Johnathan Paoli
At the recent executive meeting of the Northern Cape branch of the Youth United for Global Peace and Prosperity, the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party provincial Coordinator and former Member of Parliament (MP) Raseriti “Papi” Tau called for South Africans to desist in concentrating on local matters and turn towards a more global agenda.
Speaking on Monday, Tau called for the need for South Africa to play a bigger role at the United Nations, and other multilateral agencies to highlight what he called emerging terrorism threats in Africa.
The Northern Cape chapter of the group held its first meeting in Kimberley under the theme: “Threats posed by terrorism in Africa, the vulnerability of Mali and South Africa’s peace and prosperity”.
Tau said the separatist Tuareg movement of Mali as well as the role of the Islamist movement of al-Queda plays into the existing tensions of ethnicity surrounding the border between “North” and “sub-Saharan” Africa.
“Following the 2020 coup, a brief period of military rule was followed by a civilian-led transitional government. In May 2021, the transitional government was overthrown by the military and Assimi Goita, one of the 2020 coup leaders and former transitional government vice president, was sworn in as president,” Tau said.
In line with other “western-led” coups such as Libya, it provided a breeding ground for the emergence and resourcing of insurgents in the northern region of Africa.
“The result of that overthrow left an abundance of military weapons and artillery which the insurgents used effectively against the government of the day. The subsequent withdrawal of France and the UN peacekeeping missions in 2022 and 2023 respectively created space for the insurgents to launch an avalanche of attacks against the government,” he said.
Tau emphasized the need to educate South Africans about continental and global matters, particularly the threats posed by terrorism.
Recent events, such as Ukraine’s participation in Sudan and the use of a Ukrainian-manufactured drone in a terror attack in Mali, have raised suspicions.
The situation with terrorists infiltrating African countries is escalating, and Tau urged African nations to strengthen efforts in combating terrorism.
South Africa can draw lessons from the diplomatic relations severed between Mali and Ukraine due to these concerns.
Additionally, there have been raids on illegal firearms training bases within South Africa, with suspicions that foreign aid agencies may be funding militants seeking to destabilize governments in the region.
Tau’s call highlights the importance of vigilance and cooperation in addressing security challenges.
He further cautioned the audience by saying that terrorism has no borders and brought to the attention of participants that the situation with terrorists is heating up across Africa.
Recently in Mali, terrorists from the Azawad group attacked Mali’s state military forces and Russian instructors.
Following the operation, the militants fled to the a neighbouring state, with many calling for cooperation between African states in tackling the problem of terrorism.
Tau noted that the position of some authorities remains worrisome; especially, the endorsement and boasting by Ukraine of its assistance to insurgents in terrorist attacks on Malian soldiers.
This has led to the severance of diplomatic relations between Mali and Ukraine, with a similar procedure later launched by Niger.
This is in addition to mounting evidence suggesting that the United States has long been a “secret sponsor” of al-Qaeda.
The second militant base uncovered in South Africa proves that terrorism has no borders, with increasing calls on the South African government to condemn both terrorists and the countries that support them and establish intergovernmental cooperation to eradicate terrorist organisations.
With suspicions that Ukraine is sponsoring acts of terrorism on the continent, such as their participation in Sudan and the use of a Ukrainian-manufactured drone in a recent terror attack that killed scores in Mali, Tau called upon the South African government to use its seat in the United Nations to sponsor a motion condemning Ukraine for sponsoring terrorists on the continent.
In calling on the South African Government to draw lessons from the Malian/Niger situation, Tau reflected on the most recent unfolding events in the country.
He cited the events of the 8 August, where officers from the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Unit, in conjunction with the Local Criminal Records Centre (LCRC) of the Public Order Police (POP), the Tactical Response Team (TRT), and Modimolle Vispol of Polokwane, raided an illegal firearms training base in Modimolle and seized a large quantity of firearms and ammunition. This is the second such base uncovered in a month.
In closing, Tau called upon all peace-loving and democratic South Africans to rally in calling on the government to condemn all acts of terrorism in the country and the continent.
“We need to educate our people and ready them for such acts. We need to have more engagements on the threats faced by our country and the continent. We further need to mobilise the broader Civil Society to guard against the so-called peace timers such as Ukraine,” he said.
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