South Africa 100 years old

On 31st May 1910 the Union of South Africa came into existence.

In the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), Britain annexed the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, two hitherto independent Afrikaner Republics, and renamed them the Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony respectively. They were added to Britain's existing South African territories, the Cape Colony and Colony of Natal.

The Union of these British Colonies was the result of nine years of negotiations and represented a great victory for peacemaking following the destructive and bitter war. This Union was created by the passage of The South Africa Act of 1909 by the British Parliament. A bicameral parliament was created, consisting of a House of Assembly and Senate, and its members were elected mostly by the country's white minority.

This Act, which essentially brought into being the South African state as it is known today, served as the South African constitution until 1961, when South Africa became a Republic and left the Commonwealth. The basic structure of the 1909 Act continued to live on in its replacement, the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act (1961).

This was again replaced by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act (1983) in which a tricameral Paliament was constituted, essentially done to give the Indian and Coloured (mixed race) population the vote. The Black population were to exercise their vote through independent Black States created on a tribal basis.

Following the unbanning of the ANC and the PAC, and the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990, in a referendum held on March 17, 1992 the white electorate voted 68% in favour of dismantling apartheid through negotiations.

After protracted negotiations under the auspices of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), a draft contitution appeared on 26 July 1993, containing concessions towards all sides: a federal system of regional legislaturs, equal voting-rights regardless of race, and a bicameral legislature. In April 1994 the South African population voted in the first universal sufferage general election.

In 1996, after considerable debate, and following submissions from advocacy groups, individuals and ordinary citizens, the Parliament enacted a new Constitution and a Bill of Rights.

'SA racist killer gets life term' - BBC Friday 21 Nov 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7741301.stm

'A judge has sentenced a 19-year-old white South African to four life terms in jail for killing four black people in a shooting spree in January'

And so he should be!

But the Biased Broadcasting Corporation, over the last 14 years, has yet to comment on the 'other' racist murders in the New South Africa.

To date there have been just over 3000 white farmers, most of Boer origin, murdered on their farms by black assailants. Most of these murders have been accompanied by horrific violence, in fact often sadistic torture, inflicted on the victims. Women, even octogenarian women, and young girls have been violently raped by men who know they are HIV positive (we know this as they have told the victim afterwards that this is the case).

The torture has included pouring boiling water over the victims for hours on end and burning the victim over most of the body with a hot clothes iron. On occasions the perpetrators have sat around getting drunk while watching the victim bleed to death, and even let the spouse of the victim watch this happening. Fingers have been chopped off live victims - just to get a ring. And so the litany goes on.

And a huge proportion of these farmers have been elderly defenseless people.

There have been a total of 31000 attacks.

In 1994, when the ANC were handed the reins of power, there were 85 000 farmers in South Africa - occupying just 6% of the entire land surface. Now there are 13 500 white farmers left occupying less than 1% of the land.

Farms given to black South Africans lie in ruins, buildings plundered for roofing, windows and doors - to build shacks elsewhere; water pumps vandalised and farm equipment either stolen or no longer functioning.

SA has also become a net food importer.

I have often heard people comment that these white farmers deserve what is happening to them because of the way they have treated their farm workers. But the Helen Suzman Foundation (this is that brave white liberal woman who for years was the sole voice in Parliament who spoke out about the vileness of Apartheid), found that 93% of farm workers indicate their relationship with their employer is good.

In fact the workers on SA farms have generally been the recipients of care from their employers that far exceeds what farm workers get elsewhere. Each employee would be allowed to have a home and have his family stay on the farm, would have been given a bit of land for cultivation, allowed to keep a few head of cattle on the farm, be supplied with the basic food needed for the whole family, the wives employed in the farmhouse, and often a group of 3 or 4 farmers would have clubbed together to build a school and employ a teacher for the children. The wages have been poor, but then an average of 10, with 6 dependents each, have been employed on a farm surely at a high cost to the farmer.

Sadly the new employers, those recipients of government largess, the mates of the ANC government, have seen fit not to continue this relationship, and 1.2 million farm workers and their families have been evicted and are now homeless.

There have been cries of a 'Boer Genocide' being orchestrated by the ANC.

The term "genocide" was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish legal scholar, in 1943. Defining genocide in 1943, Lemkin wrote:

Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.

Apart from the high rate of murder accompanying attacks on farms, and even in the cities and towns, what else do we have to go along with the concept of genocide.

Economically white South Africans are being strangled. The government has a policy of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) which has made it almost impossible for whites to get employment. This cancer has spread throughout the Government and has been forced on Business by laws dictating quotas amongst staff that have to reflect the demographics of the country. Affirmative action has made it barely possible for the top white South African Students to gain access to University.

The Afrikaner fanatical, almost religious, support for Rugby (Union) has been attacked with quotas being enforced on the National Team, a continual barrage of politically motivated attempts at removing the name and symbol of a team that is recognised worldwide as the 'Springboks' and lately moves to take away stadiums that are used solely for rugby.

Streets named after Europeans who founded and developed the country or were heroes in the Anglo-Boer War have been changed with a feverish delight - at great cost and whilst large numbers of black men starve.

There are anecdotal reports of Police Officers failing to protect or investigate crimes against white people, refusal to allow them to communicate in their mother language of Afrikaans and even recordings of hate speech and verbal racist attacks on whites by high ranking government officials have surfaced.

Hate speech is part of the new President of the ANC's 'campaign' song where he calls for his machine gun. Even the sainted Nelson Mandela has been recorded on video singing songs about killing whites.

The ANC government is disarming the law abiding (mostly white) citizens while the townships are bursting at the seams with AK 47's and stolen hand guns, and any attempts at self defence are harshly penalised.

That there is a campaign to destroy any vestiges of white culture, economic power or history, can be in no doubt.

But the BBC likes to vilify white South Africans, and has done so for many decades, and finds it necessary to report any white on black violence with such glee and with breathtaking bias against whites. And they are ably assisted by the MSM in South Africa who never fail to mention the colour of the perpetrator if he is white, but do not do so if he is black.

Bleak Future

The myopia and greed of the country’s new regime of rats have eroded my faith in the specific future I had once believed in. I do not foresee, today, any significant decrease in crime and violence in South Africa; I have serious doubts that our rulers can even guarantee a safe and successful soccer World Cup in 2010; I do not believe that the levels of corruption and nepotism and racketeering and incompetence and injustice and unacceptable practices of “affirmative action” in the country will decrease in the near future.

Andre Brink - One of the famous Afrikaans Anti-Apartheid Writers, after his nephew was shot in the face and allowed to die in front of his wife and daughter, whilst his murderers continued to ransack his house.

Africa Addio

Once again South Africa's Teaboy Mbeki has shamed his country by his failure to stop Mugabe's violent thuggery.

But is Mbeki alone in his 'silent support' of this madman and his henchmen?

In a statement released by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ANC ( http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=92677&sn=Detail ) they have been quite clear where their support lies.

• It has always been and continues to be the view of our movement that the challenges facing Zimbabwe can only be solved by the Zimbabweans themselves. Nothing that has happened in the recent months has persuaded us to revise that view. A lasting solution has to be led by the Zimbabweans and any attempts by outside players to impose regime change will merely deepen the crisis.

• The political programme of the national liberation movement in Zimbabwe consequently centred on the right of national self-determination to be attained through democratic elections in which all adult citizens of the country would have the untrammelled right to elect the government of their choice. Restoration of the land seized during colonialism to the indigenous people was a central plank of that programme as well. It was a shared objective of all the liberation movements in this region of Africa...

• The ANC is very mindful of the obligations Britain assumed in relation to Zimbabwe at the Lancaster House Talks. Chief amongst these was resolution of the Land Question, i.e. undoing the consequences of well nigh 100 years of British colonial domination. A large measure of responsibility for the current crisis is attributable to the ex-colonial power because it has reneged on that undertaking.

• In our efforts to assist Zimbabweans resolve their problems the ANC has consistently supported the efforts of the South African government and the SADC region. After the SADC Summit appointed President Mbeki to act as mediator amongst the parties in Zimbabwe, he has enjoyed the ANC's unstinting support. We were consequently very pleased when, owing to his mediation, a relatively peaceful and free election was held on 29 March 2008.

• While the ANC was sceptical of the feasibility of a run-off, we deferred to the judgement of the SADC leadership and that of the political parties in Zimbabwe and lent our support to the process.
  

But have added a small sop to democracy by alluding to the violence in Zimbabwe.

• However, compelling evidence of violence, intimidation and outright terror; the studied harassment of the leadership of the MDC, including its Presidential candidate, by the security organs of the Zimbabwean government; the arrest and detention of the Secretary-General of the MDC; the banning of MDC public meetings; and denial of access to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, all have convinced us that free and fair elections are not possible in the political environment prevalent in Zimbabwe today.

• We wish the MDC, ZANU (PF) and all the other parties in Zimbabwe the moral courage, strength and determination to urgently seek a viable solution to the profound problems facing their country.
  
  Meanwhile the ANC government has shown its true colours and is trying to pass an Expropriation Bill through their Parliament which will enable them to take all the movable assets as well as the farm as they continue their own drive to disposses white farmers and destroy the food producers in South Africa.

Even the future SA President, Jacob Zuma, ( http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71656?oid=92679&sn=Detail ) at an International Investment Congress held in South Africa, showed that the Marxist Ideology of the ANC is still very much alive and well when he said:-

• As the ANC, we are calling for a mixed economy, where the state, private capital, cooperatives and other forms of social ownership complement each other in an integrated way to eliminate poverty and foster shared economic growth.

• Our view is that the State must play a central and strategic role in the economy, by directly investing in underdeveloped areas and directing private sector investment.

• The State should also mobilise society to take part in the implementation of those priorities and direct resources towards realising these objectives.

• There still exists skewed patterns of ownership and production in our economy, a legacy of the apartheid past. Change will not happen automatically. Decisive action is required to transform the current economic patterns in order to realise our vision for the future.

• This regulation should take into account the country's commitment to land reform, restitution, redistribution and access to land. The ANC has also resolved that we should discard the market-driven land reform and immediately review the principle of willing-seller, willing-buyer so as to accelerate equitable distribution of land.

This the future of South Africa - Central control of the Economy while it runs unsuccesful collective farms on previously vibrant farming land - yet another Failed State, yet another unsuccesful Post Colonial African Democracy.

If you have the stomach, watch the original, uncut version of 'Africa Addio' recorded by an Italian TV crew in 1964. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4540134202583442015&q=addio+africa&ei=8rEUSOSSGIWEqgOijqTTBA

Mad Bob and his sycophant Thabo

In his speech to world food summit, June 3 2008, the Zimbabwean president said :-

My country's primary agriculture policy objective remains that of ensuring national and household food security through our own production. In this regard, Zimbabwe has recognised the importance and centrality of land in agricultural production and food security. Thus, over the past decade, Zimbabwe has democratized the land ownership patterns in the country, with over 300 000 previously landless families now proud landowners.

Previously, this land was owned by a mere 4,000 farmers, mainly of British stock. While this land reform programme has been warmly welcomed by the vast majority of our people, it has however, and regrettably so, elicited wrath from our former colonial masters. In retaliation for the measures we took to empower the black majority, the United Kingdom has mobilized her friends and allies in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand to impose illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. They have cut off all development assistance, disabled lines of credit, prevented the Bretton Woods institutions from providing financial assistance and ordered private companies in the United States not to do business with Zimbabwe. All this has been done to cripple Zimbabwe's economy and thereby effect illegal regime change in our country.

In a statement released by the White House, President GW Bush had the following comment about Zimbabwe:-

While Robert Mugabe makes political statements in Rome, his people continue to face empty markets at home. The United States currently feeds more than 1 million Zimbabweans and spent more than $170 million on food assistance in Zimbabwe last year. We will continue these efforts to prevent government-induced starvation in Zimbabwe.

In late April the South African President, the purveyor of 'quiet diplomacy', Thabo Mbeki , addressed a four-page letter to President Bush. Rather than coordinating strategy to end Zimbabwe's nightmare, Mbeki criticized the United States, in a text packed with exclamation points, for taking sides against President Mugabe's government and disrespecting the views of the Zimbabwean people. "He said it was not our business," recalls one American official, and "to butt out, that Africa belongs to him."

The 'New South Africa' has also actively blocked United Nations discussions about human rights abuses in Zimbabwe - and in Belarus, Cuba, North Korea and Uzbekistan.

South Africa was also the only 'democracy' to vote against a resolution demanding that the Burmese junta stop ethnic cleansing and free jailed dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.

When Iranian nuclear proliferation was debated in the Security Council, South Africa dragged out discussions and demanded watered-down language in the resolution.

In the General Assembly, South Africa fought against a resolution condemning the use of rape as a weapon of war because the resolution was not sufficiently anti-American, and opposed a resolution condemning rape and attacks on civilians in Darfur - and then rolled out the red carpet for a visit from Sudan's genocidal leader.

When confronted by international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch about their apparent indifference to all rights but their own, South African officials have responded by attacking the groups themselves which, they conspiratorially (and falsely) claim, are funded by "major Western powers."

South Africa clearly is also attempting to league itself with China and Brazil in a new nonaligned movement to redress an "imbalance of global power," meaning an excess of American power.

Longtime observers of Mbeki believe that racial issues may also play a role as he lashes out whenever he believes that Westerners are telling Africans how to conduct their lives, or who their leaders should be.

There is a common theme developing here and surely this spells out the future of South Africa - the only truely functional economy in sub Saharan Africa, but one wonders for how much longer.

Out of Africa II

The annual African National Congress meeting is taking place at Gallagher Estate outside Johannesburg. There are several issues of interest.

Firstly is the thorny subject of succession. Current South African President and leader of the ANC, Thabo Mbeki, is constitutionally bound to step down as President at the end of this election cycle.

His erstwhile deputy, Jacob Zuma, is positioning himself to stand for President. Recently Zuma has been acquitted on a messy rape charge and is currently being investigated on charges of accepting a bribe. Zuma is a populist choice but is a huge threat to business as he supports the idea of nationalisation of banks, mining, etc.

Mbeki and his supporters have made suggestions of the need to alter the constitution so that he can stand for a third term.

Of more interest is the second issue. Currently the ANC govern with a huge majority. This is because it is a tripartite alliance between them, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). At the ANC meeting, the SACP representatives have been suggesting that it is time to go on their own as many of their policies are ignored by the government, whilst the ANC (Mbeki) have said that they, the ANC, are not a Communist party and will continue pursuing a capitalist agenda.

This is all happening against the background of a large, prolonged and messy Public Service strike for increased wages which has all but paralysed government.

The tripartite alliance is on shaky ground.

Democratic governments are really as good as there opposition allows them to be. For any government to remain unchallenged is the foundation for for poor governance, corruption and plain old incompetence. Strengthening opposition to a sitting government will keep them honest.

There is a pre-existing example of this in South Africa. During PW Botha's reign, when he wanted to start change, the Afrikaans community became divided between the 'verligtes' (enlightened) and the 'verkramptes' (narrow minded), and this eventually lead to weakening of the National Party Government as a separate Afrikaans party was formed, the Herstigte Nationaal Party. This marked the beginning of the end of Apartheid.

Nation Without a Country

The history of South Africa and its white population is not well understood outside South Africa.

The Cape Colony came into existence as a station for the Dutch East India Company to replenish its ships on the way to the East. The ownership changed hands and it ended up under British rule. Many of the Dutch objected to British rule and moved inland to establish their own Republics - these were the Boer Republics of the Oranje Vrystaat and the Transvaal. The British colony of Natal was also in existence at this time.

Cecil John Rhodes had always desired British ownership of the whole of Africa and created conditions for the declaration of war against the two republics. The Anglo-Boer War was a particularly bitter conflict with the might of the British Empire being thrown against the two small republics. However, the cunning and highly mobile Boers inflicted a huge amount of damage on the 'redcoats' with their guerilla-style warfare. The respose was for the British troops change their red uniforms to less conspicous 'kahki' and to burn all the Boer farms and round up their women and children into the infamous concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands of women and children died and to this day there is a hatred of the British in many parts of South Africa.

After defeat of the Boers, the British set up governorship and eventually union of the four colonies in 1910. And so the Union of South Africa was created and the flag, which consisted of the Orange, White and Blue (similar to the Dutch flag) with a Union Jack, the Vrystaat Flag and the Transvaal Vierkleur in the centre, was born.

The Union remained under British domination and the industry and financial institutions were firmly in the hands of the British while the Boers/Afrikaners were marginalised from the economy. Most of the wealth generated was sent back to Britain.

The Afrikaner elite formed the Broederbond (Brotherhood) to promote Afrikaans interests and, with rapid urbanisation of poor, uneducated Afrikaners, positions were filled in the bureaucracy and eventually control of it was in the hands of the Afrikaner. The Afrikaner 'volk' was an amalgam of Dutch, French Hugenots and other European nations.

The General Elections of 1948 were the turning point in Afrikaner fortunes when the National Party won (with a minority vote as a result of gerrymandering). New Industrial and Financial institutions were set up and the control of the economy changed hands. The Afrikaans electorate was well looked after with creation of job resevation to prevent the emerging black urban population from getting in the way, huge amounts of money were spent on Afrikaans educational institutions, etc.

The Parliamentary structure, which had been inherited from the British, remained but the voters of coloured (mixed race) origin were removed from the voters role. The Blacks were mainly on the fringes of the development of South Africa and had never been included in the parliamentary structure by the British.

When Dutch born Hendrik Verwoerd became Prime Minister in 1958 he introduced the system of Apartheid, which quite simply means 'separateness'. The idea was to enforce separate development of the white and black South Africans in their own areas. The cornerstones of this policy were 1) The Immorality Act which outlawed any sexual contact between the different races, 2) The Group Areas Act which designated the areas in which the different races had to live and 3) The Separate Amenities Act which allocated race based public toilets, beaches, busses, etc, for each group to use.

These policies were unpopular with the Commonwealth and in 1961 South Africa left the commonwealth and became a Republic (but still kept the flag with the hated Union Jack in its centre). For its race-based politics South Africa became dispised by the world, feelings which are still quite freely expressed.

Against this race-based background, there was also a gulf between the English-speaking South Africans and their Afrikaans-speaking compatriots.

The National Party governed for close on fifty years before handing over power to the black freedom movement, the ANC.. and a new flag was born.

Since then the white South African and especially the Afrikaner have been searching for a new identity. There have been some diehards who have believed that they can overthrow the government but most have ended up in gaol. Many have reluctantly left their homeland. It is a society bereft of leadership and sidelined from the economic development that the demise of Apartheid has brought.

Into this vacuum has come a singer with a rousing rock song, about an admired Boer General from the age of the Anglo-Boer War, that has rallied the white South African and given them a voice.


De La Rey


On a mountain in the night

I lie in the dark and wait

In the mud and the blood

As cold rain clings to my pack



And my house and my farm were burnt to the ground so they could capture our land

But the flame and the fire that once burned now burn profundly within my heart.




De La Rey, De La Rey come lead the Boer

De La Rey, De La Rey

General, General united with you we shall rise or we fall.

General De La Rey.



Against the soldiers that laugh

A handful of us against an army of them

With the cliffs of the mountains against our backs

They think they can run us down


But the heart of a Boer is deeper and wider than the enemy can see

On a horse he has come, The Lion of West Transvaal.




De La Rey, De La Rey come lead the Boer

De La Rey, De La Rey

General, General united with you we shall rise or we fall.

General De La Rey.



Because my wife and my child are forced into prison to die,

As the enemies overruns us again, we are forced to take astand



De La Rey, De La Rey come lead the Boer

De La Rey, De La Rey

General, General united with you we shall rise or we fall

I make no apologies about not including the fortunes of the Black South African in this dissertation as it is about the White South African



AFRIKAANS VERSION:
Op 'n berg in die naglê ons in die donker en wag in die modder en bloed lê ek koud, streepsak en reën kleef teen my
en my huis en my plaas tot kole verbrand sodat hulle ons kanvang, maar daai vlamme en vuur brand nou diep, diep binne my.
De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei? De La Rey, De La ReyGeneraal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val. Generaal De La Rey.
Oor die Kakies wat lag,'n handjie van ons teen 'n hele groot magen die kranse lê hier teen ons rug, hulle dink dis verby.
Maar die hart van 'n Boer lê dieper en wyer, hulle gaan dit nog sien. Op 'n perd kom hy aan, die Leeu van die Wes Transvaal.
De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei? De La Rey, De La Rey Generaal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val. Generaal De La Rey.
Want my vrou en my kind lê in 'n kamp en vergaan, en die Kakies se murg loop oor 'n nasie wat weer op sal staan.
De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei? De La Rey, De La Rey Generaal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val. Generaal De La Rey.

Why Africa is in Dire Straits

Zim suffers as Mugabe celebrates birthday

Organisers of a lavish 83rd birthday party for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe prepared on Friday to slaughter prize herds of cattle as shops ran short of basics such as cooking oil and bread. Africa's oldest-serving leader, who has been in power since independence from Britain 1980, turned 83 on Wednesday amid mounting pressure to step down.

(http://www.mg.co.za/)

Post colonial Africa has been a litany of corruption lasting more than half a century. As freedom movements have taken over government of the various countries, their leaders have entrenched themselves as life-long rulers. Most of these 'leaders' have risen to the top of their respective political party through violence and elimination of their competition. As leaders of popular movements they make it into government on a wave of euphoria amongst their voters, but once there do nothing for the rank and file as they set out to enrich themselves beyond belief, set up a circle of friends who are also beneficiaries of this wealth, and squash their opposition with squads of vicious 'security' forces.

And the poor remain desperately poor.

Western aid becomes a further source of wealth. That which reaches the starving, the sick and the uneducated is just a pittance. No matter how many Band Aid concerts are held, no matter how many Bono's and Madonna's castigate the Western World for lack of financial help, it will not change.

Leading African countries, such as South Africa, have to be at the forefront of condemnation of the corruption that blights Africa. Thabo Mbeki has been an abject failure, despite his declaration that this is Africa's century. He has failed to criticise Mugabe, his silence being covert support for ZANU's destructive policies; he has failed to pressure Mugabe into change and he has failed to take the African Union along with him.

Further he has presided over a scandal of corruption, amongst leading members of the old guard of the ANC, in a massive arms deal that has netted huge personal wealth for the chosen few. There is suspicion that Mbeki himself was one of the largest recipients.

The South Africa Iran Nuclear Nexus

Teheran getting its hands on weapons of mass destruction is arguably the greatest threat facing international peace and security. Most responsible nations have over the last few years expended much effort in trying to prevent this doomsday scenario. But the ANC government of South Africa has adopted a different approach. It has consistently sought to strengthen its ties with Iran: defending its ‘right’ to nuclear technology and even allegedly offering to supply it with uranium.

South Africa is no nuclear light weight. It has the world’s fourth-largest uranium reserves and significant experience in fuel production. It sits on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, occupies a temporary seat on the UN Security Council and will be the next chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. There is no doubt that given these credentials South Africa could have a significant influence on the ability of the international community to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Unfortunately however, South Africa has been a staunch supporter of Iran’s bid to develop its nuclear infrastructure seeing it as part of a greater struggle against ‘Western imperialism’ and ‘…the inherent discriminatory nature of the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty, which created two distinct groups: the haves and the have-nots.”

But South Africa has gone much further than merely defending Iran’s right to develop nuclear technology. It has in fact sought to strengthen its relationship with the Islamic Republic to the extent that it is fast becoming a key member of the broader anti-Western totalitarian camp.

In May 2006, South African officials and the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, and Venezuela met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Afterward, South African Deputy Foreign Minister spoke of stronger ties to Iran, particularly within the Non-Aligned Movement framework, adding that Iran has been instrumental in providing regional stability. Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki stated that, “given that today NAM member states more than ever have commonalities in the international scene, their coordination and close cooperation can create a powerful movement in the world.”

In August 2006, bilateral cooperation was strengthened when Mottaki met with a number of South African government officials.

An important part of this South African-Iranian alliance is nuclear cooperation.

During the annual session of the UN General Assembly in September 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and South African President Thabo Mbeki discussed points for strengthening bilateral relations in various fields, including the nuclear field.

South Africa may have also offered to transfer natural uranium to Iran for use in its program, although there is no indication that any such deal has been concluded. So concerned was the United States with these developments that sent its ambassador to the IAEA to South Africa to urge it to take a stricter stance on Iran’s nuclear issue.

Mbeki warns on China-Africa ties

From BBC news

Africa must guard against falling into a "colonial relationship" with China, South African President Thabo Mbeki has warned the continent.
His comments come as fast-growing China is continuing to increase its push for raw materials across Africa.
Mr Mbeki said African nations must strive for their relationship with China to be based on equal trade.
Last month, China hosted an Africa summit attended by 50 African leaders including Mr Mbeki.

At last I agree with Mbeki about something.

Mr Mbeki said that if Africa just exported raw materials to China while importing Chinese manufactured goods, the African continent could be "condemned to underdevelopment".
He said that this would simply mean "a replication" of Africa's historical relationship with its former colonial powers.

I fear that they would not be as good to Africa as Europe was, and they were not very good at all.

The ANC's Hypocrisy

An article unashamedly copied from http://supernatural.blogs.com/weblog/2006/12/ronnie_kasrils_.html highlights the hypocrisy of the ANC Government of South Africa. Kasril's was a member of the ANC in exile campaining for isolation of the Apartheid Government and for equality and freedom of the peoples of South Africa. Now he is singing a different tune as the ANC strengthens it's ties with the polecats of the world such as Assad, Mugabe, Castro, Gadaffi and Aristide. The man is an idiot!

Ronnie Kasrils: SA Minister of Totalitarian Affairs
Hot on the heels of signing a defence pact with one of Africa’s most repressive regimes (Zimbabawe), Minister Kasrils spent the last week breaking pita with the leadership of the Arab equivalent (Syria). The South African department of Intelligence states on its website that the purpose of the visit was ‘to hold discussions to strengthen relations between the two countries (South Africa and Syria)’.
The choice of Kasrils as the envoy for such a diplomatic mission is rather strange. Someone from the department of Foreign Affairs would surely have been a more appropriate choice. The Syrians however seem to have been ecstatic with the choice. For Ronnie received a red carpet roll out reserved only for tin pot dictators and leaders of terrorist gangs. He met the Syrian Interior Minister, Foreign Minister, deputy Foreign Minister, Minister of Expatriates (what ever that maybe) and Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
And the admiration seems to have been mutual. For Red Ronnie did not stop fawning over his Syrian hosts. After meeting Syria’s deputy foreign Minister, for example, Kasrils ‘expressed on our behalf his respect and appreciation of Syria's stances and important role for realizing stability and security in the region.’ I wonder if the poor people of Lebanon now on the brink of civil war (as a result of Syrian meddling) would see it quite the same way. Or the poor people of Iraq for that matter. The Syrian border is only the most popular entry point for foreign terrorist in Iraq.
Not only is the Syrian regime a threat to its neighbours, Iraq, Israel and Lebanon but it is also a menace to its own people. Although Syria has a constitution that in theory should protect the rights of its citizens, a state of emergency has been in place since the 1960’s effectively giving the government absolute authority. More than 4 decades of martial law has reduced Syria to one of the most unfree countries in the world. According to freedom house, an independent organisation that monitors freedom around the world, on a scale of 1-7 from free to unfree, Syria scores a whopping 7 (just like Zimbabwe). It has no free press, no real opposition parties and uncontested presidential elections. Moreover like most totalitarian regimes the Syrian government from time to time murders any potential political opponents. In fact 2 years ago 30 Kurds were murdered in cold blood by security forces for staging a protest against the government.
But not only does our good Minister respect and admire one of the world’s most totalitarian states, he actually believes that South Africa should emulate them. Kasrils told the Syrian press of his visit that
'We've dealt with bilateral relations between our two peoples and governments in addition to Syria's experience in the Security Council as a non-permanent member because South Africa will also occupy the same position next year…I have a lot to tell my president about Syria.’
If Red Ronnie has his way, South Africa’s U.N. Security Council seat will be used not to export the ideals of our democratic revolution but rather in the service of tyranny and terror.
What disgusts me most about Kasrils and his political road trip through the Syrian halls of power, is his blatant double standard. In classical Kasrilspeak, Ronnie called on the West to engage with Syria saying that
South Africa rejects every policy aimed to isolate states and peoples instead of getting them close by enhancing dialogue among them.’
This is the same Ronnie Kasrils who has been campaigning tirelessly to sever South African diplomatic ties with Israel and to impose anti-Apartheid type sanctions on the Jewish state.
Hypocrisy has become Minister Kasrils’ political trademark.