Members of the civil rights organisation AfriForum protested outside the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court this morning against the double standards with which racial incidents in South Africa are treated.
According to AfriForum, these double standards entail that white-on-black assaults are consistently condemned in the open, whereas black-on-white assaults are mostly ignored. The protest coincides with the appearance before the Court of the two suspects who violently assaulted Carel Kruger with a brick in the Montana area early in August. The attack occurred a few days after the KFC incident, also in the Montana area.
According to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, the attack on Kruger as well as the other incident in the Montana area – where an unarmed Carine van Staden was shot during a road rage incident – did not receive the same public attention and condemnation as the KFC incident.
“Unfortunately, there are double standards regarding the treatment of situation in which race plays a part. When the victim is black and the perpetrator white, the case receives significant attention; however, cases such as those of Kruger and Van Staden are mostly ignored,” Kriel says.
Kriel indicates that AfriForum condemns all incidences of violence – irrespective of the race of the attacker.
“AfriForum condemned the KFC incident just like many institutions did, but still awaits the condemnation of the Kruger and Van Staden incidences by the Minister of Police, the majority of the media and the so-called ‘black twitter’ with the same fervour as with the KFC incidence,” Kriel adds.
“For as longs as society is unwilling to judge incidences where race is involved with the same yard-stick, it will not help to improve race relations. On the contrary: double standards create further polarisation. For this reason, AfriForum will continue to encourage the promotion of mutual acknowledgement and respect between communities,” Kriel concludes.