Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats (ID) has come out in support of a march organised by the Coalition for Sanctions against Israel, which is taking place in Cape Town on Saturday.
In a statement on Friday, De Lille said she and her chief whip, Avril Harding, and MP Lance Greyling will be accompanied by party members at the 10am march.
“The ID has always stood on a platform from where human rights abuses must be condemned wherever they occur in the world,” said De Lille. “In light of our own history of human rights violations, as South Africans we should be the first to condemn these abuses.”
She called on the South African government to impose sanctions on Israel.
De Lille said her party supports the call by the Human Rights Watch for United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to set up an international commission of inquiry to probe Israel’s war crimes and formulate recommendations with a view to holding accountable those who violated the law.
Her party also supports the call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The ID believes the United States — which it accused of “openly taking sides” — should be removed from its “so-called role” as mediator in the conflict.
“The ID believes that the United States is a threat to the independence of the judiciary and has a selective foreign policy that is destabilising the whole Middle East.” — I-Net Bridge