JOHANNESBURG, March 16 (Xinhua) -- An opposition political party leader in South Africa is now facing disciplinary action for praising colonialism on Thursday.
Helen Zille, Premier of Western Cape province who is from the opposition, Democratic Alliance (DA) posted on twitter praising colonialism on Thursday.
In her tweets, Zille said, "For those claiming legacy of colonialism was only negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water."
"Would we have had a transition into specialized health care and medication without colonial influence? Just be honest, please," she noted.
The leader of the DA Mmusi Maimane then referred Zille to the Federal Legal Commission for investigation and reprimand. DA spokesperson Phumzile van Damme distanced the party from the tweets of Zille who is the former leader of the party.
She said, "Colonialism, like Apartheid, was wrong. It oppressed millions of people and violated human rights in a cruel and inhumane way. Colonialism, like Apartheid, is in every single way against our cherished values of freedom, fairness and opportunity for all."
Van Damme said they are committed to redressing the wrongs of the past and building a united South Africa with one destiny.
Another opposition, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) criticized Zille calling her statements racists and anti-blacks. EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi rejected the apology offered by Zille.
"We call on the DA to remove Zille from premiership following these comments as they demonstrate that she has no appreciation for our democratic dispensation. She has proven that she cannot be entrusted with public office, in defense of our Constitution. No one, from a public office of our hard won constitutional democratic state must be allowed to freely express such cold hearted racism," Ndlozi said.
EFF called for the DA to take a decisive stance and prove that they do not condone colonialism by firing Zille. Ndlozi said the statements are not expected of a senior government official like Zille.
" It is a fact that many racist white people sit on dinner tables when black people are not there and express their cold hearted racism, this is what Helen Zille truly is, a cold hearted racist who believes that colonialism, which was crime against the humanity of black people, is not a bad thing," Ndlozi added.
The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (Cosatu) also condemned Zille's statement. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said it is an insult to the black people to glorify and idealize the dark past of this country (colonialism) that left many black people dead or maimed.
"Colonialism was not about civilizing the natives as she seems to suggest but was about subjugating and killing our people and plundering the resources of our continent. This period represented a dark and painful past for black people and these kinds of statements are an insult to many black heroes and heroines, who shed blood to fight colonialism and apartheid." Pamla said.
