Mr Chairperson, hon President, hon Deputy President, members of the executive and hon members, the arrival of Cope on the political scene has forever altered the political landscape of South Africa. [Applause.]
Its emergence is an affirmation of our democracy. The hon President has asserted in his speech that we have a strong and fully functional constitutional democracy system, and that what we witnessed yesterday in this House was a celebration of what makes this democracy work.
These are fine words, but it is with a heavy heart that I must refer to the personal persecution that members of Cope have suffered in recent months ... [Interjections.] ... persecuted for doing nothing more than expressing their democratic choice, and in a supposedly free and democratic country. [Interjections.]