Here is the full text of the statement released by Helen Zille’s office on the ANC’s reaction to the planned DA march in Johannesburg:
The DA has received a letter from the ANC's legal team seeking assurances that the DA will conduct itself peacefully at tomorrow's March for REAL Jobs.
This is deeply ironic considering the consistent threats of violence from the ANC ever since we announced our intention to conduct a lawful and peaceful march.
For example, the ANCYL recently declared that: “(The DA) march to COSATU house provoked members of COSATU and became violent in 2012, that march and its aftermath was nothing compared to what our members can do.”
Jackson Mthembu is on record saying: “What happens if our members come to protect Chief Albert Luthuli House? We should remind them (the DA) what happened when they marched somewhere (Cosatu House).”
Just today, the ANC in Gauteng called on all ANC members to meet the DA's march. The ANC has not applied for permission to gather tomorrow, and any such gathering will be illegal.
The DA has stated over and over again that we will march peacefully tomorrow and uphold the rule of law.
Any security precautions we are taking are defensive, not offensive. These precautions are based on a responsible assessment of the risk to our own members and activists. We are all too mindful of the inability of the SAPS and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department to protect our members, as demonstrated in our march to Cosatu House in 2012.
This is obviously a last ditch attempt by the ANC to stop the march. It is afraid that the DA will show how it has failed unemployed South Africans and that it has no credible plan to create real and sustainable jobs.