Horror at an airport

Was I the only one to spot the irony?

So Buti Manamela the national secretary of the Young Communist League (YCL), is detained by anti-terror police on arrival at Heathrow.

Without wishing to comment on western paranoia or over zealous policing, the fact that Manamela cites one of the key reasons they were suspicious of him was because he flew to London business class, is deeply ironic.

A quick look at his profile on the YCL's web site, and proudly displayed in the left column of each page is:

The Young Communist League of South Africa is a Marxist-Leninist youth wing of the SACP.

The YCL stands for:
o Non Racism
o Freedom
o Equality
o The socialisation of the ownership and control of the means of production

Looking at these lofty ideals, there's no argument with the first two. But lurking just after Freedom is "Equality". Clearly slumming it in the back of the plane with the proletariat is not something any good Marxist-Leninist could possibly consider. Sipping bubbly and relishing the extra legroom with the bourgeoisie up front is far more appropriate.

Then again, he may have had have the opportunity to discuss "The socialisation of the ownership and control of the means of production" with a few captains of industry and convinced them to give up their executive salaries and exploitative travel tastes.

Curiously it was less than an month ago (24 May) that Fikile Majola (member of the SACP Politburo) in an address to the SACP Eastern Cape Congress commented :

"I did not struggle to be poor". This ideology of "there is nothing wrong to be rich" has now spread like a dangerous virus in the body of our cadreship from national to local"

Majola closes his address with: Socialism is the Future - Build it now, with and for the workers and the poor!!!

Hey Buti, pass the champagne and, umm are you going to finish your smoked salmon?