The Freedom Front Plus resents the struggle song Thina Sizwe Esimnyama (We the black nation).
Pieter Groenewald, leader of the party, has revealed that he wants singing of the song, sung at a recent international choir competition in Pretoria, condemned.
In a statement, Groenewald said his party wrote to Interkultur, organisers of the competition, asking it to condemn singing of the melody in its platform.
The song, one of the oldest struggle songs, laments the dispossession of land of African people by colonisers.
Unisa’s professor Vuyisile Msila wrote in a 2011 paper that to black people, the song was a reminder of life before colonialism
Its lyrics go:
Thina sizwe esimnyama (We the black the nation)
Sikhalelela izwe lethu (We are weeping for our land)
Elathathwa ngabamhlophe (Which was taken away from us by white people)
Mabawuyeke (They should leave it)
Mabawuyek’umhlaba wethu (They should leave our land alone)
The message it carries was exactly what got Groenewald hot under the collar. He decried that lyrics of the song say white people stole land belonging to Africans.
Groenewald said the song was blatantly biased against white people and and stereotypes them.
“In a letter addressed to the representatives of Interkultur South Africa, the FF Plus points out that the lyrics of the song- which states among other things that white people stole the land from the black nation- can contribute to racial polarisation regarding the issue of land in South Africa,” Groenewald said.
“Political statements in the same vein have paved the way for the government’s plan to expropriate land without compensation as it has brought about a climate where white people are blamed for supposedly causing all the problems, including all the ANC’s failures.
“Such statements about land have already resulted in illegal land occupations, an increase in farm attacks and subtle threats made towards landowners who refuse to give up their land.
“When a mass choir sings something like Thina Sizwe at an international competition, it only adds to the racial tension in South Africa.
“It would be irresponsible of Interkultur not to condemn the song’s blatant racial polarisation," he said.
The song has become popular among African youth in recent years. The rendition of the song, sung by EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has scored 222 931 views on YouTube.
Former President Jacob Zuma’s offering of the song at Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 2013 has 312 165 views.