The Sisulu Foundation for Social Justice has come out swinging at President Cyril Ramaphosa for how he handled the expulsion of Ebrahim Rasool from the US and the presidency’s apprehension about renaming Sandton Drive.
In a fiery statement addressing these issues, the foundation, which was founded in honour of struggle icons Walter and Albertina Sisulu, believes that Ramaphosa’s statements regarding the US are skewed towards appeasing foreign powers instead of protecting the nation.
The foundation deems Ramaphosa’s actions a “misstep” and a “betrayal of the values our liberation struggle was built upon”.
“The current approach, however, is so compromised that it’s difficult to distinguish between the agenda of the US State Department and the South African Presidency; as it currently stands, it doesn’t look clear. South Africans did not elect their government to serve as a proxy for American interests in Africa,” the statement read.
The presidency has been cautious around renaming Sandton Drive to Leila Khalid Drive, in honour of the Palestinian freedom fighter. This move could exert further strain on the country’s relationship with the US, as their consulate is located on Sandton Drive.
The US has strong ties with Israel and has openly supported them during their conflict against Palestine.
“Affirming the correctness of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation cause by renaming the street to Leila Khaled can reinvigorate South Africa’s commitment to human rights, and recanting on this supreme course as some would wish us to do can only serve to defile the honour of Walter and Albertina Sisulu and their comrades,” the foundation statement read.
This week, the Johannesburg council mounted more pressure on the national government when the motion to halt the renaming of the street was rejected. In a press briefing on Thursday, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said they would engage with the leadership of the city and cautioned that they do not want to further aggravate existing tensions between Pretoria and Washington.
“We are operating within the constitutionally provided intergovernmental cooperative framework, and we are saying to our colleagues in the City of Joburg, ‘We have a major diplomatic situation that we are managing and that we need to manage. Do not engage in any action that will further inflame the situation’,” he said.
The foundation goes as far as offering to take up South Africa’s case at the ICJ should there be a decision by the government to abandon the matter.
This comes after Rasool was declared persona non grata by US authorities for accusing US President Donald Trump of leading a “white supremacist movement”, during an event at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
The government has shown no resistance towards the US decision, with some top diplomats expressing that Rasool was wrong to speak out about the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Rasool lands at the Cape Town International Airport today, and the presidency has urged ANC members to practice restraint when welcoming him back.
“He [the president] is not asking them to stop welcoming Rasool but he is saying, ‘Please be considerate of what he is trying to manage at the moment and be considerate about what is at stake with regard to the country’s economy with respect to doing our level best to retain that strategic partnership with the US and hopefully even engage in a revised trade framework.”
