29 March 2001
Oudsthoorn, 29 March 2001
The Premier of the Western Cape
Paramount Chief Lefleur II and other traditional leaders present
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am proud to be here this evening to witness a defining moment in the history of our country in general, and that of the Khoisan people in particular - the first indigenous people of our country.
Fellow compatriots, you are meeting against the background of an agreed understanding that a lot of our recorded history has been distorted and manipulated for a variety of reasons, by people who, to a large extent, sought to hide grave crimes committed against the indigenous people.
This consultative conference stands as testament to the fact that we, as a nation, are successfully moving away from the darkness of the past into the brightness of the future. It is a future that seeks to achieve a living African Renaissance, where the dignity of all our citizens is respected, and where all communities are free to explore, explain, reflect and rejoice, in that which makes them unique.
This conference is also a powerful demonstration of the enduring strength of the Khoisan people. It was, after all, the Khoi-Khoi in the Cape who waged the first wars of resistance against the colonial onslaught of the seventeenth Century. It is of historical significance that the descendants of those who were cruelly victimised, repressed, exploited, driven from their homes and suffered worse injustices and inhuman treatment, are today joining together to participate in building a better and stronger South African nation.
Chairperson, I see the convening of this conference as a significant contribution to that effort of redefining ourselves within the context of a democratic South Africa, wherein we promote our unity in diversity, and become proud of what we are made of as a nation.
Indeed, the role that the Khoisan people have played in the history of this country cannot be underestimated. The history of the struggle against colonialism cannot be complete until we record the stories of heroes such as Khoisan leader Autshumato, the first political prisoner on Robben Island and the only man to escape from the island and survive.
We are also moved by the tale of the chief of the San who chose to take his own life rather than surrender himself to the Voortrekkers. So great was this leader's commitment to his people that he chose to die rather than surrender. These are the kinds of stories that still need to be recorded in our history books, so that future generations can know the kinds of heroes who once walked this land. Our President Thabo Mbeki and former President Nelson Mandela frequently remind us of this rich warrior tradition and selflessness.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all making history today. In years to come, this conference will be seen as a watershed for several reasons.
The organisers of this conference and the leaders of the groups that are represented here have realised that there is value in Khoisan heritage beyond land claims and tourism.
Acknowledging where you came from - as did the descendants of slaves in the United States forty years ago - is empowering because it gives you the choice to decide where to place yourself in the broader South African society. Ladies and gentlemen, as Government, we will continue doing all we can to ensure that the struggle of the Khoisan people for better life bears fruition.
The changes that began with the first democratic elections in 1994 have provided opportunities unheard of twenty years ago.
Foremost in facilitating this change has been our new Constitution and Bill of Rights which specifically prescribes that people belonging to cultural, religious and linguistic communities have the right to enjoy their culture, practise their religion and use their language.
Section 185 of the constitution provides for a Commission for the promotion and protection of the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, land has been one of the most urgent issues. Many Khoisan people have applied collectively for the restitution of land taken from them since 1913 in the days of apartheid. Some, like the Khomani and Griquas in the Northern Cape, and the people of Bethany in the Free State, have been successful and are working together with the Department of Land Affairs to resettle and develop the land. Others are still waiting for their claims to be investigated. When their claims are verified these matters will be addressed.
It is not only the ownership of land that is an issue, but also access to it. There are many Khoisan heritage places on private land, including graves, rock paintings, rock engravings and sites of historical events. The new National Heritage Resources Act, which came into operation a year ago, protects them all and landowners are under obligation to protect these sites as well.
Because of these obligations, landowners may sometimes seem over-protective by limiting access. If bona fide Khoisan groups have difficulty in visiting particular places of significance to them, they should request the South African Heritage Resources Agency to facilitate a meeting with the landowner. As government, we will help to ensure that all parties co-operate in this regard.
Legitimate requests for access can be handled at a provincial and national level, but these are more difficult at international level.
As you will be aware, for the past seven years Professor Phillip Tobias has been engaged with Professor Henry Lumley, the former Director of the National Museum of Human and Natural Sciences in Paris, France at the level of academic-to-academic on behalf of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science, and Technology (DACST) about the return of the remains of Sarah Baartman from France.
Others who have also been involved in the negotiating process include various representatives of DACST, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of France in South Africa, the Embassy of South Africa in France, and other officers of the Museum of Natural History. The process has been concluded from an academic-to-government level. A progress report will be provided to the conference tomorrow.
Locally, lobbying the Khoisan groups has been successful in persuading Iziko Museums of Cape Town to close the exhibition of casts of San people displayed in a museum largely devoted to natural history. As from next month, the glass will be covered and the display will no longer be visible.
This provides an opportunity for Khoisan people to engage meaningfully with the museum and other sectors of the public to find a solution to this matter that has troubled them for decades. Again, it is important to note that the coming into being of freedom and democracy in our country has made it possible for these matters to be addressed.
Khoisan people should also take the initiative collectively to enter into discussion with museums, to evaluate their holdings of Khoisan skeletons found accidentally during construction work, or those that have been excavated in the course of archaeological research. A solution on how to properly house the skeletons, must be found, and I am confident that this conference will help to lead the debate beyond anger and criticism.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, DACST is very much aware of the value of cultural capital, including intellectual property rights, and the way these can be used in developing cultural tourism through arts and craft and providing jobs and opportunities even in rural areas.
The Khoisan Legacy Project, launched through the South African Heritage Resources Agency in 2000, has enormous potential. Khoisan representatives agreed at a meeting in Kimberley in December last year that the legacy of the Khoisan would be best celebrated through the establishment of a National Khoisan Heritage Route.
A series of meetings will be held during this year to enable Khoisan representatives to decide which sites should be placed on this route and how it will be developed and promoted.
In addition to this, poverty alleviation projects sponsored by both DACST and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have also been directed towards boosting Khoisan communities. The Institute for Historical Research at the University of the Western Cape has been commissioned by DACST to do a study of the feasibility of establishing multi-purpose community centres in rural Khoisan communities. The final report, due at the end of April, will recommend where such centres could be placed and funding will be available for their development.
Although individual centres may not generate large numbers of jobs, they will create additional interest in Khoisan identity and help further to promote pride in Khoisan culture and heritage. This would dovetail well with the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development programme, whose main aim is to bring about a radical change in the quality of life of the rural population.
The project of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, on the other hand, has engaged the Rock Aret Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand to develop four rock art sites for tourism.
Three of these are in the vicinity of Kimberley, and one is on Platfontein, the property owned by the !Xu and the Khwe who are due to move there from Schmidtsdrift over the next few years. The fourth site is in the Drakensberg uKhahlamba Park that was recently placed on the World Heritage List.
The last initiative that I would like to mention this evening concerns language. The /Xam language could be described as South Africa's Latin. Although it is no longer spoken, its clicks and vocabulary influenced the earliest Nguni immigrants 2000 years ago in much the same way as Latin influenced many European languages.
The /Xam language records, written down for the first time in the 1870s, are so important that they have been listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Project. These records are the only African manuscript collection on this list that relates to indigenous African people.
The motto on our new coat of arms translates 'unity in diversity' into /Xam as 'people who are different join together.', or ike e:/xarra//ke. (In isiZulu orthography, it reads as qke e: charra xke.).
Ladies and gentlemen, as Government, we recognised the importance of preserving the language and culture of the Khoisan people so much that we worked hard to have it permanently displayed in the coat of arms. It is a symbol of unity, as well as the new nationhood we are building in South Africa.
I would like to issue a challenge to those of you who speak a Khoisan language - whether it be Nama, !Xu or Khwe - to make sure that it, too, is written down so that it lives right through centuries to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, the struggle of the Khoisan people over centuries during the wars of dispossession and conquest has been a source of inspiration to many freedom fighters in this country.
You have been a shining example and have displayed an unprecedented commitment and determination to defend your rights, your land, freedom, dignity, culture and all that make a people. Your gathering here is a continuation of that resilience, and I would like to assure you that you have our full support.
I wish you well in your deliberations and we look forward to a meaningful outcome.
I thank you.