EFF urges US President Donald Trump to back off from SA military affairs

The EFF is urging US President Donald Trump to distance himself from South Africa’s military and international affairs.

The national spokesperson for the EFF, Sinawo Thambo, said Trump didn’t need to express alarm over General Rudzani Maphwanya’s visit to Iran as head of the South African National Defence Force.

“We reject, with contempt, this arrogant posture by the United States, which presumes that South Africa owes it explanations for its sovereign diplomatic and military engagements,” said Thambo.

US relations with Israel

According to Thambo, South Africa and Iran are both members of the BRICS alliance, which collaborates on military, social, and political matters.

A nation is not necessarily an enemy of South Africa just because it is an enemy of the US, he said, adding that the country’s relations will not be influenced by America’s shifting hostilities.

“The hypocrisy of the United States is laid bare in its audacity to question South Africa’s sovereign choices,” Thambo said.

“The same United States openly provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, a settler-colonial regime engaged in genocide against the people of Palestine, and to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, a nation with which South Africa maintains friendly relations.

“At no point has South Africa demanded an explanation or threatened its relations with the United States for arming those who kill and oppress our allies.

“Yet they presume that they can police our engagements with Iran, a sovereign state that has consistently stood on the side of Palestine and the oppressed.”

Political interference

According to Thambo, the trip to Iran was planned since 2024 and should not be evaluated based on the tensions that exist now.

Additionally, Thambo chastised President Cyril Ramaphosa for distancing himself from the Iran visit, claiming that he had downplayed the engagement because he might have known it would anger Trump.

“The most concerning issue in this regard is the apparent political interference with the military by the president and his executive.

“We support the independence of the military, whose activities cannot be dictated to by politicians, including their commander-in-chief.

“We reject calls for the military to enter the diplomatic realm by way of meting out an apology as part of aiding a spineless approach that Ramaphosa has demonstrated so far in his dealings with the United States,” Thambo said.

He called on Maphwanya to stand firm against politicians attempting to control the army, saying he has a responsibility to ensure that South Africans are safeguarded.

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