Hi Carlos, Catsmug, Barry, etc!
This is my approach to the attorneys of Charl Pretorius for resolution, which was not entertained by his lawyers.
I must point out that whilst Charl apologised profusely on his web site, his attorneys challenged the SAHRC on technicalities relating to my complaint: says something!
For the record, the file is still open with SAHRC to be followed up in the New Year.
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Response to C Pretorius- ‘Hate Speech’
OVERVIEW
1. Mr Pretorius is a seasoned, award-winning, senior journalist (one time editor of the Racing Express); as such, he should be thoroughly au fait with media law, human rights and the legal implications of what he writes that has to be fair, honest and in the public interest.
At the outset, the acid question arises- what is the relevance of such a volley of unmitigated, unprovoked, unrelated ‘hate speech’ in a discussion forum/racing publication on horseracing?
2. As humans, we all tend to err. However, Mr Pretorius continued with venomous comments, the language usage well formulated and articulated, and aimed specifically at blacks; this alone raises questions about his past intentions and now, whether his apology is really bona fide.
3. Considering the support that Mr Pretorius has (mainly from the white sector and advertisers), the suspicion rears that such hatred is not confined to Mr Pretorius alone, but extends deeper into certain corridors of the white, powerful elite. To date, I have not experienced a black journalist (senior or greenhorn cadet) who persistently resorted to such ‘twangled’ demonising of whites in the press. For instance, Zapiro (a white) is being roundly condemned for his cartoon depicting Zuma ready to rape Lady Justice. Now, imagine an African cartoonist portraying the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin (who is condemned by animal rights activists for her reported hunting), as a cowering moose, whilst Barak Obama (the Democratic Presidential hopeful) unzips his trouser and says ‘Sarah! Now, you take my shot!’ Macabre?
What about our sensitivities?
4. To use me to ridicule struggle heroes is a severe travesty and an insensitive insult to the members of families who lost their loved ones; poisoned, braaied, thrown from aeroplanes, off buildings, slipped on steps/soap, blown alive with explosives, hanged, assassinated, etc.; both black and white. Has Mr Pretorius heard of Webster, Biko, Goniwe, Hani, Zondo, Mxenge, Timol, etc?
5. It also seems as if the struggle was the sole preserve of blacks (Africans, Indians and Coloureds), whilst the prerogative to label them as ‘terrorists’ is the domain and right of white journos. Braam Fischer, Joe Slovo, etc are also equal ‘terrorists’ within this dictum, but, whites from the struggle are not also portrayed as terrorists. The assumption also, that having a Muslim name, I am labelled a ‘terrorist’ sustains the images of all Muslims as suicide bombers, etc. Within my family circle, we have Muslims, Christians and Hindus, add to that Indians, Africans and Coloureds, all, mutually respectful.
6. Not only as the eldest in my family, but also a father and grandfather, how do I respond to or explain this humiliating description of myself as a ‘terrorist or bomb planter’? Especially when I decry such violence of killing fellow humans? Yes, I also have a family; amongst them, doctors, lawyers, teachers, pharmacists, actuaries, veterinarians, engineers, etc?
CONSIDERATIONS
1. Considering the above, overtly racist statements made not only against myself, but also Mr RJP Maponya (Order of the Great Baobab) and on blacks and Muslims in general, I can only deliberate on what relates to me. I am mindful that, my decision to proceed can be a precedent, resulting in a concatenation of actions against not only Mr Pretorius, but also others in this elitist dominated horseracing hierarchy and our country.
2. After the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, we needed to know, understand and respect everyone’s religious beliefs, customs, languages, ethnicity and idiosyncrasy. It behoves all responsible editors/journalists in the media to respect this shortcoming and not inflame racial tensions by their writings/utterances; rather, to promote reconciliation and not racial animosity.
3. The absence of Indians and Coloureds from the boards of Phumelela Gaming, Racing Association, the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Racing Trust, etc., and blacks in general, should have raised questions. Is this not ‘apartheid’ style divide and rule? What about the plight of grooms? Not stories for a top horseracing journalist of Mr Pretorius’ ilk to have probed? Scared of ruffling the paymaster’s feathers but not of blacks?
4. The apology by Mr Pretorius is superfluous and makes no reference to the fact that some of the comments he made were published in Sporting Post (a publication wherein he now advertises his website); they were not just on the ABC (africanbettingclan) site only. It could also be interpreted as a manufactured response drafted by a lawyer whereby it is difficult to gauge the extent, if any, of remorse felt by Mr Pretorius and his support structure; especially when viewed against some of his subsequent, recent postings. His main employers, Phumelela Racing and international trainer Mike de Kock (who trains for Muslim Arabs from Dubai), have remained deafeningly silent. So too, typically, does the ‘policeman’ of horseracing, the self-regulatory National Horseracing Authority which professes to protect the ‘integrity’ of the sport… on an issue which reflects upon and insults every black person in this country, in or out of horseracing! Is this not bringing the integrity of the industry into ‘disrepute’ at its most extreme?
5. It becomes fairly apparent that the overall majority of horseracing editors/reporters in this country have no sense of responsibility to our people. Not a single newspaper writer has broached the topic of wholesale exclusion of blacks from within the industry. This inferential fear to publish anything negative about the industry raises the question: is reporting on this industry ‘orchestrated’- a bunch of bullyboys operating their monopoly with total control of their turf? For instance, if only ONE racing reporter raised the very first statement in the press, Mr Pretorius would quite likely have immediately stopped his racist outbursts; they gave him silent endorsement, egged him on and/or turned a blind eye, is what I read into their non-action! Collusion? Conspiracy? Thursday meetings of writers in Rosebank to plot the next racist salvo?
6. Outside of Phumelela’s own horseracing closed-shop media monopoly, the doctored TellyTrack, Computaform and the Racing Express supplement in the Citizen (answerable only to itself, its elite and its journalistic guardians who fall under the radar of headline writers), there is no other public channel for opposing (black) views to be expressed.
7. Therefore, within the wider context of the horrendous racist statements by Mr Pretorius, it becomes obligatory upon the racing bodies (such as Phumelela, NHA, etc) to justify their support of Mr Pretorius (who are even sponsoring adverts on the ‘freeracer’ website) despite the allegations of ‘hate speech’ being reported to them.
During my term on the Gauteng Gambling Board, statements to the effect ‘If you give horses to blacks for racing, they will eat the darn thing!’ and deprecatory comments about Chris Hani, Madiba, Biko, etc were made to my face by some members of the white racing fraternity.
8. In view whereof, the HRC should request Government and relevant bodies, to open an inquiry into the extent of racism within the horseracing industry, and, inter alia, establish an independent Horseracing Board / Commission with quasi-judicial powers to-
(i) Regulate and control the horseracing industry for the mutual benefit of all stake-holders;
(ii) Transform it to reflect the demographics of our country.
Manjoo v Pretorius can be likened to the State v JZ in as much as JZ and co state the verdict is hugely significant; the “apology” should be given the widest possible audience. Besides, this is not just Pretorius v Manjoo, it extends far beyond, with serious ramifications for future race relations. Sporting Post, Phumelela, National Horseracing Authority and the advertisers sponsoring Mr Pretorius should also issue a statement as to what, if any, action they plan to take in view of the SAHRC referral, which is an indictment on the entire industry, if not the country.
The emphasis is on his continual hate speech/lack of respect for all races, cultures, religions, together with the support Mr Pretorius continues to enjoy from the collective industry umbrella of Phumelela/ Racing Association / National Horseracing Authority / advertisers / TellyTrack, etc.
That, coupled with their lack of meaningful action/censure and silence on Pretorius' unacceptable behaviour, is disturbing and could be interpreted as tacit acceptance of his conduct and utterances, if not collusion and a conspiracy to subvert any criticism or unsavoury exposure of the industry and/or to promote racism.
SUGGESTED RESOLUTION
In view of the gravity of the contents, an apology, encompassing the following is suggested:
1. Mr Pretorius to publish a prominent banner on the Homepage of his site (freeracer), with the heading ‘Charl Pretorius apologises for ‘hate speech’…’ with a link to the full text of the letter from the SAHRC, his apology and my response hereto, to remain therein for at least 12 months from date of publication.
2. Additionally, Mr Pretorius to publish his full apology (together with a prominent link to his website for further info) in Sporting Post and on the ABC website, wherein the relevant offensive articles were published.
3. A reasonable offer of compensation to Mr Manjoo (to be negotiated) and the sum of R5 000.00 to be donated by Mr Pretorius to the National Horse Trust.
4. In the spirit of reconciliation, without prejudice, I propose the above rather than rejecting the apology out of hand.
5. Upon receipt/performance, a mutual closure agreement will be signed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
In conclusion, I place on record my deepest appreciation for the numerous messages of support from all sectors, family and friends, including-
1. Adv. Daniel Selela, Human Rights Commission, for his sterling preparation of the letter to Mr Pretorius and his prompt, meritorious guidance;
2. Mr Basil Douglas, well-known veteran activist and leader of the newly-launched People’s Revolutionary Congress party (now merged with Independent Democrats- Ms de Lille);
3. Comrade Zett Mpendu, SACP, Jhb Central;
4. Cde Miles Masaila, chairman, ANC, Inner City Branch, Jhb.
5. Others whose names are too numerous to be mentioned, including ‘Osgood’ ‘BDB’, ‘Krishy’, ‘Alcaponee’, etc on the ABC website.
6. Those who were cynically scarifying of myself and openly supportive of Mr Pretorius- without your likes, such issues will not surface, there will be no barometer, and, we will continue to wallow in hatred, suspicion and malice- Thank You!
Let’s work towards peace, understanding and respect for every human being, regardless of his/her race, colour, religion, sex, beliefs or otherwise.
Amandla! We say….. power to all the people for honour, dignity and respect!
HANIF MANJOO
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