It is not the role of the courts to be the arbiters of the ANC's history, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday.
He was speaking in the National Assembly in response to a member's statement on the court ruling which banned the singing of the struggle song "dubhula ibhunu" (shoot the boer).
The African National Congress, along with its youth league, have said they will appeal against the judgment.
Nzimande said while the ANC was committed to national reconciliation and building national unity, it would not allow its history to be re-written and the heroic struggles of its people to be rubbished.
"We do not believe it is the role of the courts to be the arbiters of our own history... for that history to be wiped out is completely unacceptable to us."
This was why there would be an appeal against the judgment.
"Not out of disrespect for the courts, but to actually say the courts must not be the arbitrators of our own heroic struggles against apartheid."
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