Photo: GCIS / Flickr
Photo: GCIS / Flickr
The African National Congress (ANC) will march to the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria on Tuesday to protest against the country’s ongoing conflict with Palestine.
The ruling party have vehemently condemned the actions of Israel over the past month, with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday saying that the conflict brings back painful memories of South Africa’s own experience during the Apartheid era.
African National Congress to march on Tuesday
In a statement released on Monday, the ANC said that the protest will serve to voice support for the Palestinian people.
“The African National Congress will on Tuesday, 25 May 2021, hold a national solidarity picket in support of the people of Palestine who have been subjected to continuous attacks by the Isreali government,” they said.
“The ANC has consistently expressed its profound opposition to the colonial occupation of Palestinian land by the Israeli regime. A heartless campaign of systematic land dispossessions, ongoing human rights violations, state-sponsored violence against innocent civilians are the harsh realities faced by the people of Palestine on a daily basis.”
Ramaphosa weighs in on Israel, Palestine conflict
Ramaphosa said on Monday that South Africans are familiar with the fact that intractable conflicts can only be solved through peaceful negotiation, and called for both parties to exercise restraint.
“It demonstrates that unless the root causes of a conflict are addressed, in this case the illegal occupation by Israel of Palestinian land and the denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, there will never be peace,” he said.
“As lovers of freedom and of justice, we stand with the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination, but also in their resistance against the deprivation of their human rights and the denial of their dignity,” he said.
The ANC will be led in their protest on Tuesday by Deputy Secretary General Comrade Jessie Duarte and other alliance partners, the party said.
“The ANC reaffirms its unwavering commitment to stand firmly on the side of the people of Palestine in their struggle to achieve freedom and self-determination. The ANC believes that peace and justice will only be achieved when recognition is given to the rights of the people of Palestine to their land and freedom.”
