The influential king of the Zulus, South Africa’s largest ethnic group, sought to distance himself on Monday from anti-foreigner comments he made three weeks ago, which the authorities there have called the catalyst for a wave of deadly xenophobic violence.
“We need to make sure no more foreigners are attacked,” the king, Goodwill Zwelithini, said in a speech at a stadium in Durban carried by South African news media. “We must stop these vile acts.”
South Africa’s neighbors have condemned the violence, calling it a stain on the country’s image as the tolerant “rainbow nation” that emerged from apartheid.
The king’s previous comments, made last month in Durban, a coastal city in the Zulu heartland, were part of what he has described as a broad criticism of lawlessness in South Africa.
He accused the news media of focusing on a part of his remarks that appeared to blame poor immigrants from neighboring countries, whom South African citizens have periodically accused of stealing their jobs.
“We ask foreign nationals to pack their belongings and go back to their countries,” the king said then.
After that, increasingly violent mobs targeted shops and other businesses largely run by people from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and other sub-Saharan countries.
The violence started in Durban and spread to Johannesburg, the country’s largest city. At least seven people were killed and more than 300 were arrested in what has been described as the worst outbreak of xenophobic violence in South Africa in years.
Other national leaders in South Africa were seen as slow to respond to the king’s initial remarks. Last Thursday, President Jacob G. Zuma condemned the mayhem and appealed for calm.
While Mr. Zuma said South African complaints about immigrants and crimes committed by foreigners were in some cases justified, “it is misleading and wrong to label or regard all foreign nationals as being involved in crime in the country.”
Under pressure from the government to join in condemning the violence, the king later announced the imbizo, or mass meeting, in Durban. Several thousand people attended the rally, where the king said his remarks had been misinterpreted.
“This violence directed at our brothers and sisters is shameful,” he said. Denying that he had advocated attacks on foreigners, the king said “had I said that, this country would be in ashes.”
Nonetheless, hundreds of immigrants have since left, fearful for their safety.
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