South Africa seems like it’s making the same mistake it made in 2008 when the opposition party in Zimbabwe won the elections by 75% but Mugabe refused to go. President Mbeki took the mediation process to bring back a dictator who has butchered his people, collapsed the economy, and expropriate land from white farmers without compensation.
Mbeki brought a unity government deal that also allow Zimbabweans to get special permits in South Africa which are extended to the end of 2022. South African government basically opened its border through its support of a repressive regime foreign millions to flee.
Now another unnecessary conflict is brewing in Ukraine after Putin choose to invade the country without any reason whatsoever to do so. Putin says NATO is encroaching on his doorstep but Ukraine is not a member of NATO and seizing it would mean that he will now face NATO soldiers directly in Poland, Latia, and Hungary. So how can you create the thing that you are trying to prevent?
ANC Insiders said Ramaphosa had doubled down on his position that South Africa called for mediation amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and insisted his government would not take sides in the matter. He was supported by the ANC publicly, who stated it was not the party’s position to call on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
But before the president could leave the meeting, his officials and advisors looked at their phones, stunned that a statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation went beyond South Africa’s position on the matter and explicitly called on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
“They began asking around about who signed off on the statement, and the officials said they advised the minister that it was going too far, but the minister signed off on the statement herself. It was not the officials,” the source said. The Presidency, which did not see the statement before it was issued, said it believed it was contrary to Ramaphosa’s position, which was only to encourage mediation between the two sides.
Ramaphosa has learned the lessons, ANC not so much
By stating his position clearly that Russia must go home, Ramaphosa has learned the lessons that conflict creates a migration crisis that neighbors must pay for, just like he is now doing to Zimbabweans staying here. Displacing people willingly create pressure on resources like schools, roads, vending places, and hospitals.
He knows that supporting Putin to invade a sovereign country is no brainer and creates unnecessary death, pain, misery, and migration but it seems like his comrades in ANC are choosing ideology or practicality. Browsing through social media, surprisingly a lot of South Africans support the invasion. And for people who have lived under Apartheid, I was quite astonished, especially with many claiming that foreign migrants who are fleeing conflicts and crises are taking out jobs.
So over to you, PUTIN or ZELENSKY?
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