The ACDP is shocked that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the ANC-led government have declared the Israeli Chargé d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata and given him 72 hours to leave the country. This obviously follows Israeli officials meeting with AbaThembu King, His Excellency, Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, in the Eastern Cape, to discuss humanitarian aid and development assistance for the Eastern Cape, particularly in response to local flood damage.
Is providing humanitarian aid to suffering South Africans the insult levelled against Mr. Ramaphosa, or did DIRCO respond because the President and the ANC have been exposed for failing to provide service delivery to the people of the Eastern Cape?
Understandably, Israel has responded by declaring that South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours.
This follows closely after the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) hosted the Iranian navy in naval operations at a time when the Iranian government murdered tens of thousands of its own citizens. South Africa, instead of sending the Iranian Ambassador home as a persona non grata, or at least calling him to account, takes no action and worse, abstains on a critical vote in the United Nations (UN) on Iran. One must ask, why is the ANC-led government silent on the atrocities committed by Iran?
The ACDP views this as absolutely disgraceful because it not only shows the hypocrisy and double standards of the ANC-led government, but, more importantly, shows that they don’t care for their citizens. What has Iran done to help South Africans? Nothing. Yet we spurn help from Israel, resulting in the further suffering of our people in the Eastern Cape following the devastating floods.
The ACDP also notes the statement issued by the Gift of the Givers, complaining that Mr Seidman did not go through the diplomatic channels to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of the Eastern Cape, and wonders whether this too, is what prompted the persona non grata response.
The ACDP cautions that this response by the ANC will also further aggravate our relations with the US and its trade partners which we can ill-afford at this time.
Phantsi, DIRCO, Phantsi—Phantsi ANC, Phantsi.
