Neither President Thabo Mbeki nor armed South African troops were welcome in Haiti, a Haitian civil society grouping, Groupe 184, said on Wednesday.
”South Africans, please do not be fooled — the majority of Haitians are not pleased, proud or welcoming of President Thabo Mbeki’s visit to Haiti,” it said in an e-mailed statement.
”In fact, his visit is viewed as an insult to most of us and to the memory of our forefathers who fought for our independence and our liberty during 12 long years.”
Presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo rejected the call that Mbeki should not participate in the celebrations of two centuries of Haitian independence from France on New Year’s Day.
”President Mbeki will attend. There is no chance of him not honouring the undertaking.”
Earlier this month, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and presidential legal adviser Mojanku Gumbi had met opposition party representatives in Haiti who had supported his participation in the celebrations, said Khumalo.
They and the government had even asked Mbeki to broker a political agreement for the island republic.
”The president has said he will have to respond positively to this request.”
Mbeki was expected to discuss this at meetings, including some with opposition groups, during his stay.
”Haiti has got to be successful. As an African country they need our support,” Khumalo said.
Groupe 184 said their forefathers had fought hard to prove to the world ”that a tiny black state could indeed be a sovereign nation worthy of their own independence”.
”Today, in Haiti the spirit is not one of joyful celebration. Again, we find ourselves fighting for liberty, equality and fraternity against a totalitarian dictatorship that has played a devastating role in Haiti’s depletion.
”This oppressive government that had promised Haitians prosperity and peace has instead perverted the country through violence, drug trafficking, and abject poverty — this is the same government that President Thabo Mbeki is supporting with his presence in Haiti,” the statement said.
South Africa has offered Haiti R10-million ”as material support” for its celebrations.
On Monday, Mbeki told journalists in the Bahamas it was proper that South Africa had donated the money. Those who criticised the action ”don’t know anything about the bicentennial,” Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Another point of contention is that the SAS Drakensberg with its 250 crew members is reportedly anchored off Haiti with a police helicopter, 51 policemen and 18 National Intelligence Service members on board.
Groupe 184 said: ”…The deployment of armed South African troops on our sovereign territory is indeed a contradiction to what our forefathers had intended for us two hundred years ago.
”President Thabo Mbeki, you and your armed troops are not welcomed in Haiti. Go back home and try to regain Nelson Mandela’s spirit.”
According to its website, Groupe 184 is a formation of civil society groups that committed themselves last December to promote respect for the laws and norms of their republic and democratic principles. The original 184 signatories have since grown to over 300, it says.
Khumalo said the people of Haiti, like elsewhere in the world, had the unalienable right to establish and participate in such organisations.
But he added: ”We are still adamant that the symbolism and value of 200 years of independence for us as Africans is important. It reaffirms our dignity as Africans.”
Khumalo said he did not believe there was reason to oppose the goal of reaffirming the dignity of Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. ‒ Sapa