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The ANC Caster Semenya Support Task Team has requested an urgent meeting
with the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to express
our outrage in the manner in which IAAF has handled the Caster Semenya
matter and furthermore, to find an amicable solution to this matter and thus
its closure.

During the meeting the ANC will advise the IAAF to publicly and
unconditionally apologise to Caster Semenya and her family, to the South
African President, the honourable Jacob Zuma and the entire nation for the
violation of Caster's rights, the humiliation, injustice and pain she
continues to suffer. The mishandling of her gender verification processes
and its aftermath, also affected the country and indeed, the entire
leadership of the country, negatively.

The Task Team will also advise the IAAF to declare the gender verification
tests results conducted both in South Africa and Berlin null and void.
These tests were not conducted in keeping with their own stated gender
verification policies and rules.

We will also make the point to the IAAF that Caster Semenya is an
exceptional woman athlete and a world champ.

The meeting with IAAF came as a result of consultations the task team has
held with different stakeholders to establish concrete information on the
occurrence prior and post the Berlin Olympics.

These consultations included Caster's parents, the government of South
Africa, the University of Pretoria, Caster's Coach, Students leadership,
particularly the South African Student Organisation (SASCO), Civil Society,
Athletics South Africa and Artists to establish facts and their take on the
matter and further seek their support for this initiative.

Through these consultations, we now understand and appreciate the extent and
the magnitude of this matter as it unfolded prior and post Berlin.

Upon completion of these consultations, we came to a conclusion that we
should meet the IAAF Executive prior to their President's visit to South
Africa.

We still await the date, venue and time for the meeting.

The Task Team is also pleased with progress in the articulation of a
celebratory programme for Caster Semenya, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi - the Men's 800m
gold medallist- and Kgotso Mokoena - the silver medallist in the men's long
jump. We should be able to launch such a programme in the next two weeks.

The task team would like to take this opportunity to thank all South
Africans who responded positively to the call by the ANC in taking up the
Caster Semenya Support Campaign. The task team got positive and encouraging
feedback, pledges and commitments by individuals and institutions to support
the campaign. We furthermore, call upon those who have not as yet embraced
the campaign to do so either by calling, faxing or e-mailing the task team
office at:

Tel (011) 376 1052
Fax: 0866581053
Email: supportcaster@anc.org.za