admin
remarks after the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg refused to remove the painting which depicts Zuma with his genitals hanging out.
The painting on display at the Goodman Gallery has sparked a national debate on the issue of freedom of expression and the right to dignity.
The painting by Brett Murray violated Zuma’s rights, Maharaj said.
“Nobody has a right to violate the dignity and rights of others while exercising their own,” he added.
“Other than his position as Head of State and as President of the ruling party, President Zuma as a citizen has a right to human dignity, which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.
“No human being deserves to be denigrated in this shocking manner,” the spokesperson said.
Maharaj accused “some sections of the artistic world” of using vulgar methods of communicating about leading figures in the country, in particular, the president.
Intense hatred of the new democratic administration or the ruling party should not translate into distorting South Africa’s value system of emphasising respect and of ensuring that disagreements are expressed in a cultured and civilised manner, which these artists are failing to do, Maharaj said.
Earlier on Thursday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) vowed to go to court to get the painting removed from the Johannesburg gallery.
“The African National Congress is extremely disturbed and outraged by the distasteful and indecent manner in which Brett Murray and the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg is displaying the person of comrade President Jacob Zuma,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement. — Xinhua.
Online Reporter