Johannesburg | Thursday
THE South African government on Wednesday ruled out military support for the United States’ war against terrorism, but said Pretoria would co-operate with Washington’s investigations into the acts of terror.
US President George W. Bush telephoned South African President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday and agreed with him that a ”cool head” was needed in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington, a minister told reporters.
”He agreed with President Mbeki (that) all of us feel the anger and everything else, but that a cool head is required in the circumstances,” said Essop Pahad, the minister in the presidency.
Meanwhile, three South African Nobel peace prize laureates condemned last week’s acts of terror in the US, saying it was a renewed call for the world to rid itself of the scourge of terrorism.
Former presidents Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a joint statement they hoped the culprits would be identified, apprehended and severely punished.
They made a special appeal for ”wise leadership and statesmanship in this period of looming crisis”.
”The actions taken should not deepen tensions and further divide the world for it is in those circumstances of strife and division that terrorism finds fertile ground.”
South Africa’s history had taught that negotiation was the surest means of finding lasting solutions to even the most seemingly intractable political problems, they said.
”In the Middle East, particularly, efforts at arriving at a just and peaceful settlement should be redoubled.
”If out of the tragic events of last week the world can find a renewed will to co-operate in finding just solutions to the problems that threaten the safety, security and well-being of us all, the highest tribute would have been paid to those who lost their lives,” they said.
Addressing reporters in Cape Town after Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting in Cape Town, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said South Africa had not considered any military involvement in the operations envisaged by the US.
”We are not considering that option. It was not raised. In our own approach on how terrorism should be fought a military option is not in the offing right now,” she told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
Dlamini-Zuma said US President George W Bush had called President Thabo Mbeki at 2pm on Wednesday. He had thanked South Africa for its support following last week’s terror attacks in New York and Washington.
Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad said Bush had also not raised the issue of military support.
The US president had emphasised Washington could not stamp out terrorism alone and that a global coalition was necessary.
”He agreed with President Mbeki, (that) all of us feel the anger and everything else, but that a cool head is required in the circumstances,” Pahad said.
Nor had Bush mentioned South Africa in the context of those countries the US believed to be harbouring terrorists.
Government representative Joel Netshitenzhe said Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting had begun with a minute of silence in honour of the late Govan Mbeki and the victims of the US attack.
Reading a prepared Cabinet statement, he said South Africa condemned ”terrorism without any equivocation”.
South Africa recognised the right of the US government to track down the culprits and bring them to justice.
However, any action taken should be informed by ”thorough investigations and incontrovertible evidence”.
Pretoria had offered such support and aid as might be required within the limits of its capacity, the statement read.
To the extent that the current investigation might require concrete intelligence information, South Africa’s security agencies would continue to co-operate with their US counterparts.
Dlamini-Zuma would not say whether South Africa had intelligence information that would assist US investigators.
She said the government had also ruled out declaring a national day of mourning or to fly flags at half mast.
It was also premature to talk about a victim’s fund for South African victims of the US attacks as there was still no clarity on how many South Africans had been affected.
The Foreign Ministry said earlier in the day, South African missions in the US had been asked to obtain DNA samples from family members of the six people presumed missing following last week’s attacks.
Also on Wednesday. Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete said South Africa was under pressure from the United Nations to finalise its proposed anti-terrorism legislation.
He was speaking on a visit to the Cape Town offices of the Muslim Judicial Council, hit by an arson attack the MJC believes may have been a reaction to last week’s terror strikes.
Tshwete said the Terrorism Bill was still with the South African Law Commission.
”We are under pressure because right now, people are talking about a world effort against terror,” he said.
Tshwete condemned the attack on the MJC, and urged the police to do all in their power to bring the perpetrators to book.
In his reaction, DA leader Tony Leon on Wednesday night called for South Africa to offer more than just humanitarian aid to the US.
However, he stopped short of supporting unbridled military action.
Leon cautioned against random US strikes against civilians, saying ”barbarism must not be answered with barbarism”.
”We must pledge our full co-operation in any law-enforcement operations that ensue, and we must seriously consider any other new measures against terrorism that are proposed,” he told supporters. – Sapa, AFP
FEATURES:
Shattered World: A Daily Mail & Guardian special on the attack on the US
OFF-SITE:
The Guardian’s special report on the attacks