I honestly see the best in South Africa (the South African High Comm in Kuala Lumpur is an exception, I don’t see anything in them).
When I find articles about mostly doom-n-gloom in South Africa, I nevertheless know good things happen there, it’s just not written about internationally all that much.
But silver linings evaporate when the South African government embarrasses all its citizens on the international stage.
SA’s Comedy Of Errors
In recent memory there was the HIV-doesn’t-exist scandal closely followed by the beet-root-and-garlic-against-HIV comedy show put on by the then president and his Health minister. And who can forget the arms-deal fiasco, the consequent conviction of Shabir Shaik as 1 half of a corrupt relationship and his recent release on medical parole due to his ‘life threatening sickness’?
Do I even have to mention the other half of that corrupt relationship, who is yet to stand trail for his share, but probably won’t because he’s likely to become the next president of South Africa and will be protected by whatever laws are yet to be written. The same man who headed South Africa’s AIDS Council, but said he wouldn’t get HIV after having sex with an HIV infected woman, because he took a shower!?
Yes, Jacob Zuma – adored by the millions locally who he embarrasses internationally.
SA says Voetsek Dalai Lama
And now I see reports of the Dalai Lama being refused entry into South Africa during the 2010 Football World Cup.
This revered person wants to attend a peace conference in Joburg during next year’s 2010 Football World Cup (which South Africa is hosting, in case your interest in football is zero). He was invited by Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela, F.W. De Klerk and Desmond Tutu.
However, the SA High Commissioner in New Delhi, SF Moloi, refused to process his visa application, suggesting instead that he postpone his trip.
The question I immediately asked is why would South Africa deny entry to the Dalai Lama?
The Communist People’s Republic Of Chinese South Africa
TheTimes.co.za reports that current SA President Kgalema Motlanthe’s spokesperson, Thabo Masebe, said “…This issue is that this simply would not be in the best interests of South Africa at this stage”. And like an inquisitive 5-year old I just couldn’t help ask again, why?
Let see – the world cup will focus global attention on South Africa. If this peace conference is in South Africa during the World Cup and the Dalai Lama attend, there sure will be a lot of global attention on the Tibet issue.
Tibet? China doesn’t like Tibet to get global attention. So China wouldn’t like the Dalai Lama to travel to South Africa where there will be an opportunity for global attention.
But hang on. Surely South Africa is not the puppet of China?
Well, it was reported that the same spokesperson for the President said “…the decision was made by the government and not by the People’s Republic of China.” According to an IOL Report Ronnie Mapoema, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson proclaimed with great bravado that “This place is called the Republic of South Africa and not China and thus makes its own sovereign, independent decisions based on what it deems to be in the best interests of the country.”
However, when TheTimes.co.za got a comment from an official at the Chinese embassy in Pretoria, they reportedly said that China did appeal to the South African government not to allow the Dalai Lama access to South Africa to attend this event.
They added that China warned that doing so would harm bilateral relations with South Africa.
What bilateral relations?
South Africa is responsible for 20% of the trade between the African continent and China. China invests a not-too-modest sum of US$6-billion in South Africa, whilst South Africa reciprocates with US$2-billion of investment in China.
And then, queue the clowns, you’re not so shocked when you read that Jacob “100%-sure-I’ll-be-President” Zuma spent some quality time in Beijing last year.
So now I can’t help wondering… Jacob Zuma went to Beijing. He didn’t go there to perform a James & Bobby Purify number, I’m your Puppet (although he might have been humming it).
Did he then go to illustrate to the resource-hungry-and-dollar-saturated government of China exactly how much of the South African government you can buy for a few billion dollars? And did he stick his hand under the table, like Shabir Shaik tried to do on his behalf with Thomson CFS, for a few informal incentive transactions?
Your Government Needs You… to bend over and get screwed
Corruption and screwing your people over on the domestic front is one thing – it seems to be the sole mission of most governments today – but it seems the South African government is selling cheaply their ideals and the freedom they themselves waged war over for decades, for a few billion US dollars. A good chunk of which is inevitably earmarked for their own pockets and those loyal to them.
If the South African government really stands for democracy, freedom and peace, they will not feel pressure to succumb to China’s demands to ban somebody who represents the struggle to get back the freedoms and self determination stolen from them all those decades ago.
But the South African government is like a botnet – when you need dirty work done, you simply buy a part of it and sit back and watch as your dubious aims are achieved.
Let the Dalai Lama enter South Africa!