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Maroela Media reports that a total of 41 Afrikaans organisations and organisations supporting mother tongue education came together on Monday to express their support for a march to be held on Tuesday, 5 November, against controversial provisions in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act.
They unanimously expressed their opposition to the BELA sections dealing with language and admission policy at schools. Thousands are expected to participate in the protest action. The march will commence at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria at 09:00 and proceed to Freedom Park where memorandums will be handed over to representatives of the various political parties in the government of national unity (GNU) and to government representatives. According to Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann, more than 7,000 people have already registered to participate in the march, but they expect that many more people will turn up to march. He went on to say: “It will possibly be the biggest march by the Afrikaans community since 1994.” The DA leader, John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Freedom Front Plus, Dr Pieter Groenewald, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie, and other government representatives will also attend. Several leaders from traditional communities will also demonstrate their support for mother tongue education. The BELA Act was signed into effect by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 13 September 2024. He put the two contentious clauses dealing with admissions and language policies on ice pending further stakeholder engagements and consultations. According to Hermann and AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel, two of the BELA negotiators, several tough negotiating processes are taking place with various political parties. “The pressure created by the protest action will help a great deal in the negotiations. It must be a show of force,” they pointed out.
- Read the full original of the Afrikaans report in the above regard by Janice du Plessis at Maroela Media