South Africa: Ramaphosa Condemns Flag-Burning Ad

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Facts

• South Africa's Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday condemned the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) for releasing an election advertisement depicting the national flag engulfed in flames.¹
• Ramaphosa described the advert as 'desperate and inciteful,' adding it sabotaged the principles of democracy and unity ahead of the national and provincial elections on May 29.²
• He said that burning South Africa's flag is 'treasonous,' while Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa stated he could take further action against what he called an 'abhorrent and unpatriotic' political commercial.³
• However, DA leader John Steenhuisen argued the advertisement was 'designed as a wake-up call' for South Africans, given what he described as a potential 'doomsday coalition' between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.⁴
• Opinion polls suggest that the ANC will not win the more than 50% of votes needed to form a government in the upcoming national and provincial elections, and could raise the likelihood of the first coalition government since 1994 — when South Africa became a democracy.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Polity.org.za, ³Barrons, ⁴EWN and ⁵The Conversation.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by SowetanLIVE. The outrageous ad proves that the DA has lost all respect for millions of South Africans for whom the flag is a symbol of victory over apartheid. Given that some countries consider it a crime to burn the flag, it's only thanks to South Africa's hard-won freedoms that the DA can run such a disgraceful ad in the first place. The dangerous alliance uses scaremongering tactics, and no South African who loves their country and stands for a united and prosperous nation would vote for it.
• Narrative B, as provided by Politicsweb. The artificial fuss over the ad is a clear attempt by the South African political establishment to discredit the DA and distract from massive failures. The powerful advertisement has struck a nerve within the desperate ANC by exposing its plans to form a 'doomsday coalition' that would not only burn the SA flag to ashes but drive South Africa further into economic and political disaster. South Africa's decline must be halted at all costs, and only the DA can put the nation back on track.

Predictions