[Debate] (Fwd) SA foreign policy, nuanced

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

The problem is that the pretty weak SA position is still a great deal
of improvement over nonsense I've been hearing from quite a few
left-of-leftists.

On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:43 PM, Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za> wrote:
>
> (How tragic, at such a crucial time, there's not a comprehensible word in the report immediately below about the content of policy, from the intellectuals or their journalist. In contrast, here's something meaty: "We must expect that in time credible information will also come out which will also demonstrate that the Mubarak family and its associates also accumulated a great deal of wealth by corrupt means At the same time as the ruling groups in Egypt and Tunisia were enriching themselves, millions among their people faced challenging socio-economic conditions, characterised by high rates of poverty, unemployment, and an unaffordable cost of living. This meant that not only were millions languishing in poverty, but also that the situation was made worse by glaring disparities in standards of living between the rich at the top and the poor at the bottom of the proverbial pyramid." It turns out, however, those words come from a neoliberal dictator-coddler who invented SA tenderpreneurship: http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sa-needs-black-bourgeoisie-mbeki-1.20213 ... and way below find some tragicomic SA celebrations that it won non-recognition of Libya's new regime at the UN Sec Council, but in fact won only a semantic victory - the money and recognition still goes to the TLC. I debated Monyela a few weeks ago at Numsa and in rebuttal to my critique of Trevor Manuel as head of the Green Climate Fund, he celebrated that "we got our guy in!"... not quite remembering that Manuel isn't exactly Numsa's guy. Yikes, no wonder imperialism always seems a step ahead, what with such pathetic SA subimperialists.)
>
>
> SA needs to develop institutional architecture to implement foreign policy directives
>
> FOREIGN POLICY
> Published 26 Aug 2011
>
> Article by: Bradley Dubbelman
> 1Share
>
> South African foreign policy as played out on the global stage, specifically in decisions made by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), lacks the institutional capacity to enforce directives, said political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi at a round table discussion on South Africa’s second UNSC tenure, organised by the Institute for Global Dialogue, on Friday.
>
> South Africa has failed in its public diplomacy in that the general public is left wondering about certain policy issues advocated by the country in the UNSC. Matshiqi cited the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (Dirco’s) communication infrastructure and processes as being particularly problematic.
>
> The country’s stance on the passing of Resolution 1973 in enforcing a “no-fly zone” over Libya was particularly perplexing as South Africa voted in favour of this and, thereafter, condemned the use of force against Gaddafi forces by Nato troops.
>
> The Human Sciences Research Council’s Sanusha Naidu pointed out that, owing to emerging power dynamics and regional allegiances, member States were often torn between votes on resolutions.
>
> These dynamics included the prominence of emerging economies, such as the Brics bloc, countries driving regional agendas, such as those of SADC and Ecowas, as well as the African agenda as a whole. Besides this, the movement to reform the UNSC structure to allow greater global representation was also affecting the way States voted on important global issues.
>
> In response, Dirco’s Fadl Nacerodian agreed that South Africa’s position may seem inconsistent, but he argued that the country did not consider itself revisionist of the UNSC and did not vote along bloc lines, as it had its own independent foreign policy according to which it voted.
>
> He did, however, argue that South Africa supported an expansion of the UNSC along regional lines, but that this should not happen in a way that may hinder the Council’s decision-making capacity and ability to enforce resolutions on the ground.
>
> ***
>
> SA: Mbeki: Address by the former President of South Africa, to the students of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (26/08/2011)
>
> Topics
> Published 26 Aug 2011
>
> Article by: Bradley Dubbelman
> 3Share
> Date: 26/08/2011
>
> Source: The Thabo Mbeki Foundation
> Title: SA: Mbeki: Address by the former President of South Africa, to the students of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch
>
> Chairperson of the SRC,
> Chairperson of SASCO,
> Vice Chancellor, leaders, staff, students and workers of Stellenbosch University,
> Ladies and gentlemen:
>
> I would like to thank you for inviting me to return to this important centre of learning to reflect on what is obviously an important and relevant topic.
>
> In its invitation letter to me the SRC said the Council had “identified as some of (its) goals to stimulate dialogue, encourage critical thinking and reach for a more transformed campus.”
>
> I would like to commend the SRC and the student body as a whole for setting these important goals. I hope that indeed that you have given yourselves time critically to assess the historic events in North Africa to come to some conclusions about what they mean for Africa and for the African Students.
>
> What can we say about these events, restricting ourselves, for now, to Egypt and Tunisia?
>
> We will return later to the case of Libya.
>
> With regard to everything we will say, please remember that the youth constitute the overwhelming majority of the population in all the countries we are discussing. In Egypt, for instance, two-thirds of the population is under 30, while youth unemployment stands at least at 25%.
>
> Given the topic you have asked us to address, I hope you will agree that necessarily we will have to spend some time reflecting on the events in North Africa so that together we are better able to assess the potential role of the African students in this regard.
>
> There is no doubt that what we saw in Egypt and Tunisia were genuinely popular and peaceful Uprisings aimed at the democratic transformation of these two African countries, starting with the overthrow of the ruling groups.
>
> Accordingly, the Uprisings aimed to achieve the fundamental transformation of their societies, and not only their political systems.
>
> It is also clear that in both instances the youth and students exercised leadership by being the first to take to the streets and by their persistence until the first objective of the Uprising, the overthrow of the ruling groups, was achieved.
>
> It is also important to understand that this objective was achieved because the people as a whole joined the youth and students, transforming the rebellion of the youth and students into a National Uprising, which more or less guaranteed its success.
>
> Equally we have to understand that what also facilitated this success was that the Armed Forces in both countries refused to suppress the Uprising and therefore to protect the governments of the day. On their own, the Police and other security organs could not defeat the Uprisings, regardless of the amount of force they used.
>
> It is also clear that the Uprisings were an indigenous affair, carried out without any significant interference by foreign powers to help direct what were authentic African endeavours.
>
> It is also significant that the governments of both Tunisia and Egypt collapsed within a very short time after the start of the Uprisings, marked in particular by the resignation of the Heads of State, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak respectively.
>
> This could only mean that such was the degree of social rot over which these Heads of State presided, and such was the isolation of their governments from the masses of the people that it would not take too much pressure to topple them, as actually happened.
>
> The April 6 Movement was one of the most prominent of the youth and student formations which played a critical role in the Egyptian Uprising, which incidentally named itself after a brutally suppressed workers’ strike which had started on April 6, 2008.
>
> In a Statement this Movement issued on February 6, 2011, and reflecting the extent to which the Mubarak regime had lost the confidence of the people, it said:
>
> “We will complete what we started on the 25th of January. We the Egyptian youth will not be deceived by Mubarak’s talk, which aimed to manipulate the emotions of the Egyptian people and under-estimated their intelligence as he has become accustomed to doing for thirty years in speeches, false promises, and mock election programs that were never meant to be implemented. Mubarak resorted to this misleading talk, thinking that Egyptian people could be deceived yet again.”
>
> The youth and students and the people of Tunisia took exactly the same position with regard to their then President, Abidine Ben Ali.
>
> By the time he was forced to leave office, Ben Ali had served as President of Tunisia for just over 23 years. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had served in the same position for 29 years.
>
> Again as all of you know, both of them held onto these positions through what were described as democratic elections.
>
> The reality, however, is that these elections were not democratic by any stretch of the imagination, and therefore that both Presidents and the groups they led clung to power depending not on the will of the people, but resort to other means which deliberately sought to frustrate the will of the people.
>
> These were fraudulent elections and the maintenance of an extensive machinery of repression. Many in the Arab world claim that Tunisia had the most repressive state machinery of all countries in the region, making it what is correctly described as a police state.
>
> In addition to the monopolisation of political power by a few, this meant that this tiny minority, as in Egypt, had every possibility to abuse its illegitimate power to enrich itself by corrupt means.
>
> In a January 28 article this year, The Washington Post reported that:
>
> “The Ben Ali and Trabelsi families, (Leila Trabelsi being his wife), controlled a vast number of companies and real estate, sometimes taken by force. Even distant relatives seemed above the law. Tunisia was their personal treasure chest.”
>
> It is said that the Ben Ali and Trabelsi families controlled between 30% and 40% of the Tunisian economy.
>
> One commentator, Professor Juan Cole, said “the U.S. leaked cables from WikiLeaks suggest that 50 percent of the economic elite of (Tunisia) was related in one way or another to the president or to the first lady, Leila Ben Ali, and her Trabelsi clan.”
>
> We must expect that in time credible information will also come out which will also demonstrate that the Mubarak family and its associates also accumulated a great deal of wealth by corrupt means.
>
> At the same time as the ruling groups in Egypt and Tunisia were enriching themselves, millions among their people faced challenging socio-economic conditions, characterised by high rates of poverty, unemployment, and an unaffordable cost of living.
>
> This meant that not only were millions languishing in poverty, but also that the situation was made worse by glaring disparities in standards of living between the rich at the top and the poor at the bottom of the proverbial pyramid.
>
> But what about the students and the intelligentsia?
>
> In an article headed, “Students Spark Tunisian Uprising”, and published on January 18, Toufik Bougaada wrote:
>
> “After four weeks of street protests in Tunisia, triggered by angry unemployed university graduates, Tunisians have ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled for nearly a quarter of a century.
>
> “The protests started on 18 December 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed university graduate working as a street vendor, committed self-immolation in protest after police confiscated his stock of fruits and vegetables.
>
> “This sent ripples through society, with many academics decrying day-to-day life, which is rife with corruption, unemployment and hikes in food prices…
>
> “Unemployment is even higher amongst university graduates, with almost 25% of graduates failing to find work…Despite having a better education system than its North African neighbours, the high rate of graduate unemployment in Tunisia means many young people shun third-level (tertiary) education.”
>
> As you know, and as we have just mentioned, the Tunisian Uprising was sparked by the disturbing event when an unemployed graduate, who made a living by selling fruit and vegetables as a street hawker, burnt himself to death.
>
> In this context we should also note that even in Egypt, in part the Uprising was sparked by the death of yet another university graduate, Khaled Said, who was killed by the police in Alexandria.
>
> Early last month, in an article entitled “Brains unused”, Rania Khallaf of Al Ahram reported on a sit-in by university graduates at the Academy of Scientific Research in Cairo. These were unemployed graduates who were demanding to be taken on as lecturers in the Egyptian universities, with some of them, including PhD’s, having been unemployed for seven years after they had graduated.
>
> So acute is the problem that Khallaf’s article concluded with the words; “What is needed is an in-depth review of the problems facing higher education in Egyptian universities and an ambitious plan to make use of Egypt's brainpower. Again, if there are not enough job vacancies in Egyptian universities, it is high time for the government to find ways to benefit from this brilliant, highly promising manpower.”
>
> Responding to this situation, a February 4 Communiqué of the January 25th Youth (Movement), named after the day the Uprising began, said:
> “Egypt’s youth went out on the 25th of January with a strength, courage, boldness and heroism that had been unprecedented for the people of Egypt and completely unexpected;
> “So that there would be no difference between the graduates of professional schools and those with lesser degrees;
> “To confront the unemployment that has destroyed the lives of Egyptian youth;
> “So that 472 youth no longer drown weekly in the Mediterranean Sea, their only crime (being) that they seek work and food to lessen the burden their families bear;
> “We came out to protest the lines for (even) propane (gas) bottles and bread;
> “We came out to demand an education that allows us to compete among the nations of the world, not an education that allows the world to mock us;
> “We came out for the sake of the 52% of our people that are illiterate;
> “We came out for the sake of national goals that unite all of us and would allow us to dispense with idling our time in cafes…”
>
> I hope that what I have said so far is sufficient to indicate, among others, the principal objectives of the Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, including issues relating to the students and the intelligentsia.
>
> As I said earlier, it is clear that these Uprisings had as their fundamental objective the victory of the democratic revolution in both countries. However, as the people who constituted the heart of the Uprisings admit every day, the democratic revolutions have not as yet emerged victorious.
>
> It was therefore always a misnomer to describe the Uprisings as Revolutions.
>
> To indicate the challenges facing the democratic forces in Egypt, concerning the fundamental changes for which they fought and are fighting, I will present to you observations made by some Egyptians, which comments speak for themselves.
>
> What I will present to you henceforth will include relatively extensive quotations by various individuals and institutions. I must confess that I chose to rely on these citations to avoid the accusation that I have sought only to convey my partisan views.
>
> In an article published at the beginning of this month, entitled “Time to get serious”,
>
> Salama A. Salama of Egypt says:
>
> “The brief honeymoon that followed the 25 January Revolution, when the army and the people were said to be "one hand," has ended in mistrust and misunderstanding that the recent reshuffle of the Essam Sharaf government failed to address…
>
> “As it turned out, Sharaf is now catching flak from all sides, with people blaming him for slowing down the revolution, failing to address security, or failing to speed up the trials of former officials…
>
> “Turning to the revolutionaries, we have to admit that they are still a motley crew of well-intentioned but disunited groups and alliances, hard to enumerate or figure out. They have no leadership to negotiate on their behalf or a set of suggested policies to follow. But what this country needs right now is policies that take domestic as well as external considerations into account. We need a government that knows how to tend to economic and social demands while keeping at bay those powers, Arab and non-Arab, that do not wish to see democracy take root in Egypt.”
>
> Towards the end of May this year, Khalil El-Anani published an article entitled “Egyptian Revolution Reconsidered”. He said:
>
> “Although the Egyptian revolution succeeded in ousting the Mubarak regime, it has not yet managed to uproot the ills of its culture, value system and prevailing modes of behaviour. In this sense, therefore, it remains "half a revolution", or more precisely, a "revolutionary act" that still needs follow-through towards completion…The "heart", or foundation, of (the Egyptian) state remains unchanged…Change at both levels - the political system and society - is a prerequisite for the completion of any revolution.
>
> “Of course, there is no denying that the Egyptian revolutionary act was sudden and very powerful. However, its major thrust emanated from and remained largely restricted to a particular stratum of society, namely the middle to upper- middle class. It has yet to spread to other strata of society, which remain essentially the same as they were before the revolution. This phenomenon is not peculiar to Egypt. Other countries have experienced similar popular uprisings that succeeded in overturning regimes but did not go as far as to engender radical change in the prevailing values, culture and structures of society…
>
> “The Egyptian revolution can, therefore, be described so far as a minimal revolution - it achieved the minimal level of the dream of the majority of Egyptians, which was the overthrow of the old regime and the prosecution of its leaders and most prominent figures. However, it remains a considerable way off from the upper level, which involves the transformation of social and institutional structures and value and behavioural systems so as to enable society to regain its health and proceed towards the realisation of human development and prosperity…
>
> “Not every outburst of collective anger and frustration is a revolution. Not every defiance and overthrow of an old regime and its legal edifice is proof of a successful revolutionary act. The sole guarantor of the success of a revolution is society itself. Herein lies the crux of the dilemma: the performer of the revolutionary act (the agent) needs a revolution so that the act and the agent can be brought into harmony, and so that the results are consistent with the beginnings.”
>
> Let me conclude these quotations with one from Fatma Khafagy, a women's rights activist and a board member of the Alliance for Arab Women, extracted from a February article headed “Now for the Gender Revolution”.
>
> She wrote: “I want to see the opposite of what has always happened after revolutions take place, now in Egypt. History tells us that women stand side by side with men, fight with men, get killed defending themselves and others along with men, and then nurse the wounded, lament the dead, chant and dance when the struggle is victorious and help to manage the aftermath when it is not. However, history also indicates that after the success of a political struggle, women are too often forced to go back to their traditional gender roles and do not benefit from the harvest of revolution.
>
> “I am sure the Egyptian revolution will not allow this to happen…
>
> “The Egyptian revolution, as I witnessed every day and night in Tahrir Square, was not only about getting rid of a political system. It was also about creating another more beautiful and just Egypt that would guarantee human rights to all its citizens. I saw young women discussing with young men what kind of life they wanted to achieve for Egypt. I feel sure that the gender equality that was witnessed in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt will now prevail because we need it to create a better Egypt.”
>
> I am certain that the observations made by the three Egyptian commentators I have just quoted would apply in similar manner to Tunisia.
>
> Libya was and is of course a completely different kettle of fish.
>
> In this case, it is obvious that the major Western powers decide to intervene to advance their selfish interests, using the instrumentality of the UN Security Council.
>
> I am certain that many of us here will at least have heard of the independent non-governmental organisation, headquartered in Brussels, the International Crisis Group, the ICG, which focuses on conflict resolution.
>
> Its current President and CEO is the Canadian Judge Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former UN Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
>
> I mention all this to make the point that neither the ICG nor its President and CEO were, or are, or can justly be accused of being in any way sympathetic to the Libyan Gaddafi regime.
>
> But yet, in a Report on Libya issued on June 6 this year, the ICG said:
>
> “Much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the (Libyan) regime’s security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators who presented no real security challenge. This version would appear to ignore evidence that the protest movement exhibited a violent aspect from very early on…
>
> “Likewise, there are grounds for questioning the more sensational reports that the regime was using its air force to slaughter demonstrators, let alone engaging in anything remotely warranting use of the term “genocide”. That said, the repression was real enough, - and I would, as an aside, add, as was the case in Tunisia and Egypt - and its brutality shocked even Libyans. It may also have backfired, prompting a growing number of people to take to the streets.”
>
> Similar observations had been made earlier by Alan K. Kuperman on April 14, writing in the US newspaper, The Boston Globe. In an article headed “False pretense for war in Libya”, he wrote:
>
> “Evidence is now in that President Barack Obama grossly exaggerated the humanitarian threat to justify military action in Libya. The president claimed that intervention was necessary to prevent a “bloodbath’’ in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and last rebel stronghold…
>
> “Obama insisted that prospects were grim without intervention… Thus, the president concluded, “preventing genocide’’ justified US military action.
>
> “But intervention did not prevent genocide, because no such bloodbath was in the offing. To the contrary, by emboldening rebellion, US interference has prolonged Libya’s civil war and the resultant suffering of innocents…”
>
> Later in its Report, the ICG said:
>
> “The prospect for Libya, but also North Africa as a whole, is increasingly ominous, unless some way can be found to induce the two sides in the armed conflict to negotiate a compromise allowing for an orderly transition to a post-Qaddafi, post-Jamahiriya state that has legitimacy in the eyes of the Libyan people. A political breakthrough is by far the best way out of the costly situation created by the military impasse…
>
> “Instead of stubbornly maintaining the present policy and running the risk that its consequence will be dangerous chaos, (the international community) should act now to facilitate a negotiated end to the civil war and a new beginning for Libya’s political life…
>
> “To insist that, ultimately, (Qaddafi) can have no role in the post-Jamahiriya political order is one thing, and almost certainly reflects the opinion of a majority of Libyans as well as of the outside world.
>
> “But to insist that he must go now, as the precondition for any negotiation, including that of a ceasefire, is to render a ceasefire all but impossible and so to maximise the prospect of continued armed conflict.
>
> “To insist that he both leave the country and face trial in the International Criminal Court is virtually to ensure that he will stay in Libya to the bitter end and go down fighting.”
>
> Bitter facts on the ground, showing the loss of African lives and the destruction of property in Libya, demonstrate that the ICG was absolutely correct.
>
> The naked reality is not that the Western powers did not hear what the ICG said. Rather, they heard but did not want to listen to anything informed by the objective to address the real interests of the African people of Libya.
>
> They were and are bent on regime-change in Libya, regardless of the cost to this African country, intent to produce a political outcome which would serve their interests.
>
> Earlier this year, on March 2, a senior journalist on the London Guardian newspaper, Seumas Milne, said:
>
> “The "responsibility to protect" invoked by those demanding intervention in Libya is applied so selectively that the word hypocrisy doesn't do it justice. And the idea that states which are themselves responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in illegal wars, occupations and interventions in the last decade, along with mass imprisonment without trial, torture and kidnapping, should be authorised by international institutions to prevent killings in other countries is simply preposterous…
>
> “The reality is that the Western powers which have backed authoritarian kleptocrats across the Middle East for decades now face a loss of power in the most strategically sensitive region of the world as a result of the Arab uprisings and the prospect of representative governments. They are evidently determined to appropriate the revolutionary process wherever possible, limiting it to cosmetic change that allows continued control of the region…
>
> “(Foreign) military intervention wouldn't just be a threat to Libya and its people, but to the ownership of what has been until now an entirely organic, homegrown democratic movement across the region…
>
> “The Arab revolution will be made by Arabs, or it won't be a revolution at all.”
>
> Later, on March 23, he wrote: “As in Iraq and Afghanistan, (with regard to Libya, the Western powers) insist humanitarian motives are crucial. And as in both previous interventions, the media are baying for the blood of a pantomime villain leader, while regime change is quickly starting to displace the stated mission. Only a Western solipsism that regards it as normal to be routinely invading other people's countries in the name of human rights protects NATO governments from serious challenge…
>
> “For the Western powers, knocked off balance by the revolutionary Arab tide, intervention in the Libyan conflict offers both the chance to put themselves on the "right side of history" and to secure their oil interests in a deeply uncertain environment.”
>
> Seumas Milne’s colleague in the same newspaper, Simon Jenkins, wrote only three days ago, on August 23:
>
> “If (British Prime Minister) Cameron wants to take credit for the removal of Gaddafi, then he cannot avoid responsibility for the aftermath. Yet that responsibility strips a new regime of homegrown legitimacy and strength. This is the classic paradox of liberal interventionism…
>
> “Britain remains enmeshed in the Muslim world. It made a mess of Iraq and is trapped in Afghanistan. It hardly needs another costly and embarrassing client state to look after in this surge of neo-imperial do-goodery. We may applaud the chance of freedom about to be granted to a lucky group of oppressed people, but that doesn't justify the means by which it is achieved, in another fury of great-power aggression. The truth is that Gaddafi's downfall, like his earlier propping up, will have been Britain's doing. A new Libyan regime will be less legitimate and less secure as a result.”
>
> In this regard, four days ago, on August 22, the veteran Guardian correspondent, Jonathan Steele, had said: “Thanks to its crucial role in tipping the military scales in Libya, Nato and the rebels are inextricably linked. Gaddafi had few supporters in the Arab world but there is a justified perception on the Arab street that the rebels are over-reliant on Western support and that the overriding Western motive is access to Libya's oil…
>
> “The best revolutions are homegrown as they were in Tunisia and Egypt. Those who took to the streets in Tunis and Cairo's Tahrir Square wanted to regain their country's national dignity after decades of seeing their rulers doing the bidding of France and the United States…
>
> “The new rulers in Libya face a long road ahead in establishing their legitimacy on the Arab and African stage.”
>
> And indeed they do!
>
> At the end of everything I have said, relating to Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, what should the African students do, including you, students at Stellenbosch University!
>
> I am certain that the totality of my comments will have confirmed the reality of which you are aware, that the recent and contemporary processes in North Africa are indeed truly complex.
>
> The first suggestion I would therefore like to convey to you is that in order for you to play a meaningful role in this regard, and indeed in the context of all other significant developments in Africa, you must make the effort to study and understand these developments.
>
> You have the unique advantage that you are students. As a former university student, I know that your principal task is to study. If you do not do this, it would be incorrect to describe, respect and honour you as students!
>
> Further, as my second suggestion, I would like to believe that you will seek to understand African reality not for the pleasure merely of knowing, but because you would want to do what you can to help change our Continent for the better.
>
> In this regard you would, of course, be inspired by what your peers have done in Tunisia and Egypt, who took the lead in the popular Uprisings in their countries, which have served to advance the African democratic revolution.
>
> At the same time you will have been motivated to follow the heroic example set by your South Africans predecessors, such as those who participated in the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and others of our students, before and since.
>
> Quite correctly, you see yourselves as part of the greater family of the millions of students in Africa, determined to act together with your colleagues to reshape our Continent into the kind of homeland you wish to inherit.
>
> In this context, and as my third suggestion, I would like to propose that you make a determined effort to study various documents which constitute all-Africa policy by virtue of having been adopted by the OAU, the Organisation of African Unity, and its successor, the African Union, the AU.
>
> In the context of the topic the SRC asked me to address this afternoon, I would suggest that you give yourselves time to study and debate, among others:
>
> • the Constitutive Act of the African Union;
> • the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
> • the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa;
> • the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption;
> • the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union;
> • the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;
> • the African Youth Charter;
> • the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance;
> • the various documents on Human Resources, Science and Technology;
> • the NEPAD Founding Document (2001); and,
> • the African Peer Review Mechanism.
>
> I mention these particular documents, all of which have been adopted by all the African governments, because they address directly the many political, economic, security and social issues which have arisen in the context of the North African struggles we have convened to discuss, and which, if implemented, would have addressed the concerns of our North African brothers and sisters.
>
> As you study and debate these documents, as my fourth proposal, I would suggest that you ask yourselves and strive to answer two important questions:
>
> • what should be done to position the African Union so that it has the ability to help ensure that all our Member States actually respect the objectives defined in these documents; and,
>
> • what should the African student movement do to help achieve this outcome?
>
> The fifth suggestion I would like to make relates to what has happened in Côte d’Ivoire and what is happening in Libya.
>
> Specifically, in this regard, you should debate what Africa should do, and what Africa’s students should contribute in this regard, to defend and advance our right as Africans truly to determine our destiny, as a sovereign people.
>
> I have been told that some of the intellectuals at our Universities reject the claim we make regularly – to find African solutions to African problems!
>
> The only way I can explain this very strange posture is that these are Africans who have lost respect for and confidence in themselves, as Africans, and who therefore feel obliged to adopt positions which question ours and their right and capacity to solve our problems.
>
> Certainly I have never come across any Europeans or Americans or Asians who would even so much as find it odd that they should assert that they have every right to find solutions to their problems!
>
> I am also convinced, and as I said earlier, that the Stellenbosch University SRC was correct to set as one of its tasks the achievement of what it called “a more transformed campus”.
>
> As a member of the Convocation of this University, I know that certainly under the leadership of our Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Russell Botman, you have been discussing what this means.
>
> Placed within the larger African context, this must surely mean that we strive to ensure that this University does its best not to produce the “Unused brains” to which an Egyptian commentator referred, and that our country, as well, “finds ways to benefit from (the) brilliant (and) highly promising human power” of those who graduate from Stellenbosch University.
>
> Thus should you, the students, together with the rest of the University community, which is my sixth suggestion, continue to engage the critically important issue of how the University should persist in the effort to transform itself so that as an African centre of learning, teaching and research, it also serves as a vital intellectual centre for the progressive fundamental transformation of our Continent, and therefore its renaissance.
>
> I am also very pleased that as students here at Stellenbosch you see yourselves as having shared obligations towards our Continent with the larger collective of other African students.
>
> As my seventh suggestion, I would therefore like to suggest that through formations such as SASCO and other societies, and indeed through the SRC, you should do everything you can to strengthen your links with your African peers, including through a strengthened and more active and correctly focused All-Africa Students Union.
>
> The recent and current events in North Africa have confirmed that Africa’s students remain one of the most vital and courageous forces for the progressive transformation of our Continent, which entirely healthy reality we also know from our own history.
>
> To conclude, and as my eighth proposal, I would like to appeal to you always to remember that you have an obligation to take advantage of the opportunity you have as university students, and therefore Africa’s nascent intelligentsia:
>
> • to empower yourselves to become the quality intelligentsia our Continent needs, by diligently applying yourselves to the exciting task of studying;
>
> • to act to ensure that as you inherit the future as leaders of the peoples of Africa, you will have done your best to help build a better Continent;
>
> • always to honour the truth, to respect ‘the great unwashed’ who are our mothers and fathers, and to have the courage fearlessly to stand up for what is right and just, ready to present reasoned arguments in this regard;
>
> • always to question and challenge even what is conveyed to you by all and sundry as established truths, including what I have said today, acting both as young people and as students who have the opportunity to re-discover anew all truths about the human and material worlds we inhabit;
>
> • never to abuse the fact of your greater access to knowledge to position yourselves as a corrupt and parasitic segment of African society; and,
>
> • never to be tempted to use your learning to sugar-coat a deadly virus of false knowledge you can impart to the Africans, in what our Nigerian fellow Africans would describe as giving poisoned kola nuts you offer to friends, pretending that these were but the traditional African gifts of friendship.
>
> The eminent Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said – Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children!
>
> By their actions, your peers, comrades and friends, the youth and students of North Africa, have challenged this provocative observation.
>
> Through your own bold and principled actions, please continue to challenge it!
>
> Thank you.
>
> ***
>
> Mbeki sends warm wishes to victorious Mubarak
>
> September 14 2005 at 09:03am
>
> ________________________________
>
> Johannesburg - South African President Thabo Mbeki has congratulated Hosni Mubarak, his Egyptian counterpart, on winning last week's presidential elections, Mbeki's office said on Tuesday.
>
> "It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to convey, on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of South Africa, sincere congratulations on your election victory," Mbeki said in a statement.
>
> "We are indeed pleased, Your Excellency, by your resounding victory in the country's general elections and your pledges to pursue political reforms.
>
> "I look forward, Mr President, to the further development and expansion of our bilateral relations and multilateral co-operation as you prepare to take the oath during the sitting of Egypt's Parliament in two weeks time," he said.
>
> Mubarak won Wednesday's elections with 88 percent of the vote. - Sapa
>
> ***
>
> Notes following joint media briefing on conclusion of discussions between Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Media Centre, Union Buildings, Pretoria
>
> 29 July 2008
>
> Remarks by President Thabo Mbeki
>
> Well President Mubarak, let me again extend a very warm welcome indeed to yourself and your delegation. I am indeed very pleased President that you could find the time to visit us. We maintain very, very good relations with Egypt and indeed, as far as I know President, we are not fighting about anything.
>
> So, President Mubarak's visit is important from the point of view of looking at what additional steps we should take in order to strengthen the bilateral relations and indeed, there is quite a lot of work that is going to go into that because it is quite clear that we could further escalate these relations in many areas.
>
> I was very pleased that during the course of our meeting earlier today when an offer was made to address two important problems in this country – that Egypt is ready to assist us with regard to the matter of the supply of doctors that we need because we are indeed in short supply here. We have to act on that.
>
> Engineers were also mentioned, that is another problematic area here, but I am mentioning those just to illustrate the nature of the relations between the two countries and when Egypt becomes conscious that there are these needs and shortages here and to the extent that Egypt can help, this offer was made very readily. So I really want to say that we will, President, continue to work then to make sure that we do create all these necessary frameworks and everything that we need to expand these relations in the economic field and other fields.
>
> But your visit President has also provided us with an opportunity to really thank you for the work that you are doing with regard to the Palestinian question. We are always very conscious and we always follow the interventions that you make with regard to what is a difficult issue but the matter of the future of the Palestinian people is one that is very close to our hearts and indeed, I want to say thank you very much President for the constant attention that you pay to this issue which I am quite certain will help to move this process towards its solution.
>
> But of course, also to express appreciation, we sit together President on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) committee, work together in all sorts of areas. President was reminding me now that the Egyptian and South African economies are the two biggest economies on the continent and really, it should be natural that we should co-operate in what we can do together, given the capacities of both countries.
>
> But let me say again President welcome. We are very glad that you are here and quite confident that your visit will help us further to promote what in reality are already excellent relations.
>
> But welcome Mr President.
>
> Remarks by President Hosni Mubarak
>
> President Mbeki, I am going to express my thanks to you and all the brotherly people of South Africa for the warm welcome and hospitality.
>
> I am gratified by the outcomes of our consultations today. Our discussions reflect the mutual resolve to invigorate our bilateral relations and co-operation so as to match the stature and capacity of the two countries at the African and global levels. Our consultations have touched upon a wide range of African issues including the current situation of peace and security on our continent as well as the role played by the two countries to enhance African interaction within the African Union and Nepad.
>
> We reviewed many regional issues of common interest including the Middle East Peace process (inaudible), the situation in Iraq, Iran's nuclear programme as well as the crisis of the world economy and its implications on food security in developing countries, particularly in Africa.
>
> Our discussions reiterated our mutual resolve to enhance our standing co-operation, increase investment, mining and energy, scientific research and technology as well as other priority fields of common interest. Our discussions revealed reciprocated determination to continue our consultations and co-operation on African, regional and global issues within the African Union, the United Nations as well as other regional and international groupings and organisations.
>
> I have extended an invitation to my brother President Mbeki to visit Egypt in order to maintain the momentum and build upon the positive outcomes of today’s consultations.
>
> Again, I would like to express my appreciation to President Mbeki and the people of South Africa.
>
> I thank you.
>
> Questions and answers
>
> Question: President Mbeki, South Africa has a longstanding position regarding fighting apartheid, my question is regarding the Palestinian issue – you just thanked President Mubarak for his role in this issue, how can you use your very strong position with Israel as we understand it in order to help the Palestinians in their plight?
>
> Answer: We maintain very regular contact with President Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, always to get his own view, own advice on what we might do to assist in that process. You would know that we participated in the Annapolis Conference in the United States and indeed, supported the decision that was taken there visualising that negotiations would be concluded by the end of this year so we are fully supportive of that process hoping that it will indeed produce a result.
>
> So, we have in the past, even when the late President Arafat was President of the Palestinian Authority, made interventions at any point that we were requested to do so with the Israeli government, we have done it.
>
> But as I say, we are essentially guided by what President Abbas advises us to do in terms of any interventions we can make with the United States, and with other people.
>
> Question: President Mbeki, you have thanked President Mubarak for his mediation in the peace process. How is the mediation going with Zimbabwe?
>
> Answer: The negotiators are negotiating. They are continuing to meet. As you know, they have been meeting here now for a number of days and they are continuing to do that. They are doing very well and you will remember that in the Memorandum of Understanding they undertook that they would try and conclude the negotiations within two weeks of the signing of that Memorandum of Understanding. They are indeed very determined to keep to that commitment and so they are continuing to talk among themselves and indeed to reach agreements about various matters that are on their agenda. They have not concluded, they will be adjourning shortly for a few days because they want to do back to Harare to go and consult with their principles about the work that is being done and then come back by the end of the week to resume the negotiations.  But they are proceeding.
>
> Question: Presidents, I would like to ask about Sudan and the indictment of President El-Bashir by the International Criminal Court?
>
> Answer: (President Mubarak) We did discuss this issue and we are both making efforts to find a solution and we are trying hard. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Arab League convened and President El Bashir was informed of the decisions so that if he could implement those then the case could perhaps be postponed for about 12 months during which something could happen to decrease the tension.
>
> (President Mbeki) Yes, indeed, I want to agree completely with President Mubarak about this and we will be interacting with President El Bashir sometime later this week, he had wanted to send an envoy to come and discuss this matter with us and indeed, we will do this.
>
> And indeed, we support the position that President Mubarak has just indicated because there are important processes, as you know, going on in Sudan the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement and work that is going on to sort out the decision in Darfur and both of them would require very serious inputs by President El Bashir and it does not help to move those two important processes forward to now be considering these indictments. But we will discuss the matter with them and indeed I hope that we can solve matters so that we can indeed move forward with regard to these other important challenges in Sudan.
>
> Question: President Mubarak, President Mbeki has thanked you for your efforts with regard to the Palestinian issue. But where is the process now, we do not see any progress, where is the Palestinian, Palestinian Dialogue?
>
> Answer: This is a very complicated matter. I think we have made tremendous efforts to make the area quiet and after that we can bring the two parties together, then the negotiations. But at the same time there is negotiation between Abu Mazen and the Israelis. I cannot say anything further.
>
> Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
> 29 July 2008
>
> ***
>
> UNSC releases $1.5bn Libyan assets
>
> By Masood Haider | From the Newspaper
> (5 hours ago) Today
>
> The decision came after the US and South Africa reached a deal which prevented the council from having to vote on a draft resolution that the US had submitted on the issue on Thursday following South Africas reluctance to release funds. – File Photo by AP
>
> UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council allowed on Friday release of $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets, held by the US, to assist in delivering humanitarian aid and other basic services to people in the war-torn country.
>
> The decision came after the US and South Africa reached a deal which prevented the council from having to vote on a draft resolution that the US had submitted on the issue on Thursday following South Africas reluctance to release funds.
>
> South Africa had expressed objections over two of the three $500 million portions of the funds going to the TNC, when it said they had not yet recognised the TNC as the sole, legal representative of the Libyan people.
>
> After negotiations appeared to stall, the United States moved the request out of the consensus-required sanctions committee to the Security Council, where it could override South Africas objections with nine votes in favour of a resolution on release of the funds, and no vetoes.
>
> But in the end, a resolution was not required when the United States agreed to modify the language in its request in exchange for South Africas agreement.
>
> Now, instead of asking that the funds be designated for the Transitional National Council, they will be for the “relevant authorities” in Libya.
>
> US officials said the money should be in the TNC’s hands in a matter of days.
>
> South African Ambassador Baso Sangqu said his country did not want to imply recognition of the TNC prematurely. He told reporters that Pretoria wanted to consult with the African Union, which was meeting in the Ethiopian capital. “My delegation had opportunity to consult at the AU in Addis Ababa and then the green light came that we should go ahead.”
>
> ***
>
> Country Vindicated On Libyan Assets Stance
>
> 26 August 2011
>
> South Africa says it has been vindicated for its stance on the unfreezing of Libyan assets.
>
> This follows an agreement by the US to remove any reference of the North African country's National Transitional Council (NTC) in a letter requesting the unfreezing of $1.5 billion in Libyan assets, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) said today.
>
> "The mere fact that there was a withdrawal of the original text, suggests that we were correct in taking the stance that we took as South Africa," said Dirco spokesperson, Clayson Monyela.
>
> Briefing media in Parliament this morning, Monyela said after the amendments were made, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee approved the release of the $1.5 billion in frozen assets, which would be used for humanitarian purposes in Libya.
>
> Monyela added that South Africa was the only UN Security Council member that had stood firm on calling for the removal of references to the NTC.
>
> South Africa, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, had earlier expressed reservations on the unfreezing of the assets as a letter drafted by the UN Security Council requesting the unfreezing of the assets, had referred to the NTC, when both the UN and AU had yet to recognise the Libyan body as the country's new government.
>
> Monyela re-emphasised that South Africa had never been against the idea of unfreezing the funds, but was concerned that any reference to the NTC may undermine attempts to unite all Libyans if reference was made to a single grouping.
>
> "Consequently, after intensive negotiations, the United States withdrew any reference to the NTC in their letter requesting the unfreezing of the assets, thus excluding any form of recognition of the NTC through this proposal," said Monyela.
>
> Following these amendments by the US and after consultations within the AU, South Africa had agreed to release the funds, he said.
>
> A decision was imminent on whether South Africa would recognise the NTC, he said, as the
>
> AU's Peace and Security Council is holding a meeting in Addis Ababa today and would make a determination on the matter.
>
> A collective announcement by all AU members on the matter would then follow, he said.
>
> Monyela said the South African government was concerned about the "perpetual marginalisation of the African voice" on matters affecting the continent.
>
> "We think it is wrong and that it is about time that the African Union's voice is heard on matters on the continent, which is why we would prefer that the AU pronounces on this and then members can take their cue from the AU," he said.
>
> South Africa wanted to see an all inclusive transitional government in Libya that would begin the process of drafting an interim constitution.
>
> "For sustainable peace to be achieved, it is critical that the Libyans themselves assume full ownership of their future," he said.
>
> Meanwhile, Monyela said all South African citizens had been evacuated at the beginning of the conflict, and that the last of the country's diplomats had been withdrawn last Friday from Tripoli.
>
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--
Yoshie Furuhashi
<http://mrzine.org/>