International Relations expert, Dr. Nana Yaw Mireku has criticised the South African government’s response to recent xenophobic attacks and the killing of a Ghanaian national, arguing that remaining neutral in the face of such violence amounts to siding with the perpetrators.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News, Dr. Mireku invoked the words of the late South African anti-apartheid leader, Desmond Tutu, insisting that Pretoria must take a firmer stance against those behind the attacks.
“Desmond Tutu said that in times of evil or wrongdoing, if you choose to be neutral, you have taken the side of the oppressor,” he said.
According to him, the South African government has not forcefully condemned the attacks, leaving the impression that it is comfortable with the hostilities against foreign nationals.
“The government of South Africa is not condemning the actions of these hooligans enough for us to know that they are really against what is happening. It feels as if they are very comfortable hiding behind what is happening and providing symptomatic and apologetic responses as though they are unhappy about what is happening, when actually politically, strategically, it inures to the government’s benefit to have some of these things done, particularly in knowing that they have elections coming up in some few months ahead of us” he said.
Dr. Mireku cited the recent killing of a Ghanaian national, while maintaining that if Pretoria genuinely wants to distance itself from the attacks, it must take decisive action against those responsible rather than describing the killing as an isolated incident.
“So if the government really wants to be known as not happy with it, it must really crack the whip on its citizens. But you can’t let these things happen and then you claim that what has happened to the Ghanaian citizen is unrelated
“The government must now prove that indeed what has happened is an isolated incident, unrelated to the march-on-march. But even if that is the case, we know that what has happened to the Ghanaian draws inspiration from these xenophobic sentiments that have been moving around South Africa in the past months or weeks or so,” he added.
Dr. Mireku further urged the Government of Ghana not to relent in pursuing diplomatic action, saying every available avenue, including the African Union, should be explored to ensure accountability.
“The African Union, any amount of diplomatic embarrassment that we can bring to bear on South Africa, whether at the African Union level or which other level, I think that the government of Ghana should not hold back any diplomatic punches, in my opinion, at this moment,” he said.
Source: citinewsroom.com
