Days before the official launch of Cope, the breakaway party has warned that the ANC "must not provoke us" or they would be forced to defend themselves.

"We have sufficient security for this weekend, but if violence arises, we don't want the public to blame us for defending ourselves against such barbarians..." said Phillip Mhlongo, KwaZulu-Natal's provincial secretary for the Congress of the People.

He said the party wanted a peaceful gathering at the official launch in Bloemfontein.

"The ANC must just leave us alone and focus on their own work because we don't want violence... they are the ones always provoking us".

Cope's message to the ANC, said Mhlongo, was "don't push us too far".

He was reacting after several Cope branch meetings were disrupted in recent weeks in KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly by members of the ruling party.

He said the party did not want a repeat of the violent disruptions in Bloemfontein this weekend.

At the end of November, the KZN branch of Cope demanded that the African National Congress reimburse them for disrupting one of their branch meetings at a hall in Verulam.

Cope alleged that people wearing T-shirts bearing the image of ANC president Jacob Zuma arrived in a Durban Metro vehicle, forced their way into the hall, sang and threw chairs around.