Johannesburg - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has condemned violent and racist attacks that have taken place across the country’s universities.
The federation labelled the violence as early signs of a “neo-Nazi phenomenon” which needs to be crushed and defeated.
These statements follow racial clashes that have taken place at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the University of Pretoria (UP) this week.
Cosatu spokesman Sizwe Pamla said, in a statement, that they plan to fight racism regardless of who is behind the racial tensions.
“There is no corner of South Africa that should be treated as a white enclave, where apartheid racial policies still thrive,” said Pamla.
He said the racial attacks can be blamed on the slow pace of transformation of higher education, ineffective land reform process and failure of economic control patterns.
Pamla labelled UFS vice-chancellor Professor Jonathan Jansen a hypocrite for failing to deal with racial issues within his university, whilst he remained critical of government’s performance.
“Vice-chancellors are all talk and no action and they have been exposed by the student protests. They have barricaded themselves behind police security walls and are not behaving like people in charge of fountains of knowledge, but are like securocrats running concentration camps,” said Pamla.
The federation has called on all its structures to work with the South African Students Congress in higher learning institutions to intensify students’ struggles.
“We shall not watch idly as our children are attacked by racists and we shall share the trenches of struggle with them,” Palma added.
Cosatu said it plans to convene meetings with affected universities.
Labour Bureau
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