Don’t turn a blind eye to journalist’s killing by Kyiv regime

We took note of the article “We must stand up for journalists under fire in Gaza” by S’thembiso Msomi (January 21). “We should join our hands in solidarity with those calling for the killings to stop, and for journalists to be allowed to do their work without any threat of violence against them,” the author writes, and that stance should be applauded. Yet the reality seems less encouraging, as we face blatant hypocrisy from those who consider themselves “beacons of democracy”.

An event which could never go unnoticed under different circumstances occurred last month. Gonzalo Lira, a popular US media personality, died in a Ukrainian prison.

He became one of the first to report the truth about Russia’s special military operation directly from Ukraine. (Take time to watch his videos, which are so far available on YouTube.) He was arrested three times by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) in 2022/23. On his social media, Lira reported that he had been beaten in a pretrial detention facility. He described in detail how he was tortured in two of the four cells he was detained in. Several days before his death, he passed a hand-written message to relatives saying his double pneumonia, a pneumothorax and a severe case of oedema was ignored by the prison administration. On January 12, he died.

All international institutions and NPOs for journalists’ rights turned their backs on Lira under the pretext that “he was a blogger, not a journalist”. Not a very respectable stance, is it?

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe representative on freedom of media and Reporters Without Borders didn’t say a word to condemn his murder. One can only imagine the uproar if that happened in Russia. The US state department didn’t lift a finger to do what they ordinarily do for American citizens trapped in detention abroad.

In response to the public outcry, an army of Ukrainian bots unleashed a smear campaign on social media to justify Gonzalo’s death, calling him a “Russian propagandist”. We’ve seen all that many times before. His only fault was that he voiced an opinion going against the mainstream narrative.

We call on Mr Msomi and the entire South African media community not to turn a blind eye to their colleague’s murder by the Kyiv regime and to condemn violence against all media workers, regardless of their political views.

Ilya Rogachev, Ambassador of Russia to South Africa

Cartoonist got ICJ ruling wrong

It was very disappointing to see the cartoon in the Sunday Times of January 28. Your cartoonist obviously misunderstood the findings of the ICJ. Israel was not found guilty of genocide!

As for Ramaphosa and Pandor depicted as being on the “just side” just beggars belief! Where were they when Vladimir Putin, unprovoked, invaded Ukraine? He is responsible for killing countless civilians and innocents, abducting children and causing appalling misery and suffering. Where were they with their righteousness when civilians in Africa and other hotspots have been slaughtered? How do they arrive at the conclusion that a Gazan civilian life is more precious than, say, a Ukranian civilian life?

The ANC government points fingers at another country, using millions of our money to bring a court case against them, when their own country is a disaster. This is political opportunism at its hypocritical worst. It would be better if they were to concentrate on South Africa.

L Mills, Wynberg

What’s up with ANC money?

Several weeks ago, the ruling ANC owed R102m to an entity they had contracted with to supply the party with branding. The courts eventually, after three years of Stalingrad-defensive legal contrivances by the ANC, somehow “found” the funds to settle this matter.

This somewhat overlaps with the time the ruling party could not pay its staff. Somehow, both of these matters were “settled”. Which then begs the question, in terms of the Political Party Funding Act, how this was possible — the law demands accurate accountability in this very regard! Martin Louw, Johannesburg

An election day warning

Character assassination is in full swing as South Africa prepares for the most crucial elections since the demise of apartheid.

We are on the verge of economic collapse. The nation is having a moral convulsion. Levels of trust in our elected leaders, our institutions and in our convoluted politics are in a precipitous decline. Our current crop of leaders are masters of the art of deception.

Corruption is being unearthed every day. Our leaders in governance are spineless politicians rotten to the core without virtue, without the moral compass to recognise their own malevolence. It is indeed tragic and frightening that our governing institutions have become increasingly dysfunctional

A combination of intellectual rigidity and the power of cadre-entrenched political actors is preventing critical institutions from being reformed. The struggling masses feel disgusted by the state of society. The cancer of distrust has spread to every vital organ, have digressed into a wicked and rogue nation.

Today we have shameless leaders who are enthroned and legitimised by elections. The upcoming elections will have two possible consequences. First, a new order could emerge with a mandate to rebuild the country or, second, a crisis could emerge that will set the entire country ablaze. Pray for our beloved country, as the most shattering event awaits us on election day.

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