SOUTH AFRICAN REFUSED ENTRY TO BAR!

SA politician claims hotel racist.

De Lille was a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle. South African politician Patricia de Lille says that she was twice prevented from entering a bar in a Cape Town hotel because she is of mixed race. "When I arrived at the hotel there were lots of empty tables. I came to the conclusion that I was turned away on the basis of colour," she told the BBC. She said Radisson hotel management apologised after the second incident when she was recognised as an MP. The hotel said she was turned away as it had been expecting other guests. "We don't turn away people because of race or religion. We are an international hotel," the Radisson's general manager, Maarten van den Nieuwenhuysen, is quoted by South Africa's Independent Online newspaper as saying.

Ms De Lille said that the public bar area was not a reserved section and she felt she was a victim of racism as it happened twice in a week and on the second occasion it was senior management that turned her away. "In Cape Town there is a problem with the way hotel staff and restaurateurs treat black people, and I came to the conclusion that I was a victim of that kind of attitude," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Ms De Lille, who is the leader of the Independent Democratic Party, is a veteran of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle. "When they recognised me as a member of parliament they wanted me to come in, but I refused as a matter of principle," she said. "I don't want to get special treatment because I'm Patricia de Lille, I think they should treat everybody the same." She said that she had gone public about the incidents because she wanted to teach hotel owners and restaurateurs a lesson. "It's not acceptable... they must accept guests of all colour and accept that we all pay the same money."