SA govt accuses Pistorius’ dad of promoting racism through ‘no protection to whites’ comment

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Johannesburg, Mar 6: The South African government has dismissed comments made by murder-accused Paralympian Oscar Pistorius’ father stating the government was not willing to protect whites, saying that they were unfounded and may promote racism in the community.

Pistorius’ father, Henke Pistorius had told the media that his family used weapons to defend themselves against crime in South Africa, and that the African National Congress (ANC) government was not willing to protect whites, News24 reports.

Dismissing Pistorius senior’s remarks, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) spokesperson Phumla Williams said that crime has no bearing on race, gender, sexual orientation and religious beliefs and affects everyone, and is a common enemy of the entire society.

Adding that Pistorius’ father is misleading local and international communities and may be responsible for inciting racial violence with his comments, Williams also said that the government has an effective crime prevention, safety and security programme for the protection of every citizen of the country irrespective of race or colour.

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu accused Henke Pistorius of promoting racism through his comments, and said that Pistorius should not have politicized the incident which is still fresh in the minds of the affected families and public.

The Young Communist League (YCL) of South Africa also condemned the comments and said that Pistorius’ remarks were capable of turning public opinion against Oscar Pistorius. (ANI)