Telling a different tale in Arabic

INTERNATIONAL Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane gave a very different interview with Al Jazeera Arabic than the notorious one she gave to its English sister station.

During a visit to Doha, Qatar, last month where she accompanied President Jacob Zuma on a state visit, Nkoana-Mashabane gave an interview to Al Jazeera Arabic’s Abd al-Samad Nasir in which she stuck to the script of talking about South Africa’s role in the Middle East.

She began the interview, in English, which was translated to Arabic, by noting South Africa’s approach to international relations, peace and security.

She spoke about 22 years of freedom, and its foreign policy principle of respecting the sovereignty of other countries before the interviewer asked a question about South Africa’s position on Syria.

Nkoana-Mashabane made reference to third-party influence and other states meddling in the situation in Syria.

She spoke of the violence perpetuated by Islamic State in Syria and questioned where and how the group was funded.

“You see brand-new Toyota vans but you don’t know who is paying for it. We don’t know where they come from but they use it,” Nkoana-Mashabane said.

She said South Africa supported mediation efforts by the Gulf Co-operation Council to resolve disputes in the Middle East, particularly Syria.

In the 22-minute interview, Nkoana-Mashabane only referred to the ANC once, when talking about the party’s support for the people of Palestine.

She said the ANC resolved at every conference to stand by the people of Palestine.

The interview ended with the minister talking about the government’s efforts to deliver basic services to the people, saying that the government needed a little more time to fully deliver on its promises.

She did not make any bizarre comments about a “hole” in her head, as she did in the English interview.