'We mustn't forget the past'

  1. Posted on Wednesday 12 September 2007 - 12:00
    petrolium
    Over the past for weeks in South Africa there has been a fair amount of political banter between the 'left' and 'more right' wings of the ANC government. Jacob Zuma is rallying for the 'left' and has recently been criticised by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota for making use of dubious means to achieve this.

    Lekota said that Zuma making use of struggle songs [songs that were sung in campaigns against the illegitimate white minority government] should no longer be sung as the struggle was over. However, not long ago, Lekota had also made use struggle songs to woo the locals into his stable.

    But this isn't really important. Zuma's response is. He said that Lekota wanted South Africans to forget the past. Now, I'm not entirely sure at what point singing "Awulethu umshini wam (Bring Me My Machine [Gun])" is valuable to this country's past or its future, but if Zuma believes this is an appropriate avenue for remembering the past, so be it.

    The bottom line is that we must not forget the past. That seems sound – imagine if Europe was asked to forget the holocaust or WW1? But then why my dear friend, does it make sense to forget the establishment of Louis Trichardt by Dutch voortrekkers in 1836 by renaming it Makhado? Is this just a case of the political ‘left’ feeling a little left out?

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