SA Citizens who ‘benefited from apartheid’ speak out against ‘insensitive’ statements

By Azarrah Karim

Concerned citizens who "benefited from apartheid" have taken a stand against recent apartheid-related statements which they have described as “insensitive".

In a statement, supported by various heavyweights, professors, business people, former politicians and journalists, the concerned citizens added their voices to the recent furore.

The group included:

• Emeritus Professor Willie Esterhuyse, member of the Advisory Committee of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation;

• Dawie Jacobs, a former diplomat and ambassador;

• Barend la Grange, COO of South Africa Day;

• Cobys Bester, presenter and journalist; and

• Dr André Bartlett, a Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church.

Former deputy president FW de Klerk caused a national outcry last week over his earlier comments that apartheid was not a crime against humanity.

The group responded to his statement, saying the apartheid system was a crime against humanity. 

The group said it was "appalled by continued insensitive and transparent efforts to avoid admitting outright that apartheid was indeed a crime against humanity”.

It added that as "citizens who have benefited from apartheid", it regretted the suffering that occurred under apartheid.

"We deeply regret the suffering of our fellow citizens under that inhumane and humiliating system and express our sincere apology towards all fellow South Africans.

"We recognise the importance of all efforts to work towards economic restitution through diverse measures. We commit ourselves to overcoming disparities resulting from the legacy of apartheid and note with appreciation the various public-private partnerships and private sector and community initiatives to address backlogs, poverty and inequality."

This article originally appeared on News24

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