The Mandela affect

Ask not why South Africa has accused Israel the crime of genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Nelson Mandela is the reason. A six-meter-tall bronze statue of Mandela stands atop a hillock at the edge of the Palestinian administrative capital, Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The statue, the twin of the statue residing in Johannesburg, was presented to Palestine by that city with which Ramallah is twinned.

In December 1997 speaking at ceremonies marking the first UN-designated International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, President Mandela declared, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” These words have been inscribed on the walls around Ramallah’s Mandela Square where the statue stands.

“The temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine to a state of their own...Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. Yet we would be less than human if we did so,” he stated.

On the eve of Jan.10 before the ICJ heard the South African appeal, Palestinians in Ramallah rallied round Mandela’s statue, brandishing Palestinian and South African flags and displaying placards stating, “Thank You South Africa.”

It is interesting to point out that the 1948 UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Genocide Convention coincided with the establishment of Israel and with South Africa’s formal legalisation of apartheid, a system of racial separation and discrimination which had been in force for decades.

White colonialism and apartheid motivated the African National Congress (ANC) and other African freedom fighters to declare solidarity with the Palestinian cause in the 1950s and 1960s, enabling the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to forge ties to the ANC and African movements.

While serving a life sentence in prison from 1962 until 1990, Mandela became acquainted with the Palestinian struggle for national survival. The ANC’s relations with Israel soured as it forged strong military, political and intelligence ties with the South African regime despite the UN General Assembly’s 1966 designation of apartheid as a crime against humanity.

In 1990, two weeks after his release from prison, Mandela Flew to Lusaka, Zambia, to meet the ANC’s exiled leadership, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Mandela and Arafat were to meet many times in Africa and elsewhere. During a 1999 regional tour Mandela visited occupied Palestine and Israel. While in Gaza, he said he felt at “home among compatriots.”

When the US criticised about his relationship with Arafat, Mandela retorted, “your enemies are not our enemies,” a principle of independence South Africa has renewed.

Mandela declared support for he two-state solution, said Israel had to evacuate the occupied territories and called for a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. But, he also expressed backing for “violence” when it is the “only alternative.”

After Arafat’s death in 1994, President Mandela called him an “icon.” Mandela stated, “He was not only concerned with the liberation of the Arab people but of all the oppressed people throughout the world — Arabs and non-Arabs — and to lose a man of that stature and thinking is a great blow to all those who are fighting against oppression.” The same must be said of Mandela who was and remains the “icon” of icons of humanity for freedom-loving peoples.

Commenting on South Africa’s genocide case at the Court, the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa declared, “I have never felt as proud as I felt today when our legal team was arguing our case in The Hague.” He should feel proud, the team did an excellent job.

By reverting to the legacy of Mandela, the current government of South Africa is trying to restore the ruling ANC’s credibility which has been besmirched by corruption and mismanagement, promote an African role in the Global South, and project the South Africa onto the world stage.

In power since 1994, the ANC has struggled to maintain grip since 2004 and faces losses in parliamentary elections this year. Although, South Africa has the most advanced, industrialised economy in Africa and the economy is expanding, ANC efforts have failed to reduce inequality between the country’s wealthy and growing middle class and poor black communities. This has created discontent among majority black voters who formerly backed the ANC. Although South Africa has a well-developed infrastructure, the government has also failed to meet demand for electricity by building new power stations. As a result, power outages occur daily. Crime is rampant.

While there are no early fixes for these problems, the ANC clearly hopes to benefit on the electoral front from the country’s high-profile case in the Court. This is a landmark case as it is the first major challenge by an African state to the post-colonial but still colonial-minded West at a time its global domination is waning. The case gives South Africa a leading role on the continent.

On the world scene, South Africa’s case has been supported by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the 22-member Arab League and 19 countries from this region, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Turkey and Jordan have said they will provide additional evidence to bolster the application presented by South Africa. The case has also been backed by 1,400 activist groups which have subscribed to a letter extending support to the case. Among these groups is the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Israelis Against Apartheid, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions. In a letter to the Court dated Jan.9, more than 600 Israelis leant their support for the case. The New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights has sued Biden for failing to prevent Israel from committing genocide in the Gaza war.

The US has branded the South African submission: “meritless, counterproductive, and without any basis in fact whatsoever.” On Jan.4, however, the government admitted it was not investigating accusations of genocide brought against Israel.

Photo: TNS