We do not mourn death of Queen Elizabeth: South African opposition party

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - As condolences continue to pour in across the world following the death of British Queen Elizabeth II, a South African opposition party refused to mourn her death due to Britain's colonial past.

"We do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because to us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and Africa's history," the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the third-largest party in parliament, said in a statement on Thursday night.

The EFF, led by Julius Malema, said Britain under the leadership of the royal family brought pain, death, suffering, and dispossession to African people through war during colonialism.

"It was also the British royal family that sanctioned the actions of Cecil John Rodes, who plundered this country, Zimbabwe and Zambia (all former British colonies)," the EFF said. Rodes is a former prime minister in Cape Colony, the 19th-century British colony located in today's South Africa.

The EFF also claimed that since Britain colonized Africa, its native people have never known peace, nor have they ever enjoyed the fruits of their land's riches.

The party accused the royal family of plundering India via the East India Company, which it said took over control and oppressed the people of the Caribbean Islands, as well.

"Their thirst for riches led to the famine that caused millions of people to die in Bengal, and their racism led to the genocide of aboriginal people in Australia."

The EFF said that during Queen Elizabeth's lifetime, she never acknowledged the crimes that Britain, and her family in particular, perpetrated across the world.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at Balmoral aged 96. She was Britain's longest-serving monarch, after reigning for 70 years.