SA betrays Palestinians
I want to remind President Thabo Mbeki of the blatant betrayal committed by the silence of our government in the face of the daily humiliation, torture and bombing of the oppressed people of Palestine by the racist, bloodthirsty Israeli regime.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation adopted and acted on the principle that Palestine cannot be free unless South Africa is free. The support provided by one oppressed people to another was not sectarian; all sections of our liberation movement benefited.
The current bombings, killings and indiscriminate arrests of not only civilians but also Cabinet ministers by Israel, and the criminal support of the European and United States governments, pose the question: Can South Africa be liberated when Palestine is not?
Our government has strengthened diplomatic, trade and military relations with Israel. South African business people, some of whom were in the liberation movement, now benefit from the carnage in occupied Palestine. The Palestinians experience a combination of the Sharpeville, June 16 and Boipatong massacres every day. Can we refuse to take sides?
The Israeli killing machine says it is shelling defenceless civilians to extricate a soldier abducted by Palestinian freedom fighters. This is tantamount to the apartheid regime bombing an entire township because blacks had decided to fight for their liberation.
South Africans must demand, like the South African Council of Churches and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), that our government recalls our ambassador in Israel and stops all trade and diplomatic relations with Israel with immediate effect. We must make it clear that the Israeli government is not welcome here.
Let us make it clear that our government has no mandate for its silence and its continued relations with Israel. — Andile Mngxitama, Johannesburg
Hizbullah is to Lebanon what al-Qaeda was to Afghanistan. That a country has been taken over by a violent sect founded and funded by Iran is outrageous.
Asking for moderation from Israel is equally outrageous. How long must a sovereign country withstand hundreds of rocket attacks and incursions across international borders by a movement that captures Israeli soldiers and then demands a hostage swap as if it was a business deal? French President Jacques Chirac describes the Israeli response as out of proportion. Yet last year he threatened a nuclear response if France was attacked.
I am of Lebanese descent, and it is tragic that Lebanon is in the middle of this. But 40% of Lebanese voted for Hizbullah so Lebanon, tragically, must accept the consequences, like the Palestinians who voted for Hamas.
United Nations Resolution 1559 called for Israel to withdraw and Hizbullah to disarm and be disarmed by the Lebanese government. Israel moved out of Southern Lebanon as agreed.
The Lebanese got rid of Syria. Why not Hizbullah? — Peter J Paola, Vernon Hills, US
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If terrorism is defined as the calculated use of violence or threat of violence against civilians to attain political, religious or ideological goals, the Zionists ruling Israel are the leading terrorist organisation of our time. They should be made to account for the deliberate targeting of civilians, and their policy of assassinations destruction of infrastructure, and continuous destabilisation of the region.
The US talks about the need to fight terrorism and condemn countries that support it, but it is the first country to support Zionist acts of terror. The US and Europe are fighting their war of terror on racial lines — there is no problem with terror as long as it is directed at people not of European descent. — Sbusiso Xaba, President, Pan Africanist Youth Congress of Azania
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By throwing around the grossly irrelevant word ”apartheid”, Cosatu’s Willie Madisha (July 10) betrays total ignorance of the Israeli political system, where Arabs vote and hold office.
As for Palestinian ambassador Ali Hamileh’s failure to see any justification for the attack on Gaza, I would point to the thousand missiles his terrorist cronies have shot at Israel from Gaza since last summer.
The withdrawal from Gaza gave the Arabs there a chance to begin establishing a state in peace — and they blew it. — David B Greenberg
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Rath article off beam
Your article on the seizure and release of the Dr Rath Foundation’s food supplements (July 7) made no effort to establish the real facts.
The seizure of the two consignments of Vitacell nutritional supplements by the health port officials was unlawful. Half the consignments consisted of a version of Vitacell that does not contain N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which were marked clearly and were easily identifiable. No legal basis existed for seizing this part of the consignment.
The department officials also had no legal basis for seizing the part of the consignment containing NAC. Although NAC is a controlled substance in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, Schedule 2 of the Act contains an exemption. Our client’s vitamin supplements containing NAC fall fully within this, and does not need a permit to import or use it. Our client’s supplements are not medicines within the meaning of the Act, nor does our client claim they are.
We made numerous telephone calls to the director, inspectorate and law enforcement and several health port officials to establish the legal basis of the seizure. On the few occasions that we did get a response, the officials gave us different reasons, none of them constituting a sound legal basis.
We then made full written submissions to the director general, as we could not obtain responses from the officials over three weeks.
To comply with the Act, the director, inspectorate and law enforcement of medicine regulatory affairs insisted the goods could only be released if a pharmacist uplifted them. We disagreed with this legal view, but our client on a without-prejudice basis complied with this requirement and had the goods released. There was no ”collusion” or irregularity by the director general of health or our client.
Food supplements containing NAC are freely available in health shops. One such supplement is imported. It is surprising, therefore, that these port officials allow the sale of these but wish to confiscate our client’s consignment.
The media may not like Matthias Rath, but he surely is entitled to expect that when the officials deal with him, they do so on the basis of the rule of law. — Brendan O’Dowd, attorney, Qunta Incorporated
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Let’s dump ‘Bafana’ name
In preparation for 2010, the South African Football Association should immediately launch a national campaign to get an inspirational name for our team. I am certain many companies would be happy to work on such a project.
As a black South African I understand where it comes from, but ”Bafana Bafana” has always been a bankrupt, non-name. Many of us accepted it in the spirit of compromise and nation-building when it was foisted on the country.
South Africa and the young men who represent it in the greatest competition on Earth deserve better. The World Cup is for men, not boys! — Sejamothopo Motau, Centurion
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Circus master Sepp Blatter and his plethora of clowns greedily eye South Africa as they prepare to swoop down on us. The prospect doesn’t excite me.
It is appropriate that the worst football World Cup in living memory should be lifted by a team as cynical and defensively obsessed as the Italians. Well schooled domestically in the art of match-fixing, they brought these objectionable tactics to Germany, as illustrated by the dive that resulted in an undeserved victory over Australia.
None of the matches inspired. Possibly the football season is too long and the players know each other too well from their innumerable European club games, where they are paid extravagant salaries. Add to this the corrupt officials selling tickets at inflated prices and the abysmal refereeing, and we were left wondering what happened to the ”beautiful game”. — John de Wet, East London
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Marco Materazzi might not be an overt racist in everyday life, but he made racist remarks on the pitch and I believe he should be banned for six months. Only with tough sanctions will other racists understand the value of fair play. —Wallace Norway, Washington DC, United States
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Diego Maradona embarrassed himself as a drug addict suspended for taking drugs at the 1994 World Cup finals, and for crying like a baby who was not getting fed in 1990. He fooled Fifa and the world with his ”hand of God” goal in 1986.
Yet, today people still recognise him as one of the greatest players ever to canter on to a football pitch.
Like him, Zinedine, you will always be remembered for your absolute class. — Haydon Alec Hector, Johannesburg
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‘OR Tambo airport’ absurd
Although Johannesburg International airport is still ”Jan Smuts” to many, at least the former is an accurate name, understood by all.
The proposed name ”OR Tambo” is absurd. Renaming an airport is a costly exercise for the airport itself, local communities and authorities, airlines and service companies.
It is also likely to confuse people, who may think it is another airport. Some years ago, a foreign friend concluded from road signs that there were several airports in Cape Town: Muizenberg airport, S/Subs airport; Lughawe airport, Bellville airport, Athlone airport, Pinelands airport, and Cape Town International airport.
If the name must reflect a personality more appropriate to the current regime, surely the honour should go to South Africa’s icon, known throughout the world, Nelson Mandela.
Oliver Tambo, when I asked 12 non-South African friends, meant nothing to nine of them. — Michael R Preston
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It is claimed that the renaming of KwaZulu-Natal as KwaZulu will harm development. Which development? If people want to worship our former colonial masters, let them do it as individuals, not confuse the nation with talk of ”development”.
The name change would be important in restoring the dignity of the Zulu nation, great heroes who started the liberation struggle.
Other provinces have peacefully undergone this change. Why should this province of heroes not follow suit? — Sgubhusenkwishi
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Prince of tides
I have never been a fan of affirmative action in sport. As a black cricketer, I know how difficult it must have been for fast bowler Makhaya Ntini to overcome the shadow of affirmative action and quota system to prove that he deserves to be where he is.
So, while I congratulate Ashwell Prince and wish him the best of luck, I would advise your columnist Tom Eaton that it is not yet uhuru for black captaincy in South African cricket. For now, Ashwell, you are still just a ”prince of tides”. — Adekunle Nurudeen