Pretoria - South Africa has never sought to export nor impose its version of national reconciliation on Egypt or any other sovereign country.
“Rather, in its statement, the South African government conveyed its readiness to share with Egypt experiences and lessons from its own political transition from apartheid rule to a genuine multi-party democratic dispensation,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said on Tuesday.
Dirco was reacting to what it labelled a misrepresentation of South Africa’s foreign policy position by the interim government in Egypt.
Last week, the Egyptians said: “The Foreign Ministry is surprised South Africa is trying to export its failed reconciliation process that hasn't achieved real coexistence or [realised the] basic needs of its people, who suffer some of highest world rates of crime, corruption, poverty, unemployment and epidemics”.
Dirco said the tone and spirit of the statement from the Egyptian authorities will contribute little to the alleviation of what is increasingly becoming a political and security crisis in Egypt, initiated by the removal of a democratically elected president through a military coup.
Pretoria said it was most unfortunate that the Egyptian authorities are singling-out South Africa in its criticism, despite the overwhelming international condemnation of the recent brutal repression of demonstrations by the Egyptian security forces that led to a tragic loss of lives.
“The South African Government has been consistent in its emphasis of the need to find indigenous solutions for domestic challenges. Contrary to the misplaced claims by the Egyptian authorities,” Dirco said.
The ministry added that South Africa’s position is based on the constitutive act of the African Union, where any unconstitutional change of government – whatever the premise – is specifically rejected.
“Egypt, as a founding member of the OAU and the AU, should respect the integrity of the Continental Organisation which it has been instrumental in developing over the years. Egypt has always voted consistently in favour of suspending other members from the African Union on the same basis – and has worked with those sister countries to restore constitutional government at the earliest opportunity so that affected states may resume their valued role within the AU.
“Rather than attacking the integrity of the AU, Egypt should respect the AU processes and cooperate with the AU High Level Panel in support of a peaceful and inclusive transition and restoration of constitutional order in Egypt.”
Regarding the national reconciliation, Dirco said many countries have in the past shown willingness to learn from South Africa’s transitional process
South Africa maintains that national reconciliation and an Egyptian-led, all-inclusive negotiated process remains the only option for Egypt to get out of the present impasse, adding that it remains concerned that the violence and tragic loss of which it says takes away the democratic aspirations as expressed by the millions of Egyptian voters last year. - SAnews.gov.za
