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Julius Malema suspended by South Africa’s ANC
Malema’s suspension also stemmed from his calling the government of neighboring Botswana imperialist, which the ANC sees as an ally.
Few Malema supporters were outside ANC headquarters Thursday. They showed little reaction to the ruling, contrasting with crowds who rioted when the disciplinary hearings against Malema began in August. Demonstrators had burned ANC flags and T-shirts bearing Zuma’s image.
Malema portrayed himself as the political heir of former Youth League leaders like Nelson Mandela. Mandela helped found the league in 1944 and was known then as being more radical than older ANC leaders.
The ANC’s disciplinary committee appeared to take issue with comparisons to Mandela in its ruling Thursday against Malema and five other Youth League leaders, saying some had shown an “arrogance and defiance” that was “a far cry from the manner in which different leaders of the Youth League, over the decades, conducted their affairs.”
Malema still has influential allies within the ANC, including Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Malema’s elders had said they believed he had potential and wanted to groom him for larger roles, but he has repeatedly clashed with the ANC old guard, criticizing them for everything from their accents to their politics.
After an earlier round of disciplinary hearings, the party fined Malema in May, ordering him to apologize for sowing discord and undermining Zuma’s authority. Malema also was handed a two-year suspension that was not immediately imposed. On Thursday, the ANC said that earlier suspension would now take effect, and run concurrently with the new five-year suspension.
Malema had called for nationalization of South Africa’s mines, though that debate was not related to Malema’s disciplinary process. ANC leaders have repeatedly said nationalization is not government policy.
On Wednesday, Moody’s rating agency changed its credit rating outlook from stable to negative for South Africa, citing among the reasons the nationalization debate. Moody’s said the discussion was scaring investors.
In September, Malema lost a suit brought by a white rights group that had accused him of hate speech for repeatedly singing a song some whites find offensive. Malema and others say “Shoot the Boer” is a call to resist oppression. “Boer” means farmer in Afrikaans, and is sometimes used to refer to whites.
Malema and his supporters have continued to sing the song despite the September court order banning it.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
