20100410
ALLAFRICA

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has described as "regrettable and unacceptable" the behaviour of Julius Malema, his party's youth leader, who this week verbally abused a BBC reporter, calling him a "bastard" and a "bloody agent."

In a statement released at a news conference held in Durban Saturday, Zuma also emphasised that a court order banning the singing of a liberation movement song referring to "shoot the Boer" needed to be respected, but insisted on the right of the ruling African National Congress to support an appeal against the order.

And referring to reports of heightened racial tensions this week, he said: "We should not be dismissive of such concerns, and should be prepared to engage in dialogue to address them. But we must acknowledge that South Africans remain united in their support for the Constitution, the values it enshrines, and the democratic institutions it has established."