Riyaz Patel
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as ANC leader, met with Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald during his working visit to the United Kingdom.
“I led a Sinn Féin leadership delegation today, which met with ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa in recognition of the deep and historic links between our two Parties.”
Mcdonald said their discussions focused strongly on the “need for international political and diplomatic support for Irish unity, and the relevance of South Africa’s transition to national democracy for managing future constitutional change in Ireland.”
McDonald added that “Sinn Féin has a long history of fraternal relations and solidarity with the ANC, and this was a welcome and important opportunity to meet its Party President.”
The Sinn Féin leader said Ramaphosa has a very deep personal investment in the Irish peace process.
Ramaphosa, along with former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, were tasked with monitoring the arms decommissioning process following the Good Friday Agreement, trying to broker peace in an alien country.
“The challenge as you deal with all the issues, including weapons, is to ensure that all parties have the confidence to ensure a lasting peace,” Ramaphosa said in an interview at the time.
“We provided him with a detailed briefing on the political crisis in the north, the threat to the Good Friday Agreement, as well as the repercussions posed by Brexit for the entire island,”said Mcdonald.
The two leaders also discussed areas of mutual cooperation between the Sinn Féin and the ANC, particularly on issues of progressive international solidarity.
“We agreed to continue engaging at a party leadership level on how Sinn Féin and the ANC can continue to work constructively together in the future,” said Macdonald.
“The South African people have always been true friends of Ireland.”
