The people of Africa are making it clear that they are no longer willing to be robbed of their right to peace, democracy and development, says President Thabo Mbeki.
Writing in his weekly letter on the African National Congress website, he said Africans are determined to discharge their obligations as the architects of a better future.
”They are no longer willing to permit those who would be their leaders, cynically to incite them to respond to base passions, setting the poor one against the other,” he said.
”Nor are they prepared to sacrifice their lives for the ”ill-gotten benefit of a small, selfish and corrupt elite”.
Mbeki said that since December 30 he (using the royal ”we”) has visited five African countries in pursuit of peace, democracy, development and African solidarity.
”Our journeys confirmed that much work remains to be done to realise these goals. They also indicated the resolve of the peoples of our continent to succeed in this regard.”
Meeting the peoples of East, Central and West Africa, he had experienced among them a ”palpable spirit of hope for a better future”.
”It is crystal clear that at all points on our continent, the peoples of Africa demand peace.
”Everywhere they demand an end to violent conflicts based on racial, ethnic, religious and other differences.
”They are very comfortable with the diversity of their societies, despite the efforts of the mischievous actively to encourage xenophobia.”
Leon: Middle East ‘a more hopeful place’
Meanwhile, the leader of South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance, Tony Leon, said on Friday that the Middle East seems a more hopeful place than when he last visited in 2002.
Writing in his weekly newsletter on the DA’s website, Leon said that in his recent meetings with both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and outgoing interim Palestinian President Rawhi Fattouh, he had asked the same questions.
He wanted to know if there is a new opportunity for peace after the Palestinian elections, and what the major obstacles are to the resumption of a viable peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. He also wanted to know what role, if any, South Africa can play in helping to move that process forward.
”Both Prime Minister Sharon and President Fattouh felt there was indeed a new window of opportunity. Prime Minister Sharon told me that he was prepared to speak to Palestinian President-elect Mahmoud Abbas — also known as Abu Mazen — though only about security issues for the time being,” Leon said.
”President Fattouh said that there was potential for talks to succeed, provided that Prime Minister Sharon embraced what he referred to as ‘the vision of Rabin’,” he added.
Each side feels differently about South Africa’s ability to play a mediating role in the conflict, Leon said.
”Prime Minister Sharon dismissed the idea out of hand, saying that the South African government was too pro-Palestinian. President Fattouh felt otherwise, and said that he had tried to apply the lessons of South Africa’s experience in conflict resolution.” — I-Net Bridge, Sapa