International Relations, Peace and Security Cluster

Briefing

14 May 2008

Presenter: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs briefed the media on the progress made by the International Relations, Peace and Security Cluster in international relations. He summarised efforts by South Africa in terms of its international relations, dealing with South-South Cooperation, North-South Cooperation, the advancement of the African Agenda and South Africa’s continued participation on global governance platforms. The Deputy Minister commented on the presidential run-off in Zimbabwe, the natural disasters in Myanmar and China, the escalation of xenophobic violence in South Africa, the bomb blasts in India, Sudan, and the Comoros and on South Africa’s economic diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.

Minutes
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad, provided details on the efforts of the International Relations, Peace and Security Cluster in international relations.

The Deputy Minister condemned the acts of terrorism in India and said that South Africa would intensify its efforts in preventing terrorism.

With regards to the natural disasters in Myanmar and China, the Deputy Minister expressed his condolences with these two nations and called on the Myanmar government to allow foreign aid into their country

He reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to South-South -, North-South co-operation and South Africa’s continued participation in global governance structures and added that South Africa would continue to consolidate the African agenda through the strengthening of the African Union (AU) and its structures.

The Deputy Minister called on the Zimbabwean people to show restraint in light of reports on the escalation of violence in that country and condemned the rebel attacks on the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The Deputy Minister said that the special report compiled by former army generals who were sent to Zimbabwe to assess the violence would be submitted to the Presidency by the end of this week and that South Africa would assist Zimbabweans in rebuilding their country.

In relation to the situation in the Comores, the Deputy Minister stated that South Africa was against the use of military force by the AU, but pledged South Africa’s support to the Comores government in light of elections due to be held in June.

The Deputy Minister condemned the spate of xenophobic attacks in Alexandria and called on South Africans to respect the dignity of foreign nationals and to fight and curb racism and xenophobia in South Africa. He said that government believed that sinister forces might be behind these attacks and that government would assess the situation.

Minutes

Q. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was asked how confident he was that the Zimbabwean presidential run-off would be credible, in light of the widespread occurrence of violence against MDC supporters.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that despite the scepticism that was raised, the Zimbabwean elections went smoothly. He added that mediation efforts by South Africa had paid off, which resulted in free and fair elections. He added that the reports of vote rigging were not factual, as there was no way that officials had tempered with ballot boxes.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked to explain the conditions for credible elections in the Zimbabwean Presidential run-off election.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that the conditions for a credible run-off election in Zimbabwe were the same as for the harmonised elections, and that he was sure that the will of the Zimbabwean people would be respected regardless of who won the run-off election. These conditions were media freedom, the right to campaign, an independent electoral commission and the accreditation of foreign observer missions. He added that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Observer Mission did indicate in their report that there were certain areas that could be improved upon. The Deputy Minister did not elaborate on this.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked what his view was on President Mbeki’s statement to African clergy that the United Kingdom and the United States had undermined his mediation efforts in Zimbabwe.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that he was out of the country so he could not express an opinion on this statement by the President. However, South Africa had been of the opinion that Africa should solve its own problems. It was within this framework that Zimbabweans were urged to find their own solutions to their own domestic problems.

Deputy Minister Pahad noted that if non-African states felt that they could make a positive contribution to the mediation efforts in Zimbabwe then they could do so via the African Union or SADC.

On the issue of UN involvement in the run-off elections, Deputy Minister Pahad said that South Africa maintained that UN involvement should stretch as far as the General Assembly and that he did not think there was a need for a UN Observer Mission, despite calls from the MDC for UN involvement.

Mr Pahad noted that South Africa did not prevent Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and Mr Simba Makoni from travelling to African states to further their cause and that South Africa was willing to assist Zimbabweans rebuild their country after the presidential run-off elections.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked why the President decided to send retired army generals to assess the scope of the post-election violence in Zimbabwe and when they would release their report to the Presidency.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that the President did not furnish any details to him, but he believed that the generals were sent due to their experience of black-on-black violence that plagued South Africa. The report was expected by the end of this week.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked whether diplomatic relations between China and South Africa were strained after the Chinese ship that carried weapons destined for Zimbabwe was refused permission to off-load this cargo.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that the matter was dealt with by the National Treasury, via South African Revenue Services (SARS) and that diplomatic relations between China and South Africa had not been affected by this. He added that the Chinese said that the decision to sell arms to Zimbabwe was taken before the elections and that the Chinese thought it best to recall the ship due to the problems in Zimbabwe.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked what South Africa’s stance was on the ban of cluster bombs.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that South Africa had always been an advocate for a world free of nuclear weapons and that South Africa supported a partial ban on Cluster Bombs. He noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would engage with the various other government departments on South Africa’s position on cluster bombs and that South Africa was in favour of a total ban on the use of landmines in armed conflicts.

Q. The Deputy Minister was asked what stance South Africa would take in light of reports that Britain, France and the USA had pushed for a move to force the Myanmar government to accept foreign aid after the devastating cyclone in that country.

A. The Deputy Minister replied that South Africa had called on the Myanmar government to ease restrictions so that foreign aid could be delivered to that country.

The briefing was adjourned

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