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3 July 2008

President Thabo Mbeki, on behalf of the South African nation, apologised to the victims of the violent attacks in May on South Africans and other Africans.

"On behalf of our people and Government I humbly convey to our people, our foreign guests, all Africa and the peoples of the world, our apology that we allowed criminals in our midst to inflict terrible pain and damage to many in our society, including and particular our foreign guests," said President Mbeki.

"We are meeting here today to pledge that we will do everything necessary to ensure that as Africans, regardless of our geographic origins, we will once more live together as Africans, at peace with one another, refusing to impose on ourselves a new apartheid order," was the declaration of President Thabo Mbeki in a packed City Hall in the capital city, this afternoon.

South Africans and foreign nationals gathered together today in Tshwane, to pay tribute to the people who lost their lives in the recent spate of nationwide attacks on foreigners and South Africans.

In an ardent display of solidarity the tribute brought together prominent religious leaders, politicians, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, members of civil society and labour, as well as families of the victims. Since the outbreak of attacks, 62 people have been reported dead, 21 of who have been confirmed as being South African.

Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula thanked those individuals, religious groups and NGOs who provided much-needed humanitarian support at the height of the emergency. He also commended the majority of South Africans who expressed their outrage at the perpetrators of these attacks, saying that their disassociation from them clearly indicated that South Africans indeed shared and believed in the values upon which our democracy is based.

Minister Nqakula also spoke of the Bill of Rights, and reminded the gathering that these values we espouse apply to all people – and not just South Africans. The attacks saw 43 288 people displaced throughout the country, as they fled their homes, neighbourhoods and businesses in fear of their lives. Since then however, the vast majority of displaced people have voluntarily returned to their homes. Now, some 9 000 people remain in the tented temporary shelters provided by Government.

In his address, the President warned that "none in our society has any right to encourage or incite xenophobia by trying to explain naked criminal activity by cloaking it in the garb of xenophobia." Investigations into the attacks reveal that violence was driven predominantly by criminal elements. Since the outburst, 1 433 arrests have been made.

Ordinary South Africans such as the a young man named Thabiso Moropodi from Thokoza, in Ekurhuleni and Pastor Patrick Diba from Masiphumele in the Western Cape condemned the incidents and committed themselves, as South Africans, to stem crime in whatever form.

"We must not only apologise but we must go back to the temporary camps and invite them back to our communities," said Pastor Diba addressing the gathering. Citing the successes his community has experienced in reintegrating foreign nationals, the Pastor also stressed the importance for communities to establish security networks, thereby offering protection to fearful foreign nationals.

President Mbeki emphatically re-stated that South Africa continued to embrace the spirit of Ubuntu. He also reiterated South Africa's commitment to the "pursuit of the goal of the regeneration of Africa and the African Diaspora, based on the unshakeable understanding that we are to one another, as Africans, brothers and sisters."

Issued by: The Presidency
3 July 2008
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za)
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