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Can We COPE?

In South Africa the ruling African National Congress is facing

growing discontent with the former liberation movement, prompting party leaders to breakaway and form a new political party that many think will be the ANC?s first serious challenge at the polls.

The Congress of the People, or COPE, led by former defense minister Mosiuoa Lekote, was being launched in the small city of Bloemfontein, which was also the birthplace of the ANC in 1912....

COPE has attracted a diverse range of members, pinning itself as a party for all races, as the ANC is seen as alienating minority groups with policies of affirmative action.

COPE is making non-discriminatory equality one of its core prinicples.

Lekota, who emerged as the consensus choice of nearly 4,000 delegates at the congress to lead the party into elections next year, said COPE was ?a truly non-racial party which shall provide a home and voice for all South Africans,? irrespective of race or gender....

Lekota also vowed, if elected, to end affirmative action ?on the basis of race.?

Our own Democratic Party, of course, is too savvy to alienate only minority groups with its affirmative action policies. It alienates the majority group as well as some minority groups.

Full post as published by Discriminations on December 16, 2008 (boomark / email).