Hot off President Cyril Ramaphosa’s criticism of the DA’s advertisement depicting a burning South African flag, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa is reportedly considering legal action against the party.
Since airing its advert on Sunday in which the country’s flag can be seen burning with a warning about the dismal future that awaits South Africa in the wake of an ANC, EFF and Zuma coalition, the DA has faced a myriad of mixed reactions, many of which have criticised the lack of respect for the national flag.
Despite receiving backlash from social media users, and other prominent figures including the chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University, advocate Thuli Madonsela, the DA has continued to defend its advert, explaining that the ‘burning’ of the flag was not an encouragement but merely a symbolic representation.
Speaking during a recent interview, however, Ramaphosa described the DA’s actions as ‘despicable and treasonous’, especially given that the flag represented a symbol of the country’s union and existence as a nation.
“I think it is treasonous, because anybody, particularly an organisation that does something like that for political expediency, should really be ashamed of themselves as it is the most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon, particularly when they are campaigning for votes.
“That would mean you are voting now for a party that wants to destroy South Africa, that wants to destroy the symbol that unites all of us, so what would you be voting for? People died for the flag of the nation and people rallied behind it; so it is about us, so they are destroying the identity and unity we all have,” Ramaphosa remarked.
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, however, may take things further as the department announced earlier that Minister Kodwa had instructed the acting director-general, advisors and the legal unit of the department to urgently advise him on the recourse the government can take when national symbols were denigrated and desecrated.
According to the department, the minister condemned in the strongest terms the burning of the national flag, an action which he regarded as ‘abhorrent and unpatriotic’.
“The desecration of national symbols should not be part of election campaigning and should not be tolerated in any instance. We are taking steps to ensure that there are consequences for such actions. It is our duty to ensure the protection of our national symbols which are a product of our hard-earned democracy.”
The Star