27
Oct
Given South Africa’s difficult history, and the long and violent fight for democracy, South Africans should feel an automatic urge to stand alongside anyone in the world who today still fights for the installation of a democratic dispensation. We, South Africans, understand more than most the power of protest, where thousands come together and speak in one voice for a political system which acknowledges and respects the views of all citizens.
Though geographically distant, what is happening in Hong Kong is also very close to home for South Africa. Our role in the global community isn’t to dictate to sovereign states how they should manage their affairs, but when the calls of citizens in foreign lands ring so loudly, we have a duty to answer as a people who have faced similar oppression.
Imagine if in the darkest days of apartheid our friends on the African continent and elsewhere had turned a deaf ear to our calls in the fight for democracy.
The people of Hong Kong have set themselves on a course where the only destination, though difficult to reach, is democracy, where free and fair elections take place. Like them, this was our journey, too. Their fight and ours are succinctly articulated by the great Nelson Mandela, who said: “Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way”.
The South African government today also needs to rid itself of fear, and stay true to the values of our constitution and those of our first democratically elected president. Our foreign policy needs to be put in more than words on a cabinet memorandum, but actual implemented practice. In the face of human suffering and oppressive dictatorial governance, we must be among those to stand up and stand with the people, and use our global standing to speak for democracy and constitutionalism.
South Africa must become a voice of moral authority in the global community. In the age of wars for the sake of controlling resources, and the silencing of those who struggle to gain representative democracy, we need to be a country that is willing to make bold moves in support of democracy. The boldest moves, in fact. I join Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in saying, “I pray that the voices of the people of Hong Kong will never be stifled”. May the legitimate will of the people reign supreme.
Without encroaching on the sovereignty of Hong Kong, South Africa can and should ensure that the voices of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters are heard. Our cozy relationship with China, though, seems to push the hand of the Zuma government far too often.
* Maimane is DA Parliamentary leader.
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/why-hong-kong-protests-are-a-south-african-issue-1.1770675#.VE5OGIe9XbF