Southern African region, and indeed beyond,” said Kenneth Kunene, the CPS’ General Secretary.
“The CPS considers that one of the dangers of the current situation, not only in South Africa, is the rise of ultra right wing movements that ride on the mobilisation of the unemployed, disempowered and ill-educated masses of mainly young people.
“This lumped proletariat, which lacks political awareness, is readily brought into action in support of populist leaders whose main loyalties lie with a narrow oligarchic class that has its eyes on political power and the wealth of the country.”
He likened the growing trend to the Fascism that grew in Europe and later led to the Second World War.
“Fascism and its various newer hybrids are not confined to Europe. They can appear in a multitude of forms in any national context anywhere in the world. Today the conditions are ripe for such developments in our region,” added Kunene.
“This is a time for the unity of all progressive forces against nationalist chauvinism and populism. The peace and future of all people in our region depend on it. Above all it is a time for heightened awareness and education on the course that right wing populism can lead to. We need to give greater emphasis to the internationalism of national liberation.”
Malema is being tried by the main ANC for various charges of misconduct, after his statement that he would work for a regime change agenda in neighbouring Botswana.
He narrowly escaped the same charges last year, when he publicly voiced his support for Mugabe and insulted the MDC, which he described as a puppet party, something he has maintained to date.
The youth league leader has been described by local opposition as SA’s own version of Mugabe due to his skewed vision similar to that of Zimbabwe’s octogenarian leader.
Post published in: News