Like many others across the world, South Africans are increasingly taking note of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. This is not necessarily because we all have some particular geopolitical interest in the conflict, but we know such repercussions are felt.
As always, a disturbance in the world order, especially when a significant player like Russia is involved, leads to price hikes. Most notably, fuel goes up and everything along with it.
And while the vast majority of democratic states and freedom-seeking organizations and political parties have been quick to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine and call out Russia’s textbook violation of the UN Charter, a particularly peculiar position has been taken by the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s majority and the governing party in National Government.
The ANC, especially in the Western Cape province, which is the only one where it finds itself in opposition, has been at the forefront of defending its own and the National Government’s special relationship with the Russian Federation.
Just four days after Russia began its illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Opposition Leader at the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, the ANC’s Cameron Dugmore, and the party’s Shadow Provincial Minister for Education, Khaled Sayed, attended the 30th Anniversary of Russian-South Africa relations.
While Putin was firing cluster bombs at civilians, Sayed labeled the occasion an “honour and privilege” to attend the Russian-hosted event. He noted the strengthening of relations and how he was influenced by the “likes of Lenin” before he went on to point out how important Russia is because we must seek a “better and more just world, where not just one superpower, the United States, dominates and determines the global agenda.”
Sayed ends his statement by stating that “heads must roll” because of the Democratic Alliance’s (the liberal governing party in the Western Cape) support of Ukraine. It seems this Member of Provincial Parliament, forever out of his depth and now proudly showcasing complete disdain for any semblance of peaceful world order, would rather see whole nations sacrifice their sovereignty than uphold the first principles of international law and the Geneva Convention. This, of course, to preserve his bizarrely romanticized ideas of Russia and the former USSR.
And while Moscow struck maternity and children’s hospitals in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Dugmore reiterates Sayed’s sentiments and explains that South Africa “won’t be side-tracked” by “populist” support for Ukraine. According to Dugmore, this kind of support constitutes “political games.” For another visible sign of the ANC in the Western Cape’s support of Russia in this war, one need only look at the windows of the party’s office on the 4th floor of the provincial legislature building. For all to see, the Russian Federation and the former USSR flags have been on proud display since the invasion began.
Sadly, the ANC have lumped the Palestinian flag alongside the Russian and USSR ones.
This confused, contradictory foreign policy agenda of the ANC’s Sayed and Dugmore is, tragically, mirrored at a national level too. It is a case study of hypocrisy: in the same breath of their Russian support, these so-called comrades proclaim to carry the cause for the people of Palestine. Either these men’s bread is too heavily oiled by Putin’s cronies or they are otherwise blinded by reality; regardless, it is an insult to the Palestinian people.
If we are to defend the sovereignty of nations, that rule must be applied across the board – not conveniently excused when it comes to Putin’s war.
Regrettably, there is no credibility left in the ANC’s leadership when it comes to South Africa’s foreign policy. While previous administrations have at least attempted to share our Constitutional values and at times embed these in international relations, President Ramaphosa quickly shut down his International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Naledi Pandor, after her initial statement calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukraine. In a spectacular back-peddle, Minister Pandor expressed the ANC’s view that mediation is the only way out, with no condemnation for the illegal invasionin the first place.
Clearly, the President’s supposed “New Dawn” also has its overseas favorites and the sacrifices his party is willing to make in government along the way. And the likes of Dugmore, Sayed, and Pandor will continue to place their party first – at the expense of our values, reputation, and South Africa’s dignity abroad.
This is a sharp turn in the wrong direction for a democracy that should be coming into its own on the world stage. History will judge us for that, but in a more immediate sense, South Africans need to take note of the bedfellows, friends, and comrades the ANC government keeps close to and what that may mean for our own domestic policy very soon.