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The FW De Klerk Foundation strongly condemns recent remarks made by Dr Piet Croukamp of the University of Johannesburg in an article in Rapport on 13 May, 2012 ("Safarina Luthuli").

The ANC recently invited interested parties from the Afrikaans language community to a high-level discussion event. The invitation was specific in that minorities in South Africa should be more than only merely a critical voice. They should be a pro-active voice for the promotion of mutual interests and a national consensus. The purpose of the discussion was to prevent alienation within the civil society segment and in the political and economic dispensation. The expectation was that this gathering would have led to meaningful dialogue in the national interest and facilitated cooperation between the ANC and Afrikaans speaking interest groups.

Dr Croucamp facilitated the conversation and expressed himself as follows in the quoted article: "My political instinct has an aversion to Afrikaner politics and I made it clear from the outset that the term Afrikaner is ideologically charged. I think people who describe themselves as Afrikaners do not feel themselves as part of South Africa and their objectives do not correspond with the Constitution of the country. As far as I'm concerned, Afrikaners are virtually by definition - with rare exceptions - intolerant and probably also racists. I am convinced that being Afrikaans is as obsolete as a smoke signal and that South Africa would be better served without Afrikaners, just as the country would be better off without Julius Malema."

On the other hand, according to Croukamp, the term "Afrikaans speaking" includes diverse identities and presupposes no ideological consensus or even necessarily any political autogenous grouping. Croukamp is also of the opinion that people who identify themselves as "Afrikaans speaking" South Africans, are predominantly loyal to South Africa, trust in the Constitution and don't really care which colour or race the government or state is, as long as it governs in a good an