MK veteran gathering is disturbing
'I doubt if any of them were even born yet in 1994 or even played any part in the so-called struggle.'
BILL SMITH writes:
It was disturbing to see 600-odd members of the so-called Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) parading outside Luthuli House in Johannesburg under the guise of protecting the ANC headquarters.
Surely that is considered an illegal gathering?
The Thursday night before the countrywide protests, at a press briefing on TV, the acting commissioner of police stated that any gathering that was not authorised would be declared illegal and the leaders or organisers would be charged.
Well, it so happens that the leader of the MKMVA, Mamba Maphatsoe, was there in person and no charges were brought against him or any other members of the group.
Then these so-called military veterans – I doubt if any of them were even born yet in 1994 or even played any part in the so-called “struggle”. I think a more suitable title for them is the “ANC Nappy Leagues”.
Their leader also stated that the troops deployed were “combat ready”. Well, I have my doubts. They looked more like a bunch of ill-disciplined hooligans – the closest they have ever been to anything related to combat is what they have seen in the movies.
Nelson Mandela said that all members of the liberation movement should be absorbed into the SANDF – if this is in fact the case, is this paramilitary group still allowed to exist?
Is the wearing of a uniform similar to, or resembling that of, the armed forces not also illegal?
World War II military veterans occasionally attend certain functions; they are always neatly dressed in civilian clothes, wearing military medals and the berets or caps of their respective units.
And while on the subject of the MKMVA and its leaders, what have they got to do with politics? Why are they even given a platform to air their views in the media?
