Criminals behind xeno: Mtethwa

Dorianne Arendse

The Minister of Police Nathi Mthetwa, along with the Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille and the Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato on Friday morning addressed a media briefing at Parliament following the recent threats of xenophobic violence. Shortly before the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup came to an end rumours surfaced in the media that foreign nationals living in the country were at risk of being attacked by locals. These reports sparked widespread fear amongst the foreigners many of whom were displaced during a wave of xenophobic violence during May 2008.

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Police, Zweli Mnisi the meeting between the Premier and the Minister of Police was fruitful. Mnisi said the Minister had acknowledge that while some may label the recent looting of shops owned by foreign nationals as xenophobia there are also criminal elements involved. "The Minister moved from a premise that although the rumours can be labeled as xenophobic threats there are some criminal elements who are taking advantage of the situation. During the meeting the issue of prevention was raised. All levels of government from national, provincial and local government need to work together to ensure that there is no outbreak of xenophobic violence," said Mnsisi.

Plans

In addition to this the Premier also shared the plans of provincial government strategy to combat any violence which may flare up. "The Premier shared with us the provinces proposed strategy which looks at amongst others disaster management, as well as the involvement of all stakeholders including religious leaders as well as early warning systems which they have been using in the province," explained Mnisi.

According to Mnisi, the Premier was also briefed on the plans of the inter-ministerial committee which was set up 2 weeks ago to deal with xenophobia. "The Minister also shared with the Premier the plans of the inter-ministerial task team which looks at various sectors like the continuation of the recent world cup successes from a view point of policing. So during the meeting we were able to find some common ground regarding the xenophobic violence."

World Cup Courts

When asked if the special World Cup courts would remain in place to deal with those arrested for inciting xenophobic violence, Mnisi replied that he is not able to speak on behalf of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development even though it has been indicated that the courts may remain in place. "I cannot comment on behalf on the Department of Justice but in terms of our interactions as a government cluster they have assured as that there are plans afoot to continue those courts.

During the World Cup there were some tangible results and good outcomes in terms of the police working together with the Justice Department in terms of prosecution. Part of dealing with these xenophobic threats which are in essence criminality we have had an assurance from Justice that they are ready to deal with this issue," said Mnisi.

Hotspots

According to Mnisi, the extra police officers deployed during the World Cup in the province will now be moved to potential hotspots in the province. "Some of the police officers were deployed at the stadia and hotels looking after certain teams that were in country. Now that those teams are no longer here it would be a strategic deployment to potential hotspots, especially since those officers are now trained and have more expertise when it comes to dealing with mobs and people who may just want to fuel violence.

"That experience cannot be taken away from the police that they have gained by interacting with their counterparts from around the world. They will not only be deployed in terms of hotspots but will also be used to set up random roadblocks," he explained. In addition, the provincial government has also deployed 20 mediation teams to various flashpoints in the province where either xenophobic threats or attacks have been recorded.

The spokesperson for the Department of Local Government in the province, Dr Hildegard Fast said provincial governments plan is to ensure that there is no outbreak of xenophobic violence. "Our plan is that there should not be any xenophobic violence at all. All of the measures that we have put in place are very much orientated to that. As the provincial government we have worked with police to ensure that there is an effective early warning system in place. This will ensure that any calls that come in to the provincial government or municipalities are immediately forwarded to the South Africa Police Force. We have also deployed 20 mediators in the most vulnerable areas. This is to ensure that some of the tension is addressed," she said.

Mediation

Fast said the mediation in various communities has gone very well. "There has been some fantastic work done on the ground by a variety of community organizations. Faith based organizations have been at work and also some civil society organizations. I think in a combined way the fact that there is very little to report in the last days speaks to the success of the initiative," she said.

According to Fast, they are doing everything possible to make sure that there is no escalation in acts of xenophobia. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that does not happen. I think that we have learnt some things from the xenophobic attacks during 2008. I think that because we do have an early warning system in place increases our chances of making sure it does not happen again."

She said that most of the pressure has been of the police force and not the Joint Operations Centre. "I think in fact that most of the pressure has been on the police, because in the first instance when there is any threat of violence or any violence starts to break out it is the safety and security response in the first instance and I think the police has responded very well. Because there has been so little displacement there has not been much humanitarian assistance that has been required on the part of the province or the city,"

Socio-economic factors

According to Fast, the socio-economic conditions in the country is playing a huge role in xenophobic attacks. "It is one of the key contributing factors to the fact that there might be tensions in the community. There will be competition for rare resources in the community between the locals and foreign nationals. So clearly this requires a multi-faceted approached. During the media briefing on Friday these issues were raised. We need to identify more economic opportunities for people.

"There is also the issue of transferring skills from some of the foreign traders to the local traders to ensure that there is less competition and we also need to have an education campaign. There are a range of things that local and provincial government can do to ensure that there are no further outbreaks of xenophobia in the province," said Fast.