The South African Human Rights Commission has welcomed the judgement of the Equality Court after ruling against the public display of an old flag. In a statement, today, the commission urged the country to observe this judgement in the fostering of social cohesion.
It said: “The Commission appreciates the Court’s considered findings. The Commission is therefore deeply disturbed by expressions, mostly via social media, in clear violation of this court judgement, which found the gratuitous display of the Old Flag as hate speech.”
“The Commission calls on all South Africans to observe, respect and uphold the rule of law. The Commission will therefore take all necessary steps to ensure the enforcement of this judgement, in preserving South Africa’s delicate social cohesion and the protection of the freedom, dignity and equality of all within South Africa,” added the commission.
The matter was brought forward by the Commission and Nelson Mandela Foundation Trust, after the AfriForum displayed an old flag during the Black Monday.
The applicants argued that the display of an old flag constitute as hates speech, unfair discrimination and harassment.
However, the Afriforum said it was freedom of speech.
On Wednesday Judge Phineas Mojapelo said the display of the apartheid was a violation of fundamental human rights.
He added that the display of the old flag was oppression over liberation.
He said: “When a new democratic dispensation was forged in 1994, what South Africa needed was a new identity which broke away from the racial past. The current flag was accepted as the united choice of all sections of the nation, without exclusion, through their recognized political leaders.”
“Any gratuitous display of the old flag, besides being racist and discriminatory, demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, to be harmful and incites harm. The gratuitous display of the Old Flag constitutes prohibited hate speech, unfair discrimination and harassment,” said Mojapelo.
