On the Holocaust, free speech and singling out Israel, South Africa again in the authoritarian camp

Former head of the Official Opposition in South Africa, Tony Leon, has written a brilliant speech-cum-article warning that the South African government is on a collision course with the new Obama administration over the ANC’s increasingly illiberal foreign policy.

But those in positions of authority in the Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs have failed to take heed. Once again, South Africa has shown its pro totalitarian leanings at the United Nations: this time during the Durban II Drafting Committee Meeting. Not only did the South African representative seek to minimize the Jewish aspect of the Holocaust in the text to be presented at the Durban Racism Review Conference but also supported Israel being singled out for unique criticism and tried to help limit the ability of the press to report on the preparatory meeting.

The last United Nations Racism Conference held in Durban in 2001 was marred by an unprecedented outpouring of anti-Semitism. There has been growing concerns that the follow-up session (known as Durban 2) to be held in Geneva this year would be a repeat performance. Thus the South African Jewish Board of Deputies has sought, and it was thought achieved, a commitment by the South African government to do its part to stop the conference from being hijacked. Yet South Africa’s behavior at the preparatory meeting last week would seem to contradict this promise.

Human rights NGO UNWatch, an authority on all things relating to Durban 2, has just issued a report on the nefarious happenings at the latest preparatory meeting. They summarize the meeting as follows:

‘With countries commenting on each proposed article (of the Draft Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference), the session was dominated by a vehemently anti-Western agenda, with Islamic and Third World countries equating counter-terrorism with racism, calling to restrict free speech in the name of Islamic sensitivities—the so-called “defamation of Islam”—and focusing on the practice of slavery in the West but barring mention of the slave trade in the Arab world and elsewhere. Worst of all, Iran and Syria used the forum to engage in Holocaust denial, while many countries demanded new provisions to condemn Israel as a racist and criminal state...’

South Africa sadly featured prominently. When discussing proposed Paragraph 29, which provides that the Holocaust must never be forgotten and mentions that it resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, South Africa, representing the entire African Group, asked that the paragraph be cut down to simply ‘Recalls that the Holocaust never be forgotten’, removing all Jewish references. This proposal was heartily supported by Holocaust denying Iran and Syria. The Syrian representative welcomed the removal by saying that ‘I don't think we should get into a kind of statistical debate. As far as I know that there is no agreement on the consensus on the percentage of those who perished in the Holocaust.’

South Africa too played an important role in ensuring that only Israel would be singled out for condemnation. When the European Union requested that the paragraph on Palestine be deleted, South Africa was one of the countries who objected. Our rationale was amazing. South Africa said that the Palestinian issue was an important issue of the 2001 Durban Racism Conference, and thus should be an important issue of the Review Conference. Following that same logic perhaps, seeing that anti-Semitic cartoons and the notoriously anti-Semitic book the Protocols of the Elders of Zion were handed out at the 2001 Conference, we must make sure the same happens at this year’s conference. Rather than restraining those forces in the non-democratic world who would like to divert attention from their own appalling human rights records but making the sole focus of Durban 2 Israel and Jews, the South African government seems to be cheering them on.

Interestingly, while South Africa was eager to have Israel singled out for criticism, it did not feel the same way about fellow African states. It together with Nigeria advocated the deletion of a paragraph that “deplores militias to oppress ethnic populations” out of concern that this might be seen as condemning some African countries. This same level of hypocrisy was applied to the slave trade. While our representatives sought the deletion of references to the trans-Saharan (Arab) slave-trade, at the same time they urged provisions relating to the trans-Atlantic (Western) slave trade and the need for reparations to be emphasized.

Finally in a shocking display of contempt for press freedom, South Africa together with Pakistan and Egypt, called for two journalists to be expelled from covering the proceeding out of fear they would engage in ‘selective interpretation’ of the discussions. This took place as the debate on defamation of religion was getting underway. In what can only be described as Orwellian, South Africa together with its totalitarian friends are trying to make the case that limiting the right of people to criticize religion, particularly Islam, is somehow not illiberal but actually a position for free speech. They argue that they are fighting against the abuse of free speech. With such a view is it any wonder they kicked the journalists out?

Tony Leon concludes his piece by asking ‘do we want to be remembered for the distance our policies have travelled from Nelson Mandela's 1994 promise that "human rights will be the light that guides our foreign affairs?" Or will we seize the moment to reconnect our own constitutional commitments to equality, human dignity and liberty - to our voice and votes in world forums.’

South Africa has once again made its position clear. We proudly stand not with equality, human dignity and liberty but instead always hand-in-hand with our totalitarian friends at the United Nations.

Comments

[Gary]

What more can be said.
There is a song by the Rolling Stones wtih the lyrics "I can't cry anymore...Im out of tears."
I feel I'm out of words about the evil of the standpoints taken by the SA regime and the hard left around the world.
By the way there is a website where u can vote on whether you support China or Tibet (similar to the Israel vs Palestine one).
You can find out how ppl voted according to country.
99 of 100 voters from the Palestinian Auhtority supported China.
So you can see that those who support totalitraianism and terror in one part of the world will supportit everywhere.
Anyone who supports Hamas against Israel can be regarded as a total ennemy of human rights.

[Christopher Haddad]

Interesting comment. Can you supply the url for the votes.

[Gary]

http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/

[Religious Fundamentalist 1]

A well thought out, and alarming, article.

I'm still not convinced that Obama is not a totalitarian, maybe a nice smily faced fascist, but a totalitarian nonetheless.

I think the Obamassiah's recent dictat's on US funding for abortion outside of the US (presumably mainly Africa?) and the ill-conceived "1yr to shutting our doors guantanamo sale", not to mention some of his appointments (Geitner is somewhat like appointing Brett Kebble to head up SARS ... I use this example so that the ANC doesn't get any ideas) leave much to be desired.

I firmly hope to be proven wrong.

[Castor Troye]

Gary i went to israel-palestine.com and clicked on an advert on that webpage http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/GazaHolocaustMuseum/index.shtml

it is the most disgusting website i have ever seen on the internet!

[Gary]

Not it's http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/

[Shaun]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1059550.html

any word on this?

[Castor Troye]

yes, i meant http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/

[Gary]

Im sure the site is against us. I just wanted to get ppl out there to vote for Israel.