The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the recent xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans in South Africa as a betrayal of Africans.
He condemned the attacks, particularly an assault on a Ghanaian, Emmanuel Asamoah, in a video that has since gone viral on various social media platforms this week.
“It is such a betrayal to see that we will be described as unwelcome in those videos that have gone viral.
Citizens who have not provoked any unrest, who are not fomenting trouble, who are not provocateurs, going about their lawful duties, subjected to such naked hatred, such baseless xenophobia,” he said.
The minister was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with his Sierra Leonean counterpart at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) last Thursday.
Ghana’s role
Mr Ablakwa reminisced about the contribution of African countries, particularly Ghana, to South Africa’s struggle to end apartheid and attain independence, stressing that the recent developments are most depressing.
“As Africans, we all know the role we played in assisting South Africa to defeat the apartheid regime.
Right here on these hallowed grounds [referring to the MFA], the precincts we find ourselves.
This used to be the International Students’ Hostel.
“We hosted a lot of freedom fighters from South Africa and many parts of Africa.
Ghanaian taxpayers took care of the scholarships they were provided and the meals they were provided.
“We issued Ghanaian passports when they were declared stateless and when they could not travel freely. We issued Ghanaian passports to them, right here in these premises. We extended financial support to the ANC,” he stated.
Mr Ablakwa also referenced President Nelson Madiba Mandela’s memoir, “The Long Walk to Freedom, pages 236-237”, which acknowledged Ghana’s role in their freedom struggle, including the loss of Ghanaian lives in the “Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which took place between August 1987 and March 1988, the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Condemnation
The minister called on all Africans and their leaders to condemn the actions of some elements in the South African society, trying to undermine the relationships that have lasted several decades.
“All of us as African leaders must condemn that.
We must remind those fringe elements who are in the extreme minority that they cannot divide us, that we remain united in our common struggles, in our common destiny, and that our solidarity is unshaken, is unbreakable, and we will continue to band together as Africans,” he said.
He added that although the actions of these elements were regrettable, Africans must continue to believe in Pan-Africanism and a united Africa as the only means of realising Africa’s full potential.
Mr Ablakwa stressed that the government would do everything to protect its nationals and make sure it demanded from the South African government to protect its citizens and to keep them safe, because they owe them that duty of care; just as the Ghanaian government will continue to make sure that all
South Africans living in the country are also safe, protected, and will not encourage any reprisal attack.
Solidarity and law
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Francess Piagie Alghali, at the event, also condemned the xenophobic attacks on West Africans.
She urged the South African government to address the development within the framework of humanitarian law and African solidarity.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh