Ella Smook
11 December 2008
A melting pot of South Africans from all races, cultures and faiths were swept up into near religious fervour by the Congress of the People's message of respect and inclusivity at a meeting in Rylands last night.
Judging from the enthusiasm with which the addresses of Cope leader Terror Lekota and other speakers were received, Cope's aim to not merely become the official opposition but rather the future government seemed to find fertile ground.
Lekota was welcomed with a standing ovation by the audience packing the Samaj Centre and proceeded to describe the vision for his party and its supporters.
Ismail Rasool, father of former Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool, listened from the front row.
"Today, the hope, excitement and optimism we cherished has turned into a sad pessimism, as we have witnessed a major departure from that which our vision (for South Africa) represented," said Lekota, steering clear of mentioning the ANC by name throughout his speech.
He had harsh words for the "snotnose" Julius Malema's lack of respect, and said that the "neutrality" of former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela, who had devoted their entire lives to the ANC, said much about their current feelings about their political home.
Lekota said one of the major contributions Cope should make to the South African political language, was to get people accustomed to talking about South Africans.
"Not about coloureds, Indians, Africans, whites and so on, but South Africans. We must make a determined effort every day to think about South Africans and abandon forever the language of apartheid, compelled on us by a regime we defeated," he said.
The country also needed new songs, he said.
"If we sing songs in meetings, in Athlone, let's hear people singing in English. Ons moet ook mense hoor sing in Afrikaans (we must also hear people signing in Afrikaans), en ons moet sing van vrede en demokrasie (and we must sing of peace and democracy)," Lekota said.
Before launching into the old Afrikaans song "Suikerbossie ek wil jou hê", to the delight of the audience, he said: "Let's build a new culture, then we can even have some dancing."
When one audience member jokingly piped up with "Umshini Wam", the signature tune of ANC president Jacob Zuma, Lekota said: "The war is over. It is a time of peace, democracy and national reconciliation."
Cope members should avoid being provoked, he said.
"Make sure they don't injure you, but allow them to do wrong, so those who come to check will be clear those are the dogs and these are the human beings," he said.
Lekota said the decisions of the judiciary will be respected.
"If the judiciary says you were late for registering, members of Cope will not go to voting stations and intimidate and beat up voters. They will respect the findings of the judiciary."
The public service would also be depoliticised, he said.
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Sleeping on it.
At pleasure I describe the perpetual sound of a melody, the cold water of a golden fountain and the song of a martin, in the heart of a delicate thought.
Francesco Sinibaldi
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Are you smelling gold?Have you been praying for the ANC to split?Improve your poetry.
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