The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced that Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the US, has been declared persona non grata. This is proof that the ANC’s diplomatic gamble is failing and will cost the country and its people dearly. Kallie Kriel, CEO of the civil rights organisation AfriForum, reacted this morning, South African time, after the news of Rubio’s expulsion of Rasool.
Kriel emphasises that the ANC leaders and Rasool, as deployed cadre, must accept direct responsibility for this diplomatic blunder.
He criticises the ANC’s open and persistent diplomatic actions over the past week and maintains that these types of acts are causing unprecedented damage to the relationship with the US. “Amid the current diplomatic tension, the ANC leaders saw fit to invite Iran’s ambassador to South Africa, Mansour Shakib Mehr, to the ANC headquarters last week.
And yesterday Rasool saw fit to deliver a scathing attack on President Donald Trump. The ANC leadership prioritises the party’s interests and misguided policies over the country’s well-being. With this type of action, the ANC leaders are gambling with the future of the country and us as ordinary citizens of the country.”
According to Kriel, it is in everyone’s interest to accelerate efforts to bring about a clear change in direction in South Africa. “AfriForum will persevere in these efforts; otherwise, the actions of the ANC leaders will lead the country down a path of destruction.
We owe it to our children to now take a strong stand against the injustice that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cadres are committing to the detriment of everyone in the country,” Kriel concluded.
Kallie Kriel I CEO AfriForum