Diplomat defends SA sovereignty on Russian ties
Namibia’s former ambassador to Cuba, Jerobeam Shaanika, has defended South Africa's sovereign right to make independent foreign policy decisions.
This as critics advocate for a policy of non-alliance with South Africa’s long-time ally Russia, amid a raging geopolitical war with Ukraine.
South Africa was also obliged - under international conventions - to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin for his alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but it announced recently that Putin would not attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, formed in 2010.
During an interview with Namibian Sun, Shaanika questioned the expectation that African countries should behave in a certain way while other nations have engaged in forceful actions in the past, leading to destabilisation and havoc.
“South Africa is a sovereign nation and can make its own decisions based on how it feels. Many people have criticised South Africa, that it should follow a policy of non-alliance and not take sides,” he said on The Evening Review.
Retaliation
“Every country has a right and freedom to act independently. Whom are you offending and who is not offended? Why should it be that countries in Africa are expected to behave in certain way while certain countries went to Iraq, forcefully claiming that it was in possession of weapons of mass destruction?”
Media reports have claimed that the United States of America was threatening South Africa with loss of its lucrative duty-free access to the world’s largest consumer market in retaliation for the country’s close ties to Russia.
Shaanika, who is the deputy executive director for multilateral affairs in the international relations ministry, acknowledged that if sanctions are to be imposed on South Africa, Namibia would certainly be impacted due to its close economic relationship with its southern neighbour.
However, he stressed that acting independently should not be considered a crime, especially since South Africa is a member of BRICS, adding that member states should be free to make their own choices.
Not a crime
“If they impose sanctions, of course it will affect us, because it is almost as if we are intertwined in terms of our trade and this might result in hardship. But as a matter of principle, did South Africa commit a crime?
“Why should sanctions be imposed on you when you are acting independently? Who does South Africa offend when it is a member of BRICS and BRICS says ‘sorry, we believe that the dollar is no longer a currency we want to trade with’?
“Should the dollar be imposed on member states? Member states should act freely,” he said.
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This as critics advocate for a policy of non-alliance with South Africa’s long-time ally Russia, amid a raging geopolitical war with Ukraine.
South Africa was also obliged - under international conventions - to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin for his alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but it announced recently that Putin would not attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, formed in 2010.
During an interview with Namibian Sun, Shaanika questioned the expectation that African countries should behave in a certain way while other nations have engaged in forceful actions in the past, leading to destabilisation and havoc.
“South Africa is a sovereign nation and can make its own decisions based on how it feels. Many people have criticised South Africa, that it should follow a policy of non-alliance and not take sides,” he said on The Evening Review.
Retaliation
“Every country has a right and freedom to act independently. Whom are you offending and who is not offended? Why should it be that countries in Africa are expected to behave in certain way while certain countries went to Iraq, forcefully claiming that it was in possession of weapons of mass destruction?”
Media reports have claimed that the United States of America was threatening South Africa with loss of its lucrative duty-free access to the world’s largest consumer market in retaliation for the country’s close ties to Russia.
Shaanika, who is the deputy executive director for multilateral affairs in the international relations ministry, acknowledged that if sanctions are to be imposed on South Africa, Namibia would certainly be impacted due to its close economic relationship with its southern neighbour.
However, he stressed that acting independently should not be considered a crime, especially since South Africa is a member of BRICS, adding that member states should be free to make their own choices.
Not a crime
“If they impose sanctions, of course it will affect us, because it is almost as if we are intertwined in terms of our trade and this might result in hardship. But as a matter of principle, did South Africa commit a crime?
“Why should sanctions be imposed on you when you are acting independently? Who does South Africa offend when it is a member of BRICS and BRICS says ‘sorry, we believe that the dollar is no longer a currency we want to trade with’?
“Should the dollar be imposed on member states? Member states should act freely,” he said.
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