Johannesburg -
The SA Communist Party on Friday defended its general secretary,
Jeremy Cronin, after ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's
lambasted the former's stance on nationalising the mines.
"We find it very strange and politically dishonest that whilst
on the one hand the ANCYL calls for a debate on the question of
nationalisation, yet, on the other hand, it throws insults on those
who are taking up the debate," the SACP said in a statement.
It condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the insults
hurled at Cronin by Malema in a response to a SACP article on mine
nationalisation.
Malema described the piece, penned by Cronin, as "openly
reactionary".
Cronin provided an analysis of the issues surrounding the
nationalisation of the mines.
In it, he criticised Malema and the league's calling for
nationalisation, saying: "Comrade Malema hasn't always helped his
case with off-the-wall sound-bytes. The impression of a policy
being made on the hoof, individualistically, is reinforced by the
fact that we are yet to see any serious attempt at a collective
policy document on this matter from the ANCYL."
"I suspect that comrade Malema and others are missing this
bigger systemic picture because when they speak of mineral
beneficiation they are thinking of bling ... sorry, jewellery," he
adds.
Malema responded to the piece, describing it as reactionary
"clothed in quasi-Marxist rhetoric, with potential to make a sorry
and sad reflection of the true character of the SACP's ideological
steadfastness".
He said he did "not need the permission of white political
messiahs to think".
Malema described it as "sad" that Cronin "decided to isolate me"
from a league resolution in which it outlines its stance on
nationalisation: ".... the State should be custodian of the people
in its ownership, extraction, production and trade of mineral
wealth beneath the soil, monopoly industries and banks".
On mineral beneficiation Malema said Cronin reduced the league's
call for this to an "obsession with bling".
"It is sad that previously, those who look like us were
considered intellectually inferior by the white supremacists, and
today Comrade Jeremy reflects the same sentiment, even before he
interacts with the views of the ANCYL," Malema said.
The SACP called on Malema to discuss the issue in a "principled
and comradely manner without resorting to the Mbeki-era type of
insults against the leaders of our party".
It said it had invited the league to take part in its political
school last month, where it discussed nationalisation, but the
league did not attend.
- Sapa