EFF leader Julius Malema says those in power in the USA have been strong-arming nations for far too long. The red beret leader was speaking in parliament on Tuesday, where President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Station of the Nation Address was being debated by political parties.
His sentiments also comes after US president Donald Trump halted aid to South Africa, over a law he claims allows land to be seized from white farmers. Furthermore, Malema has been at loggerheads with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in recent days, with Musk declaring Malema an international criminal.
EFF Statement On Elon Musk’s Call For CIC, Julius Malema To Be Declared An International Criminal.
The EFF will not be cowed into submission, retreat nor capitulation from its principled and unwavering commitment to confront imperialism and its surrogates like Elon Musk anywhere… pic.twitter.com/BsxQEOLLJl
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 9, 2025
“We want to make it very clear that we should not be confused with a generation of cowards who can be bullied by imperial forces and power hungry individuals intoxicated by the wealth of apartheid. The United States of America has bullied nations before and imposed senseless and arbitrary sanctions and threatened wars. But we are a different generation. We are a generation of economic freedom fighters and will not be bullied, Mr. President. We agree with you, President, that we should not be bullied. We are not cowards, and they must not try us,” Malema asserted.
However, he did not hold back on expressing his approval of the rest of Ramaphosa’s SONA speech.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa stood before a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on Thursday last week, addressing South Africans, and the world, to deliver his eighth State of the Nation Address. Yet, he spoke as if it were his first ever SONA. There was no sense of accountability, no meaningful reporting and no acknowledgement of the economic crisis facing our people,” Malema stated.
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