Wreaths for Madiba: Pro-Palestine marchers honour Mandela at 10th anniversary of death

A group of 150 international pro-Palestine marchers laid wreaths at the feet of Nelson Mandela’s statue at the Union Buildings yesterday – the 10th anniversary of his death.

At first, police refused to let them into the gardens for chanting “Free Palestine”. Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, led the group of international guests to the statue, where they met Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu, who joined the wreath-laying ceremony.

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A member of the Friends of Palestine, Sello Molefe, said he was there to support Palestine in the fight against “the apartheid that prevailing” in the Gaza Strip.

“As a South African, I am fed up with this kind of behaviour. They are all human beings just like us but they are being killed like flies.” He said the war in Israel brought back the bad taste of apartheid.

“Mandela fought against apartheid and the oppression of people. This reminds us of those days. We know apartheid, we don’t want that.”

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One participant, Fadi Daoud, said they wanted the violation of the Palestinian people to end. He was one of the 150 guests from all over the world invited to the 5th International Forum for Solidarity with Palestine by the Royal House of Mandela for the 10th anniversary of his death.

“Being able to visit South Africa is priceless. We learned about South Africa and Nelson Mandela in school. We all follow the values and the legacy Mandela left,” he said.

Meanwhile, the national director of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). Wendy Kahn, said they had no issue with South Africans’ right to protest, as something enshrined in the constitution.

“The SAJBD also protests from time to time,” she said.

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“What we take great issue with is when these protests are used as platforms to propagate hate, as we have seen regularly in the past weeks, when protests marketed as pro-Palestinian, degenerate into forums to threaten and hate SA Jewry.”

Kahn said at a Cape Town rally on the Sea Point promenade Jewish and Christian people were assaulted.

“We have seen Isis and Hamas flags flying. But today’s march differs in that not only is a Hamas flag flying, but Hamas leadership themselves are leading the march,” she said.

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“Hamas were responsible for starting the current Gaza war by parachuting into Israel to brutally murder 1 200 civilians on 7 October and taking hostages, including women, babies, children and elderly people.”

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said SA should make peace with the fact that pro-Palestine marches were happening in South Africa.

“As long as it doesn’t turn violent or anti-Semitic, we must learn to live with the fact that we live in a democracy,” said Croucamp.

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