19 April 2011
The SACP in the Brian Bunting District (Cape Metro) remains committed to supporting wholeheartedly the four young black workers who were subjected to racial attacks by the so called bosses of the company AC Wendys in Blackheath, Cape Town. We also appreciate the unequivocal support by the broader community of Mfuleni, and including the SANCO branch leadership. We are aware that some community members have taken unpaid leave from their employment in order to show solidarity with the victims. The slogan An Injury to One is an Injury to All finds serious expression here, and the SACP remains committed to its vanguard role on behalf of the working class.
As the SACP, we would like to make it clear that we declare war against any form of socio-economic injustice and racial attack and discrimination by any person, irrespective of colour or creed. Our struggle as the South African Communist Party was never about the colour of a person`s skin, but was essentially against a particular system: the capitalist system that has imposed socio-economic injustices in our society.
As the SACP we are appalled by suggestions that our support for the victims is racially oriented and a case of Africans against so-called coloureds. These assertions are fallacious and malicious, and have has their intention sewing division between workers and distracting attention from the actual issue, which is the abuse of workers and assault on the persons, their dignity and rights. In this instance the assault seems to have been part of an attempt to maximise capitalist profit by denying workers their wages for work done. The SACP is a non-racial non-sexist organisation and has from its foundation almost ninety years ago been the champion of non-racialism, workers rights and dignity, and unity of all workers against the divisions sewn by the capitalist class in order to maximise profit.
We urge the Court not to grant bail to the two suspects, Messrs Hein and Enrico van Vuuren, and demand that they remain in police custody. In our view granting them bail represent a further assault to the victims and to the entire Mfuleni community, and will fuel serious anger in the community. We also believe that the two suspects, if released, will intimidate witnesses and interfere with the investigation.
We have also written to the Human Rights Commission lodging a complaint for their investigation. Our argument is that the perpetrator`s actions constitute a serious and grave infringement of the rights of those workers in question. First, their right to human dignity was infringed as they were treated in a manner that presupposed that they did not have an inherent human dignity. Second, their right to equality was infringed as they were treated in this way because of their race. The statements about Eugene Terre`Blanche and the names given to the victims - "Vavi", "Blade", "Zuma" and "Julius" - indicate that this was a "hate crime" based on the race of the victims. Further it would seen that this was an attempt to deny fair payment for work done, an inexcusable denial of the most fundamental of workers` rights, enshrined in South African and International Law.
For more information contact
District Secretary
Benson Ngqentsu
0827966400
OR
Siyabulela Siswana
Branch Secretary
0827606415