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Political analyst Prince Mashele has called South Africa’s stance on Ukraine’s invasion by Russia embarrassing.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has consistently called for the dispute to be settled through mediation rather than the barrel of the gun.
In his weekly open letter to the public, the President said that negotiation, dialogue, and compromise may seem ‘out of touch” and even ‘fanciful’ but that South Africa had attained democracy through a negotiated settlement.
Mashele accused Ramaphosa of not understanding his own party and part of its history, which has seen it approach the UN, asking for support throughout the suppression of apartheid.
“It got to a point where apartheid was declared by the UN as a crime against humanity, thanks to the hard work of the ANC leaders of the time. This idea, that countries must be neutral, has never been part of the ANC. ANC as an organisation has always taken sides. That today Rampahosa is telling us that South Africa must be neutral, it actually tells us that he doesn’t understand the history of his organisation. He also does not understand the history of our country.”
Russia-Ukraine | South Africa abstains from the UN vote against Russia:
