South Africa

You have a neighbour who vandalises his own house and beats his family. Do you :

 

a) Report him to the police;

b) Go over to his place and get him to settle down;

c) Commend him on his fine work and hire him to assist you in protecting your own house.

 

Well if you're a member of the South African government you would choose C, yes folks we have truly entered 1984 and the world of doublespeak and blatant hypocrisy :

 

South Africa signed a pact with its neighbour Zimbabwe on Thursday to strengthen ties on defence and intelligence, spurning Western government efforts to isolate President Robert Mugabe's government." This initiative, involving seconding Zimbabwe's flying instructors to train SA Air Force pilots, aircraft technicians and support staff, follows a long tradition of training exchanges between our countries," Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said.

 

These included joint military exercises, peace keeping training, defence management training, staff course visits, communication training, sporting activities and aviation safety. Kasrils was addressing cabinet ministers from Zimbabwe and South Africa during the first meeting of a joint permanent commission on defence and security between the two countries.

 

What a load of rubbish! We are blatantly consorting with a bunch of known thugs who have scant respect for democratic values or human rights. I had come to believe that I'd become numbed to anything the government could say about Zimbabwe, but as usual I was wrong. This from our Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils :

 

[A] journalist asked intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils how South Africa, with a "good human rights track record", could sign agreements with Zimbabwe, who was said to have a "poor human rights record". A clearly embarrassed Kasrils immediately apologised for the journalist's question. But Mutasa said the question was to be expected. "I just want to say that he (the reporter) doesn't have to apologise to us and that perhaps the best (is) that all of us here should agree to say to our honourable reporter is simply, to pray for him. "Lord forgive him for he does not know what he is saying," Mutasa said at the inaugural meeting of the South Africa/Zimbabwe joint permanent commission on defence and security.

 

"The liberation struggle was much more painful than the insults we are getting from some of these misguided creatures," Mutasa said. Kasrils berated the media. "I find it rather insulting that you (the reporter) should level such a question here at us with this delegation from Zimbabwe. "I apologise to them that they have to sit here on an historic occasion when we have signed two agreements which are so important to the security, stability, the development of both our peoples and countries," Kasrils said. He stated South Africa was committed to working with its neighbours and with Zimbabwe. "They have very daunting challenges. They are very frank about the kind of problems they have to deal with. "We agree with them fully when they situate those problems within a context related to the colonial status of Zimbabwe, which for so many years had the name Rhodesia thrust upon them." The question was bound to come, Zimbabwe's deputy home affairs minister Sydney Sekeremayi told the gathering. "All our lives... was dedicated to fighting for freedom and it's an insult to say we are abusing or violating human rights."

 

Ronnie, can I call you Ronnie? Because I feel since you felt it was okay to make a complete prat of yourself in front of the world media and embarrass the entire country, we must be on a first name basis. So, Ronnie did you forget to take your pills last week or is it your ongoing tiff with the NIA causing some stress? Whatever it was you better get over it quick because we are supposed to have an Intelligence chief, not some ranting maniac who is acting like he just escaped from the local Asylum. As a side note, we have something called freedom of speech which means (I know this may come as a shock to you)......journalists can ask ANY QUESTIONS THEY WANT! I know, I know the big bad journalist messed up your little tea party with the nice men from Zim with their accurate line of questioning, BUT that still doesn't give you the right to act like a blathering idiot who forgot to take his meds that morning. Get over it ASAP!

 

Oh and don't think I forgot you Minister Mutasa, you can save your prayers for yourself cos you've got a special reward for all the saintly work you've done up till now.