Issue No.590
International
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13 - 19 June 2002 Issue No.590 International |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Apartheid déjà-vu
Miriam Mahlow from Johannesburg examines how South Africa's past shapes reactions towards the Palestinian suffering
The similarities are obvious. Policies of forced removal, identity cards and arbitrary detention are practiced to perfection by the Israeli army -- but have only 10 years ago been widely applied by South Africa's white apartheid regime. If only for the historical parallels, most South Africans, and not just the Muslim minority, can identify with the Palestinian struggle.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, summarised so fittingly his visit to the Holy Land. "It reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa -- the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks reminded me of the young white police officers who prevented us from moving about."
Since last summer, a broad coalition of support for the Palestinian people has formed in South Africa whose activities and awareness-raising campaigns are receiving an increasing amount of public attention. Mercia Andrews, head of the Palestinian Solidarity Group (PSG), explains. "The UN world conference against racism brought a lot of people's attention to the Palestinian cause and led to a huge public protest over the UN's reluctance to condemn Zionism. Just like during the time of apartheid the Palestinians must have felt left alone by the rest of the world."
That so little was achieved at the world conference was the stimulus that created the PSG. Today, the group engages in a wide range of campaigns to raise public awareness. Although working together with the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa and other Muslim organisations, the support group sees itself as a humanitarian group, not a pro-Muslim organisation.
Andrews said that, for South Africans, the Palestinian struggle is a fight against the repetition of apartheid oppression and imperial power. More generally, she said, it is a struggle for human rights. The organisation, which is growing rapidly, draws members from all ranks and religions: lawyers, academics, trade unionists, Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Besides organising protests in front of the South African Parliament and the Israeli Embassy, the PSG aims to target Israeli products and stores. "We simply do not want to engage in any activity that could support the repression of Palestinians," Andrews said.
Still, South Africa's stores abound with Israeli products that are, in fact, often cheaper than local items. This is mostly a result of the active economic and trade relations between South Africa and Israel.
But the most important ties between Israel and South Africa are undoubtedly of a military-strategic nature. In 1994, the year of South Africa's first democratic elections, the old apartheid government signed an arms contract supplying Israel with helicopters. Part of this deal was a 10-year "maintenance clause", whereby to this day, South Africa helps Israel in its military campaign against Palestine.
An investigation headed by Max Ossinsky, one of the few members of South Africa's Jewish community who is critical of Israel, is currently looking into whether South Africa does indeed still support Israel's military. But so far, little is known about the so-called "maintenance clause" .
Although military cooperation between South Africa and Israel might prove outdated, South Africa's government policies toward Israel are peculiar, at best. During the 70s and 80s the Israeli government covertly cooperated with the apartheid regime, sharing intelligence information, military equipment and training. Nevertheless, South Africa's government today is not willing to sever its diplomatic ties with Israel.
Once a strategic partner of the PLO -- indeed Yasser Arafat and Olivier Thambo were known to have been personal friends -- the African National Congress (ANC) shies away from outwardly criticising Israel's apartheid policy. Instead, it favours a more "balanced" approach towards Israel.
Such ambiguity begs the question of what interests really drive the South African government. Is it not more natural that the ANC side with the Palestinian cause, after suffering from Israeli-supported apartheid oppression?
The answers lie in part with South Africa's powerful Jewish lobby and in part with the pragmatism that drives foreign policy. A large segment of South Africa's financial sector is owned or operated by members of South Africa's small, but powerful Jewish community. Although some Jewish South Africans, like Joe Slovo and Ronnie Kasrils, were at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid, South Africa's Jewish community en masse supports Israel. No surprise then, that the government is hesitant to venture on a more forthright and less diplomatic policy towards Israel, which might risk offending much-needed business investors.
However, the Jewish community is only one reason for South Africa's opportune government stance. With the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) applying for financial help from the US and Europe, the South African government simply does not want to upset the Western donor community. Taking a more pro-Palestinian stance, severing diplomatic ties or boycotting Israeli products would most likely cause the US to refrain from supporting NEPAD. As a result, old alliances are quickly traded for new investors.
Although the majority of South Africans might disagree with their government's policies, South Africa, like so many other states, continues to hold on to its diplomatic stance motivated by its own self-interest. At least where foreign policy is concerned, the memories of apartheid seem to have faded quickly.
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