20100330
SABC

The African National Congress (ANC) says there is no connection between the singing of the struggle song ‘Shoot the Boer’ and farm killings. The party says no one has ever produced evidence of such a correlation. Last Friday, the South Gauteng High Court ruled that the use of the song was unconstitutional and unlawful. The ANC is to appeal the decision.

ANC Secretary-General, Gwede Mantashe says: "The misinterpretation of the song in the first instance was itself intended to incite fighting communities. Because a Boer, Ibhunu is not a farmer, now to give it a simple interpretation that it says kill the farmer, that wrong interpretation is in itself intended to incite. And therefore we cannot deal with the question of farm killings as a response to incitement which is given a wrong interpretation to a song."

Meanwhile, the ANC Youth League has called for a wider national debate on how South Africans celebrate their history. This was in response to the court ruling. Acting Judge Leon Halgryn said any person found in violation of the court order could face charges of incitement to murder.

The Youth League's spokesperson Magdalene Moonsamy says such songs still have a place in the country. The youth league also said it will rally behind the ANC in its bid to appeal the ruling.