ANC Today --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 2, No. 49, 6 - 12 December 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: * Letter from the President: Great Lakes progress part of African renewal * International Volunteer Day: First year of Letsema draws to a close * What the Media says: 'ANC members should defy their organisation' --------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Great Lakes progress part of African renewal Earlier this week, Burundi took an important step forward towards peace and democracy. The Transitional Government of Burundi and the main rebel group, the CNDD-FDD, signed a ceasefire agreement in Arusha, Tanzania. This was after a protracted process of negotiations led by our Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, working together with senior representatives of the governments of Gabon and Tanzania. Among other things, the agreement provides for the cessation of hostilities this month and the quartering of troops from both sides, beginning on 30 December. It was also agreed that African peacekeeping forces would be sent to Burundi to ensure that all sides observe the ceasefire. These latest developments bring to three the number of rebel groups that have entered into ceasefire agreements with the Government of Burundi. These account for the overwhelming majority of rebel combatants that have been involved in the military conflict. However, there is yet another armed group that remains outside this process, the Palipehutu-FNL. Accordingly, the Heads of State overseeing the Burundi peace process, led by President Museveni of Uganda, have called on the FNL to enter into negotiations with the government immediately. The preferred outcome is that hopefully, the FNL would also begin placing its own people in assembly areas at the same time as the FDD. From this it is clear that the Deputy President still has a lot of work to do to assist the people of Burundi to achieve peace. In addition, the agreement signed in Arusha earlier this week requires the Deputy President and his colleagues to facilitate the necessary agreement between the Government of Burundi and the FDD on the details that arise from their global agreement. We must take this opportunity to salute both Comrade Nelson Mandela, principal facilitator of the Burundi peace process, and Comrade Jacob Zuma, for the work they have done which is bringing our continent closer to the realisation of the goals of the AU and NEPAD to ensure that Africa becomes a continent of peace and stability. We are certain that, once more, the Deputy President will do all of us proud. At the moment of the preparation of this Letter, our Deputy President was in New York. He had travelled to the US to brief both the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council (UNSC) about the Burundi peace process. We hope that the UNSC will lend its considerable weight to advance this process by supporting the decisions taken in Arusha. In the past few days, on 3 December, the UN Security Council approved an important resolution of the DRC. Among other things, this relates to the agreement concluded by the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda in Pretoria on July 30. As our readers are aware, among other things, this agreement included the establishment of a Third Party Verification Mechanism (TPVM), composed of the Secretary General of the UN and the Chairperson of the AU. Success in the implementation of the Pretoria agreement, including the critical operations of the TPVM, requires the full cooperation of MONUC, the UN mission in the DRC, which includes units of our National Defence Force. This is one of the factors underlying the importance of the recent resolution of the UN Security Council (UNSC). One of the problems that had arisen was that MONUC faced some limitations with regard to its cooperation with the TPVM. Whereas it was willing to cooperate, it faced constraints because the UNSC had not adopted the necessary resolution to empower MONUC to act. The December 3 resolution "welcomes the signature by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda of the Pretoria Agreement on 30 July 2002, as well as the signature by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda of the Luanda Agreement of 6 September 2002 and welcomes also the efforts of the Republic of South Africa, Angola, and the Secretary-General, in facilitating the adoption of these agreements." The resolution goes further to express "full support for the TPVM, welcomes its work in helping the parties to implement the Pretoria Agreement, in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the norms of International Law, and stresses the importance of close cooperation between the Government of South Africa and MONUC in the work of the TPVM." It also stressed "the importance of further early and substantial progress on the process of voluntary disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reintegration or resettlement (DDRRR) throughout the country to match the progress achieved on the withdrawal of foreign forces, and urge(d) all parties concerned to cooperate fully with MONUC in this regard." As requested by the UNSC, we will continue to cooperate fully with MONUC, both as the South African Government and Chair of the AU. Of particular importance in this regard is the DDRRR process addressed by the Security Council resolution. Again as our readers know, this DDRRR relates to the Rwandan rebels in the DRC, who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which resulted in the death of more than 800 000 people. Together with the withdrawal of the Rwandan forces from the DRC, which has been achieved, the neutralisation of the Rwanda rebel forces located in the DRC is the other central element of the Pretoria agreement. The accomplishment of this objective will both make a critical contribution to peace within the DRC and address the security concerns of Rwanda. Accordingly, the DDRRR process has major implications for peace in the Great Lakes region as a whole, hence the importance of the December 3 resolution of the Security Council. We should also point out that this resolution "welcomes the commitment of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other Congolese parties to achieve an inclusive agreement on the political transition, stresses the importance of such an agreement to the wider peace process, calls on all Congolese parties to cooperate actively with a view to a speedy conclusion of such an agreement, and in this regard expresses its full support for the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General." Negotiations are continuing in Pretoria between the Congolese parties, including the Government of the DRC, to agree on the inclusive agreement on the political transition mentioned by the UNSC. We must express our appreciation for the seriousness shown by the representatives of the people of the Congo during the period they have been meeting in Pretoria. We continue to hope that they will finalise their negotiations this month. This would create the possibility for the establishment of the transitional government of the DRC next month. There could be no better way for the DRC, the Great Lakes region and Africa as a whole to begin the year 2003, than the installation of this government. The Congolese leaders meeting in Pretoria will have to take very seriously the call of the UNSC for "a speedy conclusion" of the agreement on the transitional government. Both our government and our country are committed to the concept and practice of multi-lateralism. The UN stands at the apex of the multi-lateral system. This puts an obligation on us to respect this institution and its decisions. In addition, it is important that as Africans we make every effort to encourage the UN to support our continent's continuing struggle for peace and stability, in keeping with its duty to address the issue of international peace and security. For us to achieve this objective requires that we both ask the UN to live up to its mandate, and impose the obligation on ourselves to respect its decisions. It is for these that this Letter has drawn attention to the critical role of the UN with regard to the peace processes in the Great Lakes region. This is not intended to underestimate the task we face as Africans to determine our own destiny. We must therefore continue to work hard to find African solutions to African problems. This is an important part of the process of the renewal of our continent. This requires that our actions, and not merely our words, should define what we are and what we want to be. And one of the things we must be determined to do is to assert our dignity as Africans, proud of who we are, and of all the things that make us uniquely African. During the next few days, on 10 December, together with the rest of the international community, we will celebrate International Human Rights Day. This day will also mark the conclusion of the important and highly successful 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women and Children. But on this day, our country will also be involved in an important national ceremony. We will, for the first time, confer the new National Orders on a number of distinguished personalities. As our readers know, these are the Orders of Mapungubwe, the Companions of O.R. Tambo, and the Baobab. Respectively, these Orders recognise and celebrate excellence, international friendship and solidarity, and selfless service to the people of our country. All of them are distinctly African and South African, enabling us fully to identify with and understand the deep meaning of our National Orders and others of our national symbols. On 10 December, for the first time since our liberation in 1994, we will have the possibility to pay tribute to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the realisation of the most sacred dreams of our people, by conferring National Orders on them that are a product of the new South Africa that is in the process of its formation. A creation of our liberation, the new Orders also speak to our duty to ourselves to remain faithful to the aspirations of the masses of our people for freedom, prosperity and happiness. The heroes and heroines, whose contributions to the realisation of these goals will be recognised on 10 December, serve as role models that we should all emulate. The struggles of the peoples of the DRC, Burundi and others within the Great Lakes region to grant themselves the rewards of peace and democracy are about creating the possibility for them to define themselves in the same way that we are working to define ourselves, united in our diversity. They, too, will have occasion to celebrate their heroes and heroines, in conditions of democracy, peace, national unity and a shared patriotism. We must count ourselves as fortunate that, despite the infancy of our democracy, we have the possibility to proclaim to ourselves that, regardless of our problems, we are proud and privileged to be South African and African. Thabo Mbeki --------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY First year of Letsema draws to a close As the world celebrates International Volunteer Day this week, on 5 December, the first year of the ANC's Letsema Campaign of voluntary work is drawing to a close. In January this year, on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, the ANC declared 2002 the 'Year of the Volunteer for Reconstruction and Development'. This message was given practical expression in the Letsema Campaign, in which communities across South Africa engaged in voluntary work aimed at building a better life for all South Africans. While local efforts continued throughout the year in a number of sectors, each month was given a particular national focus. January was education month, where volunteers went into the schools to improve the physical environment and provide assistance to the teaching process. There were focus months dedicate to health, in which volunteers provided services to hospitals and clinics; safety and security, where volunteers worked with the police to make communities safer; and human rights, where volunteers assisted in improving the efficiency and capacity of the justice system. Other volunteer work focused on the environment, the rights of children, and the position of women in society. While the impact of these efforts was varied across the country and throughout the year, the Letsema Campaign has firmly established the spirit and practice of volunteerism as a key factor for development in South Africa. The challenge in the coming year is to make Letsema a growing and permanent feature of the South African society. These efforts coincide with renewed efforts in Africa and across the world to realise through action the massive potential of volunteerism to help improve the lives and living conditions of all people. In his International Volunteer Day message, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "Over the past several years, volunteerism has emerged as an increasingly potent unifying force. Volunteers from all walks of life are playing a significant role in the development process. Volunteering is providing a much-needed vehicle for people to participate in the lives of their societies, especially vulnerable and marginalised groups such as elderly persons or people with disabilities. On this, International Volunteer Day, I encourage everyone to join together as volunteers in support of human progress and well-being." Volunteer South Africa, a government initiative to encourage volunteerism, celebrated International Volunteer Day by launching the Volunteer Vision for Africa Conference Report, which provides a blueprint for the coordination and facilitation of the volunteering sector in South Africa and our region. South Africans have a proud heritage of voluntarism in our communities. Volunteers are deployed in huge volunteer programmes run by NGOs, but the spirit of volunteering is also reflected in the unseen efforts of ordinary people doing the most extraordinary caring acts in their local communities. In a message from Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya on the occasion of International Volunteer Day, he said South Africa and Africa confronted by old and fresh challenges such as HIV/AIDS, poverty and social injustice. "We are again reminded that the volunteer has a central role to play in the sustainable development of our people's and continent. This is even more imperative coming up against the backdrop of the historic World Summit for Sustainable Development held in our country recently. Sustainable development can only take place if it is rooted amongst the people themselves, so that it is driven and directed by them." He said the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) requires Africans to do it for themselves: "In doing it for ourselves, we must individually and collectively commit as the human race to contribute, without seeking personal reward, towards making a world fit for all, especially our children." MORE INFORMATION: Message of Social Development Minister, 5 December 2002 http://www.welfare.gov.za/Statements/2002/December/supp.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT THE MEDIA SAYS: 'ANC members should defy their organisation' In a front page article on 1 December, the Sunday Times newspaper reported, under the headline 'ANC sets out to crush dissidents', that the organisation was rewriting its constitution "to turn the screws on its left-wing critics". "The ANC wants to amend its constitution to crack down on dissent and rein in members who speak out against the policies of the ruling party," it said. "This is being seen as a further move by the ANC leadership to turn the screws on its left-leaning alliance partners, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party," the report said. While the report makes a number of sensational claims about the proposed amendments, it fails to mention a number of important facts. Firstly, the report fails to mention that the amendment of the ANC Constitution is part of the normal business of National Conference. They are not a response to a specific situation. The proposed amendments are the product of submissions to the Constitutional Amendments Task Team from branches and provinces. Secondly, the report ignores the fact that the Constitution of the ANC is applicable only to members and structures of the ANC. It does not apply to the structures of Cosatu or the South African Communist Party. Thirdly, the amendments mentioned are consistent with the organisational discipline required of people who voluntarily join a movement like the ANC. There is little value in having vigorous internal debate and democratic processes of decision-making, if the members are not obliged to abide by the decisions of the collective. Lastly, and most significantly, there is nothing substantively new about the proposed amendments. All the proposed clauses mentioned are already contained within the existing Constitution - and have been there for the last five years. The amendments are simply part of clarifying existing clauses or moving them to a more appropriate place in the Constitution. Take one example mentioned in the Sunday Times report: "All members, without exception, must abide by the constitution of the ANC, and the rules and regulations, the standing orders and codes of conduct . . . as well as all policies and decisions properly adopted or made in terms of the constitution." The ANC Constitution adopted in Mafikeng in 1997, which has been in place for five years, includes a solemn declaration which all members should make on joining the organisation. All members are required to pledge that: ".I will abide by the aims and objectives set out in the Constitution, the Freedom Charter and other duly adopted policy positions.that I agree to respect the Constitution and the structures and to work as a loyal member of the organisation.and that I will defend the unity and integrity of the organisation and its principles, and combat any tendency towards disruption and factionalism." It further says an ANC member shall "observe discipline, behave honestly and carry out loyally decisions of the majority and decisions of higher bodies". This latter clause has in fact been in the ANC Constitution since at least 1958, almost half a century. The Sunday Times reports that the proposed amendments, have "also tightened up a clause that prohibits a member from standing in a local, provincial or national election in opposition to a candidate 'duly endorsed' by the party's national or provincial executive." In its substance, this clause is again nothing new. The 1997 Constitution says any ANC member who stands in an election for local, provincial or national government, or who campaigns against an ANC candidate, "shall be ineligible to be or remain a member". Why then, it needs to be asked, is a prominent South African newspaper making sensational claims about constitutional amendments which do not add anything new of substance to the ANC constitution, and are perfectly consistent with the tradition of internal democracy and discipline that has existed in the ANC for many decades? What evidence does the newspaper present to support its claims that these amendments have anything to do with a clamp down on "dissidents" or on the Alliance partners of the ANC? While the report says the amendments are "being seen as a further move.to turn the screws" on Cosatu and the SACP, it does not say by whom they are being seen. By the journalist? By credible political analysts? By the general public? And what evidence is there for this view? Essentially, there is nothing to suggest that there is anything more to these amendments than an effort to promote organisational discipline and internal democracy within the ANC. And the lack of evidence to the contrary suggests that the media in question intends simply to portray the ANC as intolerant of different views. The language of the article - "crack down", "turn the screws" - conjures up images of narrow-minded authoritarianism. The reality is very different. Of all political organisations in South Africa, the ANC is probably the one with the most extensive and thorough processes of internal debate and democratic decision-making. Few organisations can match the level of consultation, discussion and consensus-seeking that is found in the ANC. For the ANC, the achievement of greater levels of political debate and consultation within the movement is an ongoing effort, and there is always room for improvement. Implicit in the article is the suggestion that members of the ANC should break the pledge they made when they joined the organisation, by defying the decisions of the movement, by standing against candidates of the movement, and by abandoning the discipline that has enabled the movement to remain united and effective over many decades. It is a call for ANC members to destroy the organisation. This will not happen. Members of the ANC will continue to debate vigorously and openly within the structures of the organisation, to reach decisions through democratic processes, and to implement those decisions in a disciplined manner. MORE INFORMATION: Proposed Constitutional Amendments, November 2002 http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/conf/conference51/update4.html ANC Constitutions, 1912-1997 http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/const/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2002/at49.htm To receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html To unsubscribe yourself from the ANC Today mailing list go to: http://mail.anc.org.za/mailman/listinfo/anctoday