By Abbey Makoe
CONTROVERSIAL economic sanctions against Russia are not UN-approved. They are a hostile, self-serving strategy unleashed by the US-led EU/Nato bloc as a game of brinkmanship against a geopolitical foe in the form of Moscow.
That every time the US unleashes economic sanctions against its geopolitical opponents – perceived or real – non-aligned states must toe the line or face the wrath of Washington is uncalled for.
The coercion of weaker states by the US to submit to US foreign policy dictates is an affront to international law.
The UN risks irrelevance in the wake of increasing US hegemony that blatantly undermines the principles of multilateralism and the sacred adherence to international law.
The cowboy mantra that “our enemy’s friend is our enemy” stands in stark contrast to freedoms enshrined in diplomatic bilateral relations contained in the UN charter.
Former US President George W Bush – he of the infamous invasion of Iraq in 2003 – was unflinching and unapologetic when he laid down the US foreign policy red line: “If you are not with us, you are against us.” Until this day, this law of the jungle continues to be invoked by Washington, mainly through action and less so in words – words that are an embarrassment to the norms of civilisation.
The US hardly follows diplomatic channels whenever and wherever differences of opinion arise. Always trigger-happy and ready to fire, it shoots from the hip. It fears no one owing to its status as the “only remaining superpower” since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union at the start of the 1990s.
Friends of the US are protected and defended without pretence at all global forums, regardless of how wrong they are in terms of international law. A case in point is Washington’s consistent defence and protection of apartheid Israel. The illegal occupation and oppression of the poor people of Palestine continue to this day – more than half a century later – thanks to the surrogate status of the Jewish state.
In Egypt, the country’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and his Muslim Brotherhood party were removed from power by a US-sanctioned coup led by the military. Morsi was jailed unlawfully without any international outcry until he died mysteriously in prison on June 17, 2019. Amnesty International denounced Morsi’s persecution and fatal detention as “a charade based on null-and-void procedures”. The US continues to invest heavily in Cairo and the country’s military as a bargaining chip to buy Egypt’s soft approach to relations with apartheid Israel.
As long as a regime is in Washington’s good books, it doesn’t matter how cruel it is to its opponents. The US veto power at the UN Security Council is a guaranteed get-out-of-jail-free card.
The US economic embargo against neighbouring state Cuba has been in place for 60 years. UN member states cannot claim to be unaware of the plight of the Cuban people, yet not a word of condemnation or criticism is ever audibly expressed against this inhumane blockade, if it is said at all.
Venezuela is the latest of Washington’s victims. The Caracas economy is on its knees since the socialist state refused to be one of America’s worshippers. Since 2018, the government of President Nicolas Maduro has been fighting off coup attempts orchestrated with the blessing of the US, if not manufactured in Washington itself.
If it does not impose punitive sanctions aimed at regime change, the US embarks on military invasions and occupations. Until a mere 20 months ago, the US was running the show throughout its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, first to orchestrate the extinction of the Taliban and then to keep it out of power. The multibillion-dollar exercise eventually fell flat, embarrassing the US military in the public glare as they literally cut and ran.
South Africa is not immune to US wrath. This week, US ambassador to South Africa Reuben E Brigety was at it again. Without any fear of reprisals from Pretoria, he claimed SA was contravening the US-led EU/Nato sanctions against Russia by “selling weapons” to Moscow.
For once, let’s assume it is true that South Africa is indeed exercising its sovereignty and freedom of trade by entering into an arms-sales agreement with Russia. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, legally speaking.
This was not the first time the US embassy in South Africa undermined its host nation. Not long ago, the embassy that has become a law unto itself issued a dubious “security alert”, claiming an imminent terrorist attack in South Africa’s financial heartland, Sandton. The warning was issued without any sense of decorum and respect to the South African government, the US mischievously keeping the host government in the dark about the validity of its “intelligence”.
Imagine that it was not a US official but any other country’s top envoy behaving in such undiplomatic manner. I am certain all hell would have broken loose. But not where the US is in the wrong.
But such appalling bilateral relations need to be reviewed. Unequal bilateral relations are completely undesirable, particularly where national security and sovereignty are deliberately undermined – and with impunity, for that matter.
The South African Presidency issued an underwhelming statement in response to Ambassador Brigety’s silly comments. It read: “The Presidency has noted with concern remarks attributed to (Ambassador Brigety), alleging the supply by South Africa of weapons to Russia. The ambassador’s remarks undermine the spirit of co-operation and partnership that characterised the recent engagements between US government officials and a South African delegation led by national security special advisor to the president Dr Sydney Mufumadi.”
A Russian vessel known as Lady R docked in South Africa, leading to speculation there was a clandestine operation known by the South African authorities. The allegations were raised during the recent US-SA meeting, and an “understanding” was reached that a retired judge would investigate the claims.
The US spy authorities were also implored to share whatever intelligence they had with their local counterparts. Nothing of that sort happened.
Instead, out of the blue, and typically, the US ambassador exhibited once again the disdain with which his government treats the Ramaphosa administration. It is a pattern, a sickening pattern that blatantly undermines all forms of basic diplomatic decorum and mutual regard.
The South African Presidency lamented what it called the US ambassador’s “counter-productive public posture”. That posture, the Presidency complained, “undermines the understanding reached on the matter (Lady R), and the very positive and constructive engagements between the two delegations”.
What is clear from the Presidency’s statement is that only one side believed the Mufumadi-led meeting in the US was “constructive”. As for the other party, its actions speak louder than words.
And the US habit is an idiosyncrasy that escapes sanction. For once, the Presidency should have hauled the US ambassador to the Union Buildings and read him the riot act. In fact, a repeat offender such as Ambassador Brigety should be sent packing. He should be ordered back home without fear or favour. His penchant to undermine South Africa’s national security and sovereignty sets a bad example. The US cannot continue to be above the law of the land of their hosts.
If the Presidency fails to take action, the government should prepare itself for the worst that is yet to come from Ambassador Brigety. He is paving the way for economic sanctions against Pretoria for the country’s non-aligned stance and refusal to support the US and Nato in their Russophobia.
What Ambassador Brigety is doing is a clear warning shot. And his fearlessness in taking on the South African government through the South African media can only imply his modus operandi towards the government: “Forewarned is forearmed.” In other words, should he be touched, Pretoria will regret it. Washington does not hide her intentions. The Biden administration is methodically and systematically driving South Africa into the US-Russia crosshairs. It’s a cruel strategy to go after “small fry” in the bigger scheme of geopolitical matters.
Russia is South Africa’s partner in Brics. The historical ties between the two countries go back to the days of the ANC’s liberation struggle against the US-supported erstwhile apartheid regime. Russia trained the ANC and armed its military wing with AK47 assault rifles and other weapons. Top ANC and SACP leaders in Moses Kotane and JB Marks died while exiled in Russia and were given heroes’ burials in Moscow before their remains were exhumed and reburied in democratic South Africa by the ANC-led government.
This is a history that cannot be obliterated. It is the foundation on which SA-Russian relations are built. What Washington should be doing is paying reparations for US support for apartheid. Threats of international isolation of democratic South Africa will not work. Geopolitics is fast changing. The world is looking to the East, and turning its back on the treacherous West. Russia and China never colonised Africa. The West did. That’s a fact.