By Peter Dube, JOHANNESBURG
South Africa
The leader of South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to arrest Russian leader Vladimir Putin should he set foot in the country.
On March 18, 2023, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest against Putin for
alleged war crimes in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
And with South Africa being a
signatory to the Rome Statute, Mr Steenhuisen says the country has a legal
obligation to cooperate with the ICC and help put President Putin behind bars
when he lands in South Africa.
“I think that any responsible
president would advise Putin, given the ICC arrest warrant, that he should
perhaps not come,” said Mr Steenhuisen.
“But if he does come, I think
South Africa is obliged — if it’s for the rule of law and (if you) govern
according to the constitutional principles — you would be obliged to execute
that arrest warrant.
“If he is here, we have a
legal obligation. The principle of the rule of law means equality before the
law, and South Africa is obliged to execute that. We have not left the ICC.
We’ve remained signatories. Putin must be arrested,” he added.
The Russian leader is
scheduled to attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
summit in South Africa in August, as confirmed by the International Relations
Minister Naledi Pandor.
However, the South African
International Relations Department and President Ramaphosa await legal advice
on handling Putin’s trip to South Africa.
Country’s reputation
In addition, the DA urged the
South African leader to prioritise the country’s reputation by arresting Putin
or ensuring he is not among the leaders attending the BRICS summit.
“The country simply cannot
afford another hit to our reputation. The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF)
grey listing due to the failure to effectively combat money laundering and the
financing of terrorism has already caused the rest of the world to view South
Africa’s global transactions as high-risk,” said the DA in a statement.
“And the failure to arrest
former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2015 certainly indicates that
despite its many utterances to the contrary, the ANC government does not
prioritise human rights.
“The ICC’s issuing of a
warrant for Putin’s arrest for alleged war crimes should serve as a final
warning to the ANC that while the governing party might make light of the
invasion of a neighbouring country, the international community does not.
“If President Ramaphosa
insists on placing his friendship with a wanted war criminal over the
well-being of his people, we call on him to ensure the meeting takes place on
neutral ground and that peace and Russia’s immediate withdrawal from Ukraine be
prioritised.
“South Africa is already seen
as weak, inactive and rudderless – we do not need to add sympathiser of war
criminals to the list.”
No comments:
Post a Comment