AfriForum leads protest against BELA Act, citing threat to Afrikaans
Lobby group AfriForum and several other organisations will protest against the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act in Tshwane on Tuesday. will protest through some City of Tshwane roads today as they march against what the civil rights organisation calls the “biggest single challenge for Afrikaans cultural communities since 1994.”
It claims the act is the “biggest single challenge for Afrikaans cultural communities since 1994".
The march will start at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria and end at nearby Freedom Park.
AfriForum believes the language policy in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act poses a threat to the survival of Afrikaans communities, as Afrikaans schools play a pivotal role within these communities.
The BELA Act, which was signed into law in October, has been strongly opposed by some political parties, including the Democratic Alliance, which boycotted the signing ceremony at the Union Buildings.
AfriForum’s CEO, Kallie Kriel, says the protest is necessary to maintain the balance of forces and to protect the survival of Afrikaans cultural communities.
Political parties in the government of national unity recently agreed to form a team to address disputes over the BELA Act.
This decision was made at a meeting of the GNU clearing house mechanism last Wednesday, which was set up to help coalition parties resolve policy disagreements.
Discussions focused on clause 4, which grants the Basic Education Department greater control over admissions policy, and clause 5, which requires school governing bodies to submit language policies to the provincial head of department for approval.
The new team has three months to work through these policy differences..
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