Sisulu honours struggle hero
Minister Lindiwe Sisulu honoured struggle hero Phyllis Naidoo at a memorial lecture.
INTERNATIONAL Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu delivered the fifth Dr Phyllis Naidoo Memorial Lecture at the Senate Chamber, UKZN this month.
The venue was packed to the rafters with a constellation of diplomats from around the world, students, staff and invited guests. Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre, Advocate Zandile Qono-Reddy directed the prestigious annual programme and laid out its context.
Welcoming the minister and guests, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Deresh Ramjegernath indicated the enormous value the university placed on the Phyllis Naidoo papers that form part of the Special Collections. Sisulu’s address centred on key international relations issues facing South Africa. Locating her remarks within the 1955 Freedom Charter and the foreign policy framework developed by President Nelson Mandela, she said that human rights was a cornerstone of the country’s international relations. Advancing the rights of women in Africa and around the world was another priority.
Referring to the topical issues of the Western Sahara and Palestine, she said: “For as long as the people of the Western Sahara and Palestine are not free, none of us are free.”
Bucking the Trump administration’s support for Israel moving its capital to Jerusalem, South Africa withdrew its ambassador from Israel altogether. This must rank as the government’s most robust foreign policy posture since liberation in 1994.
Sisulu said that her department had to give effect to the resolution of the 54th Conference of the ANC in 2017 about downgrading diplomatic relations with Israel.
The Minister pointed out that South Africa currently occupies a rotational seat on the United Nations Security Council and wanted to make that tenure meaningful. Building peace in Africa was a key concern. She said: “The silencing of the guns will be a priority. Without peace, there cannot be democracy, there cannot be development.”
A series of thoughtful questions from the floor ranging from the government’s position on Lesotho, Venezuela, the Rohingya crisis and the unfolding events in Sudan and Libya were ably fielded by the minister and her team which included Deputy Minister Llewellyn Landers and deputy directors-general.
The delegation remained for sometime afterwards to engage informally with guests at the cocktail in the Senate foyer. The annual lecture has traditionally attracted high profile speakers and participants, setting the bar fairly high for the next one.
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