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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHSA #2545/01 3440926
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 100926Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0580
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 7419
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 1486
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9775
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 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:    
SUBJECT: ANC LAUNCHES VETERAN'S LEAGUE 
 
PRETORIA 00002545  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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. 
 
-------------------- 
ANC Forms New League 
-------------------- 
 
 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 
 
PRETORIA 00002545  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Questions Over Whether it Can Off-Set Vocal Youth League 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 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