APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday urged his compatriots to rekindle the fire of active citizenry as demonstrated by the defunct United Democratic Front (UDF) during the country’s fight against apartheid.
Ramaphosa was speaking during the 40th anniversary celebrations of the UDF at the Johannesburg City Hall which was attended by veterans of the citizens movement which played a critical role in the campaign to end white minority rule in the country.
The president, however, said he was disappointed at the state of the country’s political landscape, saying that a non-racial society seemed elusive in South Africa as led by the UDF movement.
He noted that many people in the country today were vocal about their unease “at the gulf between the values that guided the liberation struggle and the country that we live in today.”
“Many in our country are disappointed that the non-racialism and the unity embodied by the UDF have been lost,” Ramaphosa said.
He paid tribute to the UDF for the role it played in the struggle for liberation in the country.
“We honour you all for your bravery, for your foresightedness, for your integrity, and for your loyalty to the people of our country,” the president said.
The anti-apartheid civic movement was formed by people from all walks of life in 1983 and was disbanded in 1991 after the unbanning of the African National Congress, South African Communist Party and the Pan-African Congress, among others.
Former UDF secretary general Popo Molefe said that communities needed to protect the hard-won democracy from those trying to destroy it.
NM/jn/APA