No long-term game plan in SA’s handling of Israel’s attack on Gaza and contradicts our history of conflict mediation

One of the most difficult things to explain to people is the brutality and intensity of the war that raged between the ANC and IFP in KwaZulu-Natal in the 1990s. The history books reduce the violence to a bland narration of events and statistics about the number of people killed. Articles you find online fail to adequately convey the horror of the time and the depth of human suffering in violenceravaged parts of the province.

Many of those who now hold the view that Nelson Mandela “sold out” and dismiss the early years simply as Rainbow Nation jingoism probably have little idea how complex it was to stop state involvement in the violence and disarm the warlords. There are still caches of illegal weapons that have not been unaccounted for.

The peace negotiations between the ANC and IFP are now a footnote in history, and many are not aware of the frustration of the on-again-off-again talks as people continued to be killed in KwaZulu-Natal even after the 1999 elections.

South Africa’s experience of the transition from apartheid following the Codesa negotiations and the KwaZulu-Natal peace talks was commended globally, and other conflict zones tried to use our model and know-how to resolve their problems.

Because of Mandela’s stature, South Africa had a formidable presence in the international community during his term in office. When Thabo Mbeki took over, he led the initiative for development in Africa and campaigned for greater involvement of the continent’s leaders in multilateral forums.

It was also during Mbeki’s presidency that, as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union, he sent a special mission to Baghdad days before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

I was in Baghdad with the then deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad and a group of South African disarmament experts who tried to help Saddam Hussein’s government to prove it had disposed of its weapons of mass destruction. This was to facilitate co-operation with UN weapons inspectors, which would have removed the basis of the invasion by coalition forces.

South Africa’s intervention was unsuccessful, but for a few days there was a glimmer of hope, even at the UN, that the war might be held off.

South Africa’s international image during the Zuma years was negligible. As president, Jacob Zuma made no effort to affirm South Africa’s place in global affairs and focused on relations in the Brics community. The rationale for this approach is still not clear because there was no real boost in foreign investment and trade.

Under the “sleepist” former international relations minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa had no clout internationally.

But South Africa was noticed this week when the government announced the immediate withdrawal of our ambassador to Israel, Sisa Ngombane, after the killing of nearly 60 people in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces.

The attack was in response to a protest against the provocative opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said she spoke to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him to delay the US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. He apparently told her that it was too late as the deed was done.

Because of South Africa’s unequivocal support for the Palestinian cause and the unjustifiable killing of unarmed protesters, the government’s swift response is laudable. In its response to Pretoria’s withdrawal of the ambassador, the US embassy in South Africa said it was “disappointed” and hoped the decision would be reversed.

“We want to see continued South African engagement with Israel through normal diplomatic practices. We also note that the ANC has a proud tradition of engaging even with those with whom it disagrees. We urge such continued engagement,” embassy spokeswoman Cynthia Harvey said.

The ANC had already taken a decision at its December conference to downgrade South Africa’s embassy in Tel Aviv, so the decision by Sisulu and President Cyril Ramaphosa this week had political context. It is understandable why South Africa wants to shun relations with a murderous regime. But it must be asked if the decision is in keeping with our historical approach to resolving conflict.

What is the plan now? The fact that Pompeo took Sisulu’s call at short notice while dealing with the Middle East crisis, the proposed summit with North Korea and other issues means that he did take her seriously.

Something to consider is that President Donald Trump announced in December already that the US would move its embassy to Jerusalem. When Sisulu called Pompeo, the opening ceremony had already been concluded. So why was the request to postpone the US recognition of Jerusalem made after the fact?

Our history of violence and human suffering, our experience of negotiations, and our solidarity with the Palestinians require that we do more than conduct PR exercises. Engagement is what we do best. While trying to reason with Israel might be a waste of time, South Africa needs to maintain leverage to reassert its place in the world.

This requires well-thought-through approaches and principled positions, based on where we come from and who our friends are.