DURBAN -- INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY PROTESTS AGAINST STREET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DURBAN 000036

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/S RUSH MARBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/2/2018
TAGS: PGOV SF PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: DURBAN -- INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY PROTESTS AGAINST STREET
NAMING POLICY; BLAMES ANC FOR INCREASED TENSIONS

REF: DURBAN 30

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CLASSIFIED BY: CASEY SCHMIDT, POL/ECONOFF, POL, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
SUMMARY:




1. (U) On Saturday 21 June, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
organized a march in downtown Durban to protest the
municipality's decision to change the name of a highway named
after party founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, highlighting
growing tension between the IFP and the African National
Congress (ANC; reftel). On the day of the march, IFP supporters
allegedly looted shops, set up roadblocks, and forced civilians
to join the demonstration, prompting the South African Police
Services (SAPS) to respond with tear gas, water cannons, and
rubber bullets. End Summary.




2. (U) According to local press reports, more than 10,000
supporters of the IFP marched through Durban's central business
district protesting the municipality's street naming policy,
particularly the proposed change of a highway named after party
founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi to late ANC activist, Griffiths
Mxenge . During the march, IFP supporters allegedly looted
shops, burned tires, and established roadblocks along the
contested highway, bringing the city to a "standstill." Local
press also reported that IFP supporters had forced civilians to
join the march, prompting the local police to intervene using
tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. No injuries or
arrests were reported. South African Police Service officers
corroborated with us the reports of looting, roadblocks, and IFP
supporters intimidating residents to join the demonstration.




3. (C) According to Durban Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo (ANC),the
IFP march to City Hall was peaceful but that many of the
demonstrators (numbering, he estimated, 6-7,000) were carrying
illegal weapons such as axes and clubs. Following a petition
handover from the marchers to the Deputy Mayor, Naidoo said the
marchers left and that was when looting began. Police, he
explained, had to bring in reinforcements and they were
eventually forced to use rubber bullets and water cannon.
Naidoo accused marchers of forcing people to join the
demonstration and said that police had videotape of such
activity.




4. (C) Naidoo understood that the IFP had no problem with street
name changes in general, just with changing the name of
Mangosuthu Highway. The city's process was complete and the
changes were to be instituted very soon added the Deputy Mayor.
Nevertheless, he believed there were IFP/ANC discussions
underway at the provincial level on the issue, something that
the IFP has reportedly denied. Asked about tensions between the
ANC and IFP, Naidoo blamed IFP provincial legislature leader
Lionel Mtshali (the last IFP Premier in KZN) for building
tension between the two parties after the IFP's provincial
defeat in 2004.




5. (C) On 23 June, Pol/Econoff met with IFP Secretary General,
Rev. Musa Zondi, and National Organizer, Albert Mncwango, to
discuss the press allegations and the growing tension between
the IFP and the ANC. Both officials claimed that as many as
20,000 IFP supporters gathered in a peaceful demonstration to
protest not only the ANC's street naming policy, but also the
party's image presented in South Africa's national history text
books. According to Rev. Zondi, the statements of violence and
looting made by the press were distorted and unfounded. He
claimed there were no acts of violence along the route of the
march and the looting was carried out afterwards by criminals
taking advantage of the situation. Mncwango also claimed that
the police had provoked the violence by blocking IFP supporters
from joining the march, eventually forcing the police to use
tear gas and water cannons.




6. (C) Both IFP officials claimed that tension with the ANC is
rising because of the manner in which the ANC has implemented
the street renaming policy. According to Rev. Zondi, the ANC has
introduced the policy without input from other concerned parties
or the will of the people, highlighting a growing trend of
political exclusion. He explained that the ANC is effectively

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erasing the names of people who have made significant
contributions to the city and people of Durban and
KwaZulu-Natal. Regarding the text books, Mncwango said that the
ANC has published a national history text book that portrays the
party as an obstructionist to the national reconciliation
process. Both officials said that they have brought these issues
forward to the regional and national government, but there is no
ongoing dialogue. Rev. Zondi stated that ANC President Jacob
Zuma has promised to take up the issue of street renaming at the
national level, but has yet to do so.



COMMENT




7. (C) Given the violent history between the ANC and IFP in
KwaZulu-Natal, events such as these are important to follow.
While we do not expect anything like what happened in the past,
the combination of these events (as reported in reftel) as well
as upcoming national and provincial elections in March/April
2009 make the atmosphere more tense than usual. In addition,
the divisions within the ANC at national level make that
organization less predictable and less able to discipline itself
than usual, a recipe for provincial, regional and local level
ANC organs to act more freely in ways that the national level
might not usually support.
YOUNG