The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) wants to
talks to the ANC Youth League about its president Julius Malema's
insults against South African Communist Party general secretary
Jeremy Cronin.

It was "disgusted" at the insults against Cronin, who is also
the Deputy Minister of Transport, YCLSA spokeswoman Gugu Ndima said
in a statement.

In his attack on Cronin, Malema said the ANCYL did not "need the
permission of white political messiahs to think".

This, after Cronin published an article criticising Malema's
call to nationalise mines.

Ndima said: "The YCLSA believes that Malema has sunk to the
lowest ebb of being racist and hurling insults, instead of engaging
with profound debates that Cronin was raising."

"We view the labelling of Cronin as a 'white messiah' not only
as racist, but as an insult to the principle and ideology of the
national liberation movement, that of non-racism."

"We are confident that the majority of members of the ANC Youth
League do not share these racist and insulting labels," she said.

Ndima said the YCLSA also noted that Malema substituted a
sensible debate for insults and racist labels, and bravery for
disrespect.

"But we believe that we can disagree on any issue and still
maintain respect as comrades.

"What is worse is that Malema invokes the names of respectable
leaders of the ANC, including Nelson Mandela, to justify this
nonsensical insults and racist remarks."

Ndima said the YCLSA was also disappointed that a call by
President Jacob Zuma and the alliance ceasefire in the trading of
insults was being undermined by Malema.

The YCLSA wanted to meet with the ANCYL leadership before the
end of the week, she said.

The SACP has already defended Cronin and condemned Malema's
insults.

Malema described the Cronin piece on mine nationalisation as
"openly reactionary".

Cronin provided an analysis of the issues surrounding the
nationalisation of the mines.

In it, he criticised Malema and the league's calling for
nationalisation, saying: "Comrade Malema hasn't always helped his
case with off-the-wall sound-bytes. The impression of a policy
being made on the hoof, individualistically, is reinforced by the
fact that we are yet to see any serious attempt at a collective
policy document on this matter from the ANCYL."

"I suspect that comrade Malema and others are missing this
bigger systemic picture because when they speak of mineral
beneficiation they are thinking of bling ... sorry, jewellery," he
said.

In his response, Malema described the article as reactionary,
"clothed in quasi-Marxist rhetoric, with potential to make a sorry
and sad reflection of the true character of the SACP's ideological
steadfastness."

He said he did "not need the permission of white political
messiahs to think".

Malema described it as "sad" that Cronin "decided to isolate me"
from a league resolution in which it outlines its stance on
nationalisation.

"... The state should be custodian of the people in its
ownership, extraction, production and trade of mineral wealth
beneath the soil, monopoly industries and banks".

On mineral beneficiation Malema said Cronin reduced the league's
call for this to an "obsession with bling".

"It is sad that previously, those who look like us were
considered intellectually inferior by the white supremacists, and
today Comrade Jeremy reflects the same sentiment, even before he
interacts with the views of the ANC YL," Malema said.

The SACP called on Malema to discuss the issue in a "principled
and comradely manner without resorting to the Mbeki era type of
insults against the leaders of our party".

It said it had invited the league to take part in its political
school last month, where it discussed nationalisation, but the
league did not attend.