Four standout moments from the Black Lives Matter debate in parliament

Issues around the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement sparked a fiery debate among political parties in parliament on Tuesday when the National Assembly opened its third- term programme, hosting political parties to debate about the issue.

Led by EFF  deputy president Floyd Shivambu, the debate was under the theme “Solidarity with Black Lives Matter — Reinforcing the commitment of all South Africans to confront and defeat individual and institutional racism in our society and everywhere else it exists”. 

Here are four standout moments:

Black people cannot be racist

Shivambu told MPs it was impossible for black people to be racist.

“There is no black person who can be racist because they never, ever think they are superior to any other race. They are despondent about the white supremacist system. Those who speak and work against white supremacy and the nonsense of white privilege are not racist,” said Shivambu.

“Racism is  continued police brutality against black people in many parts of the world. It is the massive inequalities that exist between white and black citizens.”

ACDP does not support the BLM movement

African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader Kenneth Meshoe said his party does not support the movement because it “promotes anarchy and lawlessness in society”.

“As believers who believe in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, we are at odds with the movement's liberal values that reportedly include appeasing the dead through rituals such as libations in their meetings,” said Meshoe.

He condemned sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa for asking SA Rugby to take action against eight rugby players who refused to bend their knees in support of the movement in England.

“Minister Mthethwa is out of order for threatening the eight rugby players who refused to bend their knee in support of Black Lives Matter in England, ignoring the fact that they were wearing jerseys saying 'Rugby Against Racism'. No-one, particularly believers in Christ, should ever be forced to bow their knee before strange gods,” said Meshoe.

BLM movement hijacked for other reasons

DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia said the noble intentions of the movement have been “hijacked” for other reasons.

“While global events of late have refocused attention on race, issues fuelled by events that trigger crises of one kind or another have often been hijacked, aggressively funded and sloganised beyond their noble original purpose and intent,” he said 

“Yes, we must be vigilant but also be alive to the efforts by the ANC and the EFF to echo the documented goals of the international BLM movement to call as a cornerstone of their demands the curtailing of property rights and cutting military budgets in half.

“The defunding of the police, the disbanding of private schools, the abolition of private hospitals, the creation of government-funded sacred sites for black worship and extra tax rebates depending on how black you are. Look it up. It’s there and it’s here. It diminishes the Mandela project,” said Cachalia.

Anti-white agenda 

FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald described the BLM movement as Marxist, saying it “seeks to destroy Western values ​​and is waging an open anti-white campaign”.

He said his party does not support the BLM agenda but is against all forms of racism.

“It is nothing but a Marxist movement and it is any South African's constitutional right to refuse to kneel before an unacceptable ideology. The FF Plus appeals to every person who does not want to bend the knee to take a strong stand on this, and to appeal to the constitution,” said Groenewald.

“The FF Plus is opposed to any form of police brutality or racism. This includes any legislation or institution that uses race as a point of departure.

“The FF Plus will not kneel before anyone to promote any movement, but will only kneel before the Almighty and before no other person or for any other reason and therefore rejects the motion of the EFF on the matter,” he said.