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The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) said on Friday it noted President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s stance that he has no intention to hold a referendum to test public opinion on any part of South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CIAG welcomes that the discussion around Cape Independence has now become so firmly established in South Africa\u2019s political discourse that the president has once again been required to officially comment on it,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n
He made the statement after it was reported earlier this week that Ramaphosa gave the clearest indication not to hold a referendum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn line with the constitutional responsibility of the president to uphold, defend, and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic and to promote the unity of the nation, I have no intention of considering a proposal or holding a referendum on the secession of any part of the country,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
He was responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Thapelo Mogale, who asked whether he intended to hold a referendum to test public opinion for or against the secession of the Western Cape and the creation of a Volkstaat for Afrikaners and Western Cape Independence.<\/p>\n
Craig said Ramaphosa\u2019s comments appeared to be disingenuous.<\/p>\n
He charged that the Constitution grants premiers the powers to call provincial referendums, and therefore any official referendum on Cape Independence would be called by the Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, and not by him.<\/p>\n
Craig stated that his party had formally requested Winde to call a referendum and provided Ramaphosa a copy of their request.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Premier Winde has thus far refused to call such a referendum, we are currently making preparations to hold our own referendum in the Western Cape following the successful example of Veneto in Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFew, if any, referendums are legally binding, so who calls it is less relevant than its credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Craig also said funding was currently the primary obstacle to the holding of a private referendum, and the CIAG invited potential funders to get in touch.<\/p>\n
He added that the blind adherence to the absolute sanctity and supremacy of the Constitution is flawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africa, like every other state, is bound by international law. There is no opt-out clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Ramaphosa cannot simply quote an isolated provision of the Constitution and, in doing so, waive away the rights of all people to self-determination, which is recognised by the same Constitution and can be exercised.<\/p>\n
Craig cited Ramaphosa\u2019s repeated calls for a Palestinian state, support for Western Saharan independence from Morocco, and lack of support for Taiwan\u2019s independence from China or Somaliland\u2019s independence from Somalia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese double standards clearly establish that the president is determining his various positions on self-determination based upon political and not legal considerations. He is entitled to do so, but then he should be honest as opposed to hiding behind the law when it suits him and ignoring it when it does not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Craig added that CIAG noted with great interest that Ramaphosa cited his duty to promote the unity of the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad the president and the ANC actually fulfilled this obligation over the last three decades, there would not be a Cape Independence movement to reckon with.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said Ramaphosa and his party have denied the people of the Western Cape devolved powers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf his intention is to promote unity, he has a very funny way of going about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) said on Friday it noted President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s stance that he has no intention to hold a referendum to test public opinion on any part of South Africa. \u201cThe CIAG welcomes that the discussion around Cape Independence has now become so firmly established in South Africa\u2019s political discourse that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":267757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1209,572,2488,11800,15646,19984,2122],"class_list":["post-267861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-cape","tag-challenges","tag-group","tag-independence","tag-ramaphosa039s","tag-referendum","tag-rejection"],"yoast_head":"\n