Questions posed by the opposition Democratic Alliance to President Thabo Mbeki in the national parliament over the HIV/AIDS issue have led to a heated debate over racism in the country. In his reply to the Democratic Alliance’s Ryan Coetzee, Mbeki said: “I pray that one day the Honourable Coetzee, and others like him, will discover within themselves the intellect, the courage and the humanity to hear and understand what Frank Meintjies, Franz Auerbach, Edward Rhymes, Cynthia Kaufman, as well as millions of people in our country and elsewhere on our globe, are saying about the hurt, anger and aspirations of those who know the meaning of race oppression, which the Honourable Coetzee clearly does not.” Coetzee hit back in an open letter to Mbeki published on Tuesday: “Millions of people in our country are HIV-positive and hundreds of thousands are dying each year, according to all the best estimates. What I pray, therefore, is that one day you will discover inside yourself the intellect, courage and humanity to hear and understand the meaning of HIV/AIDS in South Africa today, which clearly you do not.” You can read Mbeki’s full reply at http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2004/text/at42.txt and Coetzee’s response at http://www.da.org.za/DA/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=4475