ANC LAUNCHES VETERAN'S LEAGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 002545

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV SF
SUBJECT: ANC LAUNCHES VETERAN'S LEAGUE

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Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The African National Congress (ANC) announced on
December 3 that it would create a party branch for veterans
of the movement. The formation of the league -- known as the
ANC Veteran's League (ANCVL) -- comes after the party
resolved in 2007 to form a branch for veterans. The ANCVL
will have voting rights within the party in line with what
the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) and the ANC Youth League
(ANCYL) have. The new league says its focus will be on
veterans' issues, eradication of poverty, and outreach to
other "progressive movements." How much influence the ANCVL
will have relative to other voices within the party remains
unclear. Some argue that it will have difficulty getting its
views heard in the face of the more vociferous like the
ANCYL, but others argue that the tradition of respect for
elders may elevate the Veterans' League, particularly in the
area of brokering consensus. End Summary.

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ANC Forms New League
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2. (SBU) The ANC announced on December 3 that it would
create a party branch for veterans of the movement. ANC
Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told reporters the ANCVL
would be "a source of wisdom to the mother body in times of
trouble." He added, "We want the veterans to play their
rightful role. They have the knowledge, they have the
experience and they have a track record we can tap into in a
structural way. Their experience won't be for the league
only, but for the whole movement." The ANCVL is set to join
the youth league and the women's league with voting
delegates. The inaugural ANCVL conference held on December 6
had 400 voting delegates. One hundred and twenty-eight
non-voting delegates from the ANCYL and ANCWL attended and
helped draft the new league's constitution and program of
action.


3. (SBU) The new league was first conceived at the ANC's
party congress at Polokwane in 2007. According to a
statement issued by the ANCVL, the resolution passed at the
2007 congress was "premised on the knowledge that many
veterans have served the ANC and the struggle of our people's
movement in different capacities over various epochs." The
ANCVL said, "Veterans have an important contribution they can
make with regards to the institutional memory of our
organization, vis-a-vis its past decisions, culture,
tradition, and purposes of the organization in successive
epochs that constitute the golden thread of our
organization." (Note: The ANCVL was conceived at the
congress in part because of lobbying by many veterans who
felt they were ignored or mistreated under the Thabo Mbeki
presidency. End Note.) Membership of the league will be
confined to those older than 60 with 40 years of unbroken
service to the party.


4. (SBU) The league laid out three priorities. First, it
said it would urgently look into the welfare of all ANC
veterans through "systematic institutional mechanisms."
Second, the ANCVL said it would prioritize the eradication of
poverty. Third, the league noted that it would seek an
international role. The ANCVL said, "Having noted that the
international community played a very important role in our
struggle for a free and democratic society, we further
affirmed our role towards reviving bilateral and multilateral
Qaffirmed our role towards reviving bilateral and multilateral
relations with progressive organizations throughout the world
in general, and in Africa in particular, with a view of
furthering the aims and objectives of a progressive agenda
through continued solidarity." (Note: The league's
statements on its international role track with reports that
President Jacob Zuma wants to bolster relationships with
former liberation movements such as the Popular Movement for
the Liberation of Angola and the Front for the Liberation of
Mozambique. End Note.)


5. (SBU) Sandi Sijake will lead the new branch. Sijake
joined the ANC in 1959 and later trained in the armed wing of
the movement known as Umkhonto we Sizwe ("MK") in Egypt and
the Soviet Union. After the end of apartheid, he joined the

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South African National Defense Force in 1994 and retired as
Major General in Defense Intelligence in 2005. Thandi
Cecilia Memela will serve as Deputy President, Natso Khumalo
will serve as Secretary General, and Fanele Mbali Herbert
will serve as Treasurer. Nelson Mandela will serve as
Honorary Life President of the ANCVL.

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Questions Over Whether it Can Off-Set Vocal Youth League
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6. (SBU) Commentators such as Center for Politics and
Research Executive Director Prince Mashele believe the new
league will mirror the ANCWL more than the ANCYL. In other
words, he assesses the Veteran's League will have limited
influence over party matters. Mashele argues that the Youth
League's "culture of disrespecting the elders" would limit
space for the veterans to exert their influence. He judges,
"It is not the style of the elders to publicly talk about
matters that affect the ANC." Others argue that many
veterans also motivated by self-interests and are less
interested in remaining politically active into retirement.
Sijake himself noted that members "were not likely to seek
political office through party structures."

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Comment
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7. (C) The creation of a veteran's league is an historic
decision for the ANC. The party's poor handling of veterans'
issues over the years has been well-documented. Any
political body that can at least draw attention to the
concerns of former freedom fighters should be welcomed within
the movement. Mashele's comments about the ANCVL having
limited influence notwithstanding, we would argue that the
jury is out on how much of a role the new league will play in
party deliberations. The Youth League has captured many
headlines with over-the-top pronouncements over the past
decades, but does not really have that much to show in terms
of achieving its demands over that time. We also know that,
even within progressive movements like the ANC, there is a
tradition here of respect for the views and counsel of
elders, especially when there is need to broker consensus.
We also note that President Zuma, who joined the ANC in 1959
and MK in 1962, is himself an ANC veteran. End Comment.
GIPS