THE South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) has called on the Nobel Peace Prize Committee (NPP) to withdraw the award presented to former state president FW de Klerk.

This is because of De Klerk’s apparent criticism of government’s Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) policies and affirmative action policies aimed at redressing apartheid injustices at the launch of his Centre for Unity in Diversity.

“His scandalous crusade to insulate beneficiaries of racism and apartheid policies at the expense of millions of victims that have endured decades of atrocious human rights violation as well as deprivation that has robbed them of their dignity will characterise his divisive leadership and legacy‚” Sanco national spokesperson Jabu Mahlangu said on Saturday.

Mahlangu reiterated Sanco’s earlier criticism of De Klerk’s “myopic view on race relations” in the country and what it referred to as his failure to make a contribution towards entrenching nation-building‚ reconciliation and social cohesion.

He charged that De Klerk’s recent statement on the subject had exposed the Nobel peace laureate as a relic of apartheid as well as a “charlatan who is longing for pigmentocracy”.

Slamming De Klerk’s assertion that many whites would be forced to leave the country as the BBBEE noose tightened and they were unable to find jobs‚ Mahlangu said: “Poverty‚ unemployment and inequality are not the preserve and heritage of blacks. In an integrated economy‚ whites like all other citizens the world over have to share opportunities‚ land‚ jobs and wealth with their compatriots.”

Mahlangu maintained that the country’s constitution and other pieces of legislation were enough to protect minorities against discrimination.

“In a globalised economy‚ there is nothing wrong when those with portable skills and qualifications seek opportunities that our country cannot offer them elsewhere‚” he said.

De Klerk was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in1993 along with the late struggle icon and country’s first democratic president‚ Nelson Mandela‚ for his role in ending apartheid.

TMG Digital