South African court: Gratuitous use of apartheid-era flag is hate speech

A South African court on Wednesday ruled that some uses of the nation’s apartheid-era flag constitute hate speech, according to The Associated Press.

The Equality Court did not issue a blanket ban on the flag, saying it could be used for artistic, academic or journalistic purposes without being considered hate speech or racial discrimination.

{mosads}“Those who display the old flag choose deliberately to not only display the old flag, but also consciously and deliberately choose to not display the new, multiracial flag,” Judge Phineas Mojapelo said, according to the AP. “They choose oppression over liberation.”

Mojapelo recommended deterrents such as fines or community service for those who “gratuitously” display the flag, rather than arrest.

The flag of the apartheid-era regime, which lasted from 1948 to 1994, is frequently displayed at far-right political meetings and sometimes at rugby matches, according to the AP.

It has also become a symbol frequently used by white supremacists, including Dylann Roof, who murdered 9 African Americans in a South Caroline church in 2015 and was photographed wearing a jacket with a patch of the flag.

Afriforum, an organization that represents the nation’s white Afrikaner minority, opposed the ban, saying it could infringe on free speech.

“As Afriforum we do not display the flag and we actively discourage people from displaying the flag,” Afriforum’s Ernst Roets said, according to the AP. “We cherish freedom of expression and for us displaying the flag is not sufficient ground for hate speech. For it to be hate speech, it must be coupled with a call to action to inflict harm.”

“The judge was clear that we have to work together with others, including Afriforum, to do what the Constitution says we must do,” Mandela Foundation CEO Sello Hatang said at the courthouse immediately following the ruling, according to the AP.

“We must be a nation that celebrates our diversity instead of fighting over our differences,” he added.