Cape Town -
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has hit out at opposition MPs and the media for colluding and “misreporting” what happened in the Central African Republic (CAR) and for turning it into “coffee table talk”.
Delivering her long-awaited statement in the National Assembly on the CAR deployment, Mapisa-Nqakula said when the security situation in the CAR deteriorated earlier this year, the government decided to deploy 200 additional troops as a “protection force” for the trainers and the military assets that were already in that country.
Turning her attention to members of the official opposition and the media, Mapisa-Nqakula said these members differed with the government policy of “friendship” because they were former members of the previous SADF (SA Defence Force) that wished “their own involvement as members of that force should be forgotten”.
“They will desperately want to exploit any negativity about the pursuance of our policies to call for this country to dump the plight of the continent. As part of this, they have used the mainstream media to build a consistent campaign to distort the mission of our soldiers in the CAR,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
She said “spokespersons” of the DA “almost thanked their gods for handing them the gift of the loss of our soldiers so close to the next general elections”.
“This is done without any iota of shame and kindness. When the eyes of the nation are filled with tears, theirs only saw how these tragic deaths will justify the resuscitation of calls for a motion of no confidence in a democratically and popularly elected government,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
She said not once had reports about the mission “ever emphasised the heroism of our soldiers”.
“To ignore all recorded facts about the AU Peace and Stability decisions about the CAR before South Africa’s involvement, choosing simply to project the coffee table talk of the opposition, is collusion of the highest order in a sinister plot to undermine our policy,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
This didn’t prevent the opposition from accusing her of “politicking” instead of revealing the truth, with Cope MP Mlindi Nhanha reminding the minister that under her watch as correctional services minister Schabir Shaik had been released on medical parole.
Responding to Mapisa-Nqakula’s statement, DA defence spokesman David Maynier said the country had not been told the whole truth about the reasons for the deployment to the CAR.
“First, we were told that the reason for deployment was to assist with capacity building, as well as with disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. But, the forces which were deployed, including 5 Special Forces Regiment and 1 Parachute Battalion, were elite combat units, and hardly suited to this task,” said Maynier.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said she had tabled a draft resolution calling for an investigation to be launched into the circumstances around the SANDF deployment.
“It also condemned (Mapisa-Nqakula) for misleading the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on the existence of a ‘second’ Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Co-operation between South Africa and the CAR, when in fact this is an extension of the original MoU which amounts to an entirely new agreement, and condemned President (Jacob) Zuma for not directly informing South Africa on the withdrawal of the troops,” said Mazibuko.
Pieter Groenewald, of the Freedom Front Plus, said the fact that South Africa’s troops had been in the CAR “illegally”, as well as Zuma’s absence from Parliament to answer questions on the matter was “a slap in the face of the 13 deceased soldiers”.
Political Bureau
IOLSA