Issued by: Office of the President
The Office of the President has noted a report in The Cape Times of 24 September 1997 in which a spokesperson of the President's Office is supposed to have answered to the question:
What would you tell the families of the victims?," (referring to the Cape Flats violence)
by saying:
"I don't want to engage the President in such sentimental talks."
The remark is quoted out of context and relates to a conversation and other questions about which no report was done.
The President's Office regrets the impression created and would like to express President Mandela's extreme distress at the loss of life, limb and property on the Cape Flats, and elsewhere in the country.
The President would also like to reiterate his call for communities to exercise vigilance and co-operate with the police and the units of the Army that have been deployed in the area, in order to ensure their effectiveness in dealing with this scourge.
Issued by The Office of the President 25 September 1997
For further information: Parks Mankahlana 082 553 4569