JOHANNESBURG -- The African National Congress yesterday restated its position on Tuesday's terror attacks on the United States after Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile said the attacks were not an act of cowardice.
In an interview published yesterday, Stofile was quoted as saying the American government "had to look into themselves" to find out why the "guerillas" were attacking their cities.
Stofile's reported remarks are directly out of step with an ANC motion agreed by Parliament a day after the terror attack. The motion condemned the "dastardly attacks" as "cowardly terrorism".
In a statement yesterday, ANC head of communications Smuts Ngonyama said the party was restating its position after media statements, attributed to "some members" of the organisation, showed apparent reluctance to roundly condemn the attacks.
"We must point out that such statements are completely out of sync with the position of the ANC and that of the government," Ngonyama said.
"If it is true that such statements have been made by those they are attributed to, they must be seen as expressing views of such individuals, and as unfortunate.
"The ANC shares the outrage, the misery and the sorrow of the American people and the international community over this crisis and fully supports the government of the United States in all their efforts to deal with this catastrophe."
The report quoted Stofile as saying that he was not personally shocked by the attacks, but that he also did not encourage such acts.
Questioning the use of the word "terrorist", used to describe the suicide hijackers, Stofile said: "Even us (ANC members) when we fought in the struggle, we were called terrorists."
"I don't think of this as an act of cowardice. It is an act of tactics."
He said he was not shocked at the attacks because such things had been happening for a long time.
ANC spokesman Nat Serache said if the remarks were confirmed, the ANC's national executive committee could take disciplinary action against Stofile. -- Sapa
Premier clarifies disaster remarks
GRAHAMSTOWN -- Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile has issued a statement clarifying his comments made to East Cape News this week about the terror attacks against America.
He said his recollection of the interview he gave while in Aliwal North was:
Question: Are you surprised that bombs and planes have attacked the US? Answer: No. The world we live in is a very violent one.
Question: What could have sparked the attacks? Answer: The US government should do that analysis and find out what has sparked such attacks. This is a good time for introspection by the US government.
Question: What do you feel about these acts of terror? Answer: I do not know for sure that these are acts of terror. They could be guerillas fighting for something. In that case, guerillas use small units as a tactic, not as an act of cowardice. These are the same tactics the ANC used and we too were labelled as terrorists.
Question: How do I feel about the attacks? Answer: I think they are a bad thing and we do not encourage such attacks.
"It was more of an analysis than a statement," Stofile added. -- ECN
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