Wednesday, 24 January 2007
The South African Communist Party strongly condemns the attitude of the United States government for arbitrarily labelling the two Dockrat brothers as ‘terrorists’. The US has done this without providing any shared evidence whatsoever. We further condemn the attitude of the Bush government to demand of South Africa to prove why these two South African citizens should not be listed as ‘terrorists’.
The SACP wishes to remind the Bush government that South Africa is a sovereign, constitutional state governed by the well-known principle of innocence until proven otherwise through a credible and legitimate due process of law. To allow the US to arbitrarily point out at ‘terrorists’ without providing credible evidence would undermine all what our people have fought for, and makes each and every South African a potential target for US labelling. This reminds us of the worst legacy of apartheid as well as that of both the US and the apartheid regimes in labelling their enemies as communists and terrorists. It was the same Republican government under, amongst others, Ronald Reagan which labelled the ANC as a terrorist organisation and fully supported the apartheid regime and all its criminal activities.
South Africa is neither a haven for, or supporter of, terrorists nor a lawless state that must be dictated to at the whims of imperialist powers. It is the very same US that invaded Iraq under the pretext that it had weapons of mass destruction, something that has now been proven to have been a blatant lie.
For South Africa to allow the United States to issue such ‘diktats’ without due process of law would seriously undermine our sovereignty as a nation and all that the millions of South Africans fought for. Our country is not for sale to the highest imperialist bidder!
The South African Communist Party (SACP) therefore welcomes the position taken by the South African government over allegations and probable listing of the two South Africans as terrorists, and for its rightful demand that the Bush government must provide evidence in this regard that can be tested through a credible legal process. We urge the South African government and our people as whole not to succumb to the pressure by the Bush regime.
The SACP therefore calls upon our government and the millions of peace-loving South Africans to tell the Bush government to go to hell, unless it is able to provide credible evidence on the Dockrat brothers that can be legally tested through legitimate and credible legal processes. Through its illegal invasion of Iraq, the legitimation of torture both in the US and in other countries, ‘hidden’ detention facilities such as Abbu-Gharib and Guantanamo Bay, and the attacks on Somalia killing many innocent civilians, the Bush government has proven itself to be the single biggest global violator of human rights in recent history.
Issued by: the SACP.
Contact:
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson
Tel: 011 339 3621
Fax: 011 339 4244
Cell: 082 226 1802
Email: Malesela@sacp.org.za