Democracy

Govt slams xenophobic attacks

16 May 2008

The South African government has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" this week's outbreak of attacks against foreign nationals in Johannesburg's Alexandra township and other parts of the country, calling the xenophobic violence a front for criminal looting.

In a hard-hitting statement issued after a meeting in Cape Town on Thursday, the Cabinet slammed the violence, calling on South Africans "to be vigilant and to avoid being manipulated by provocateurs who seek to exploit people's fears and concerns.

"These attacks represent a dangerous tendency that is foreign to South African history and consciousness," the statement read. "For many decades, South Africans in Alexandra and many parts of the country have lived side by side with foreign nationals with no acts of violence.

"South Africa is a signatory to the Geneva Protocol on Refugees, and we will fulfil our obligations as outlined in this protocol. South African laws protect all foreign nationals, whether they are here legally or otherwise, and any violent behaviour towards foreign nationals must be rejected by all."

Police battle for control of townships

The violence broke out in Alexandra on Sunday when a mob of residents rampaged through the streets of the township attacking foreigners, blaming them for high levels of crime and accusing them of "stealing" jobs and housing.

A large crowd, mostly made up of Zimbabwean and Mozambican nationals, have been camped at the local police station in fear of their lives, while the police have been engaged in a battle for control of the township streets.

While the situation was calmer in Alexandra by Thursday, violence of a similar kind flared up in the township of Diepsloot south-west of Johannesburg. There have also been a spate of attacks against foreign nationals in Port Elizabeth and East London in the Eastern Cape.

'Front for looting, stealing'

The government has condemned the xenophopic violence as a front for criminal looting.

Home Affairs Minister Nosizwe Mapisa-Nqakula, speaking to journalists after meeting with other ministers and Gauteng provincial government representatives at Alexandra police station on Thursday, said that criminal elements had attacked both South African citizens and foreigners.

"The picture is that foreigners are under siege, but the fact is that criminal elements are clean-sweeping everybody in the community," Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Gauteng Community Safety MEC Firoz Cachalia said there was no doubt that a strong criminal element was a driving force behind the attacks. "Items of material value such as television sets, clothes and electrical appliances have been taken away from the victims, which clearly indicate that this was not only to remove foreigners from homes but to take their belongings," Cachalia said.

The Cabinet said in its statement that "no amount of economic hardship and discontent can ever justify the criminal activity and bigotry that these attacks represent, and any suggestion that poor service delivery and rising cost of living is to blame for these attacks must be rejected with the contempt it deserves.

"Equally, any suggestion that foreigners alone are responsible for high crime levels is totally misplaced and detracts from the fact that many South Africans are involved in criminal activity."

Steps to end the violence

The government has set up a high-level inter-departmental task team to establish the causes of the violence and the action needed both to bring it to an end and prevent its recurrence.

In the meantime, the Cabinet said, the police would "use the full force of the law to ensure that no further violence takes place, and that those who engage in, actively encourage and incite communities to attack foreign nationals ... be brought to justice as soon as possible.

"The government calls on all community organisations, church leaders, political organisations, business and youth organisations to stand up and be counted among those who will actively discourage such tendencies and use every available opportunity to educate South Africans about the need to co-exist with all foreign nationals."

'Remember their hospitality towards us'

The majority of South Africans, the Cabinet said, were peace-loving people who would always look for peaceful ways of resolving their problems.

"South Africa's transition to democracy was one of the world's best testimonies of tolerance and peaceful co-existence, and we cannot allow a few individuals to reverse and undermine our historical achievements."

The Cabinet added that it was "too soon to forget the hospitality that was given to South Africans who were in exile in the neighbouring countries and the rest of the continent during the days of apartheid. The support of the Frontline States in southern Africa was critical to the achievement of the democracy we are enjoying today."

SAinfo reporter and BuaNews