Oh Dear

South Africa has been discussing a defense cooperation pact with Iran. (Nice story to link up my two olympic   posts.)

At the conclusion of the meeting the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation, which included an arrangement for South Africa to sell uranium to Iran, Channel 1 TV reported.

SA Defense Minister Lekota stressed that making peaceful use of nuclear energy "is the legitimate right of the Islamic Republic," the IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Hmmm...

In June the International Atomic Energy Agency reiterated its concerns about Iran's nuclear programs.

Tehran Times reports

He (Iranian Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani) expressed the hope that defense cooperation between the two countries would further expand in the future. The South African minister, for his part, said "We have been inspired by the leadership of late Imam Khomeini in our anti-apartheid movement." He called the visit of a South African defense and economic delegation to Iran as very significant and said "We are ready to broaden our international cooperation with Iran to help materialize the UN peace initiative in South Africa."

Expansion of cooperation between Iran and South Africa would help restore regional and international peace, he said.

We don't seem to care too much about the Human Rights abuses that take place in Iran. Just take a look at these recent headlines on Iran at Human Rights Watch. Torture, vigilante attacks, physically punishing student activists...it's all there.

Amazingly, Iran claims cultural exception to the universality of human rights. For over two decades, Iran has systematically jailed, tortured, and executed dissidents without due process of law and has assassinated political opponents outside state borders.

Consider this. We are about to supply uranium to a state that attempts to hide human rights abuses by labeling oppression as an authentic cultural practice. (Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism, Reza Afshari, ISBN 0-8122-3605-X)

UPDATE 18/08
Way South points out that the Uranium we will be selling is unenriched uranium.

UPDATE19/08
S. Africa says it won't sell uranium to Iran

South Africa will not assist Iran's nuclear development and will not sell any uranium to the Islamic Republic, the South African Ministry of Defense told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.

There seems to be an element of hypocrisy in our foreign affairs. We seem to be very selective about which Human Rights abuses we speak out against. I don't think that the details of the deal are evil.

Comments

[Harry]

The SA Govt has denied this -

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1092799821306&p=1078113566627

[Persona non Grata]

And you belive politicians...

[Steve]

I do?

[BRETT CHATZ]

In what must surely be viewed as a significant act of defiance against the International community, Iran has resumed enrichment of its Uranium stores by re-opening a key nuclear research facility. This news comes hot on the heels of inflammatory statements made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he expressly called for the annihilation of the State of Israel and added that the Holocaust was a mere fabrication by Zionists and their western sympathizers. Iran is viewed as a rogue state, one which President Bush concluded was part of the 'Axis-of-Evil' along with Iraq and North Korea. With the recent meteoric ascension to power of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his fundamentalist ideologies Iran has been gripped more by a rabid obsessive hatred for the West, than a patriotic fervour. The leadership of Iran has managed to drum up considerable vitriolic sentiment against the United Nations and western governments by purposely continuing its efforts at Nuclear Enrichment activities. Iran finds itself increasingly isolated on the international front, with critics now ranging from as far afield as the United States to France, the United Kingdom and even to a lesser degree Russia under Vladimir Putin himself. What history has taught us is that only through united condemnation on a large scale, can action be successfully initiated in global terms. The implication of this is that only through a concerted and shared effort can sufficient pressure be applied to the Iranian leadership to alter the course of its actions. World organisations and global consciousness cannot tolerate renegade behaviour of such a potentially cataclysmic magnitude; the United Nations Security Council will have to convene an immediate sitting to enforce the harshest of sanctions against Iran should she not comply with international stipulations. The IAEA under M. El Baradei should be allowed carte-blanche to gauge the extent of International violations and begin dismantling of the plants and enrichment facilities. This has nothing to do with denying the Iranians their increasing demand for nuclear power; this has nothing to do with curbing the entrepreneurial spirit of Iran or with forcing that country into backward isolation in terms of energy efficiency. This has everything to do with their President's pre-stated desire for mayhem and carnage. The world must not allow madmen the opportunity to flex their muscle, especially when the fall-out from such activity has such immense potential for collateral damage.

Brett Chatz

[BRETT CHATZ]

In what must surely be viewed as a significant act of defiance against the International community, Iran has resumed enrichment of its Uranium stores by re-opening a key nuclear research facility. This news comes hot on the heels of inflammatory statements made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he expressly called for the annihilation of the State of Israel and added that the Holocaust was a mere fabrication by Zionists and their western sympathizers. Iran is viewed as a rogue state, one which President Bush concluded was part of the 'Axis-of-Evil' along with Iraq and North Korea. With the recent meteoric ascension to power of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his fundamentalist ideologies Iran has been gripped more by a rabid obsessive hatred for the West, than a patriotic fervour. The leadership of Iran has managed to drum up considerable vitriolic sentiment against the United Nations and western governments by purposely continuing its efforts at Nuclear Enrichment activities. Iran finds itself increasingly isolated on the international front, with critics now ranging from as far afield as the United States to France, the United Kingdom and even to a lesser degree Russia under Vladimir Putin himself. What history has taught us is that only through united condemnation on a large scale, can action be successfully initiated in global terms. The implication of this is that only through a concerted and shared effort can sufficient pressure be applied to the Iranian leadership to alter the course of its actions. World organisations and global consciousness cannot tolerate renegade behaviour of such a potentially cataclysmic magnitude; the United Nations Security Council will have to convene an immediate sitting to enforce the harshest of sanctions against Iran should she not comply with international stipulations. The IAEA under M. El Baradei should be allowed carte-blanche to gauge the extent of International violations and begin dismantling of the plants and enrichment facilities. This has nothing to do with denying the Iranians their increasing demand for nuclear power; this has nothing to do with curbing the entrepreneurial spirit of Iran or with forcing that country into backward isolation in terms of energy efficiency. This has everything to do with their President's pre-stated desire for mayhem and carnage. The world must not allow madmen the opportunity to flex their muscle, especially when the fall-out from such activity has such immense potential for collateral damage.

Brett Chatz

[BRETT CHATZ]

SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS OFFICE URGES RESTRAINT IN MIDDLE-EAST

Israel has taken an aggressive stance against the Palestinian authority and the Hamas-led government by arresting scores of MP’s and Hamas leaders in what it plans to use as leverage to secure the release of Corporal Galid Shalit. This massive show-of-strength by the Jewish state is intended to send a strong message to the Hamas government that the abduction of members of Israel’s security forces will not be tolerated. Israel also sent tacit warnings to Syria by flying its warplanes over President Bashar al-Assad’s palaces to dissuade him from offering support to militants on this issue.

Tensions in the Middle-East reached boiling point as Israeli tanks and troops rolled into Gaza, in retaliation for the kidnapping of the 19 year old Israeli corporal, Galid Shalit. The teenager was abducted by Islamic militants on Sunday, during a raid on an Israeli army base which cost two other Israeli soldiers their lives. The tit-for-tat mayhem has escalated dramatically since Israel’s troop and settlement withdrawal from Gaza in September 2005.

This latest wave of violence comes as Israel faces growing hostility from radical elements within Palestinian territory that were firing crude missiles across the border into Israel. These overt acts of aggression, spurred on by Palestinian disillusionment with Israel’s recent targeted assassinations, could not have come at a worse time. Israel’s assassinations left untold calamity and collateral damage, in addition to hitting their marks.

The ongoing power struggle within Palestinian territory between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, regarding the legitimacy of accepted Palestinian leadership has seen a rift in political circles. The efforts of Abbas to reconcile Hamas’s uncompromising charter in respect of Israel’s right to exist seem to be gaining ground. However the kidnapping of an Israeli corporal will do little to bolster trust between the divergent nations.

Israeli President Ehud Olmert has categorically rejected calls for the release of imprisoned Palestinians in exchange for the life of the Israeli corporal. Instead, Israel has taken a tough stance against the militants by sending in the heavy artillery. Israeli warplanes bombed key targets including a power plant and bridges, to restrict mobility and communications networks of the militant forces.

Meanwhile Aziz Pahad has called for diplomatic initiatives to resolve the crisis, so as to avoid a further escalation in violence and Middle-East tensions. Egypt has also played a key role in urging the Palestinian authority to safely deliver the Israeli soldier back home.

[BRETT CHATZ]

COMMENT ON ARTICLE BY KATHERINE FRISK ON WWW.REPORTER.CO.ZA

CHARITY FOR PALESTINE

I read with a keen interest the humanitarian article by Katherine Frisk pertaining to the charitable funds earmarked for Palestinians in Gaza. Such noble gestures, with philanthropic overtones are indeed gestures of goodwill among mankind. These efforts should be applauded and given significant media coverage, on a nationwide basis. The validity of the case put forward by Katherine Frisk is legit and based on findings of international humanitarian agencies. I would like to deter any potential thinking that the article is biased towards the Palestinian faction however.

International donor programs have at their heart only the interests of the recipients of the fund. The politics surrounding the fund however should not be made reference to, for then this issue becomes a politicized statement, rather than an act of kindness to those in need of the assistance.

It is exceptionally difficult for most people to sit on the fence when the Israeli/Palestinian issue is rehashed. The suffering of the Palestinian people is given widespread media exposure on international networks, and quite rightly so, for the Palestinian victims for the most part are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of the confrontation. However, in order to provide a balanced perception on this emotionally jarring issue, we have to take a step back, re-examine our very own set of inculcated beliefs and ask the question – what is really going on?

The preservation of human-life is a sacred tenet of humanity; we all strive to see our progeny live to prosper and to one day raise their own young. The delicate cycle of life is as sacred to one nation as it is to another. So, it is both wise and necessary to foster an air of goodwill towards mankind; to build bridges and extend the proverbial olive branch to historical sworn enemies.

I must tell you that despite the immense strength of the Israeli military, Israel is a nation, in a precarious predicament, which is surrounded by hostile states. It is by sheer dint of its Judaic cultural heritage that Israel stands as a lone pariah in the Middle-East. By virtue of this fact, Israel has had no choice but to negotiate and bargain and set up initiatives to seek peaceful co-existence with her Arab neighbours. These peace initiatives have been marred by sporadic outbursts of violence and counter-attacks from both factions.

My proposal is to show solidarity with those who have suffered loss and sustained injury on both sides; both Jewish and Muslim parties. Charity goes a long way in providing for the needs of those who have endured hardship and who continue to endure hardship. If you are going to donate, do so with an open mind, devoid of blame shifting and finger pointing. Tit-for-tat violence knows no boundaries and it is solely the goodwill of Samaritans who can ease the suffering through united purpose. Believe it or not the senseless murder of civilians is endured on both sides, Israeli and Palestinian. Homicidal-bombers wreak as much havoc within Israel as Israeli warplanes do on Palestinian targets, but that is not the point. If we truly are united in South Africa as Jews, Muslims and Christians then we need to end the violence by pressing for peaceful co-existence within the ambit of an acceptable two-state solution.

[johndoepr]

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