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The ANC Veterans League is shocked and dismayed at the vulgar display of thuggery by EFF members of Parliament on Thursday, July 11-2019 , during the budget presentation by minister Pravin Gordhan.

While the country has become used to EFF rowdiness in the chambers of Parliament over the years, the crude attempt at intimidating a cabinet minister in Parliament marks a step-change in the EFF’s long-standing war on constitutional democracy. The EFF now stands thoroughly exposed as a party that has embraced far right wing   principles and methods to attack the democratic doctrines that masses of our people fought and died for.

The EFF is indistinguishable from the violent Far-right movements sweeping across the world, replete with phoney militarism and racial hate as its key organising principle, reminiscent of the late and unlamented AWB. Any pretence at being an organised force of the left is now in tatters.

The behaviour of the EFF is emblematic of the paucity of intellectual and political gravitas in the ranks of the EFF. The gross narcissism and venality characteristic of its public ‘representatives’ is embodied in the self-regarding personality cult of its leaders, who clearly directed this cynical and contemptable assault in Parliament.

Left unchallenged, the Red Shirts may well turn into the Black shirts who brought war and misery to Europe and much of the world.

The ANC Veterans League condemns the behaviour of EFF unruly   elements who have disgraced the people’s parliament and if not stopped on their tracks this will definitely undermine the authority and stature our parliament.

Comrade Pravin Gordhan is an ANC veteran and a champion in the fight against State Capture, for which the ANC Veterans League salutes him. He and other brave comrades have exposed and fought the rot that has infested the democratic state, including the theft by the EFF’s top leaders of pensioners money held by VBS Mutual Bank.

As veterans and stalwarts of the movement who stood up to the agents of state capture even within the ranks of the ANC, the EFF’s alleged corrupt leaders and fellow travellers are put on notice that Comrade Pravin and other ANC leaders enjoy the full support and protection of the Veterans League as they pursue the criminals and political fraudsters  in the ranks of the EFF and elsewhere.

The ANC VL calls on the Secretary General of the ANC to publicly and emphatically denounce this attack on Comrade Pravin Gordhan and assure him of the unqualified support of the movement.

Moreover, the SG should urgently direct the ANC Parliamentary Caucus to invoke Parliament’s most stringent rules of sanction against the EFF for this violation.

The  EFF ‘s  disruptive and despicable behaviour should not be allowed to continue as it undermines our values  and is a threat to our hard earned constitutional democracy.

Issued by ANC Veterans League