FREEDOM FROM RACISM – A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT

We must continue to debate honestly and fearlessly the scourge of racism that permeates so much of the fabric of our society, writes Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. In this analysis, Mbeki refutes the argument of some that discussion is inimical to the task of achieving national reconciliation. The truth is the opposite: the racism that remains a daily feature of our lives is a demon that must be exorcised precisely to achieve national reconciliation. Those who are determined to avoid confronting these difficult issues seek to divert attention away from discussing the relationship between racism and the perception of crime by falsely and dishonestly claiming that I am trying to deny or minimise the seriousness of the incidence of crime in South Africa. It remains to be seen whether we have the will to know one another and to debate with one another, to educate ourselves not to be too quick to judge as illegitimate the concerns and expressions of any group; and whether we have the courage to engage in a truth and reconciliation process even with regard to the challenge of openly confronting the cancer of deeply dehumanising racist stereotypes that developed over many centuries.

AN AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE

May 5 seemed to be yet another day of good news for our continent, signalling that we were indeed advancing towards the realisation of the goal of Africa\'s renaissance: Sudan took a step forward towards the restoration of peace in Darfur, as the government of Sudan and one faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) signed a peace agreement in Abuja, Nigeria, after a protracted process of negotiations, writes Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa. In this article, Mbeki writes that it is most unfortunate that another faction of the SLM/A, led by Abdel Wahed Mohammed al-Nur, as well as the second Darfur rebel movement, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), decided not to sign the peace agreement. The negative impact of the Darfur conflict on inter-state relations, as between Sudan and Chad, as well as Eritrea to the east, which Sudan accuses of supporting the Darfur rebels, must communicate the strong message to the Sudanese negotiators in Abuja that, truly, the resolution of the Darfur crisis and the overall challenges of Sudan, would make an important contribution to the resolution of Africa\'s problems. A just resolution of the conflict in Darfur must indeed be based on the repudiation of any winner-takes-all approach, which makes it impossible to build the inclusive societies that are the only condition for the achievement of peace, stability and national unity and reconciliation in all African countries.

RECONCILIATION IS THE BEST CURE FOR TERRORISM

South Africa has never enjoyed the peace it enjoys today nor been as stable and as free of the risk of unacceptable political conflict. The extent and depth of reconciliation within our diverse nation have never been as pronounced, writes Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. In this analysis, the author writes that in his country, change came about as a result of a settlement negotiated by antagonists that had stood at the barricades for 350 years, each unable to defeat and destroy the other. This peaceful outcome culminated in the equally peaceful general elections of 1994, which surprised the cynics and sceptics, who were convinced that our people, black and white, were incapable of solving their problems peacefully. But the doomsters had not understood that as the first and principal victims of violence and war, the masses of our people, black and white, would be the first and best guarantors of the peace they won in 1994. This has been confirmed by the virtually total disappearance of political violence in our country, even during election periods. Despite, and perhaps because of our history, we stand in the front ranks of the group of countries across the globe that are truly peaceful, stable, and not consumed by the threat of terrorist bombs.

THE ANC WILL NOT DISAPPOINT THE PEOPLE

The people of South Africa recently voted overwhelmingly for national unity and reconciliation by renewing the mandate of the African National Congress, writes Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa. In this article, Mbeki writes that South Africans rejected the ANC\'s opponents\' assertion that the country\'s challenges could only be met if the people separated into antagonistic camps, defined by race, colour, and ethnicity. They also rejected the claim that the same movement that has led and leads them in the struggle to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment is the cause of the poverty and underdevelopment they continue to experience. Today we must work together in a people\'s contract to take our country further forward towards the eradication of the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. This will include the creation of more jobs and the reduction of poverty, the building of a non-racial and non-sexist South Africa with sustained reduction of the racial and gender disparities that continue to disfigure our country, and the reinforcement of national unity and reconciliation.

SOUTH AFRICANS FACE CHOICE BETWEEN MOVING FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS

On the eve of South Africa\'s third general election and the celebration of our second decade of liberation, one of the major contestants at the polls is a right-wing coalition that would have opposed much of the progress our country has made since 1994, including ending apartheid, writes Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. The Coalition for Change is a right-wing group comprised of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) of Dr. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and the Democratic Alliance (DA), a merger of three right-wing parties. It is opposed to many of the initiatives we have taken since 1994, especially to address the interests of the poor at home and abroad, Mbeki writes in this article. The ANC will continue to put forward its own policies, focused, among other things, on the vigorous intervention of the democratic state to ensure a better life for all our people, both black and white. We will continue to encourage the formation of a people\'s contract among all those, including the overwhelming majority of our population, who are committed to the building of a non-racial and non-sexist people-centred society.

SOUTH AFRICA: THE LAND SHALL BELONG TO THOSE WHO WORK IT

It has been 90 years since the government of the newly-formed Union of South Africa passed the infamous Native Land Act, which gave legislative effect to a process of land seizure by white settlers that had been going on since 1652, writes Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. Adoption of this law has brought untold suffering to generations of black people, the author writes in this article for IPS. Through this and other racist legislation, millions of our people were uprooted from their land, their homes bulldozed, and their dignity destroyed. Recognising the importance of the land question to many of our people, the democratically-elected post-Apartheid government passed the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994, which provided a legal framework to address and resolve land claims through negotiations. Land acquisition and its productive use are critical to the success we must achieve in pushing back the frontiers of poverty. We are on the way towards meeting the demand contained in the Freedom Charter, drafted by the ANC in 1955: that the land shall belong to those who work it.