Department of International Relations and Cooperation Media Briefing by the Director General, Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, OR Tambo Building, Pretoria, 10 June 2010.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, Director-General, Department of International Relations and Cooperation: Thanks colleagues. Apologies, again, for keeping you waiting.

Maybe let's start by saying this has been a very long journey. Everybody knows that. We failed once and we were lucky the second time. And perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, maybe the gods were on our side. It was good that we failed the first time, because I think we have a strong sense that we are very ready currently to deal with the challenges related to this very big event that we will be hosting.

Yesterday we had what we call the final dry run at Soccer City. All the different arms of the South African state, of course at the centre of which is the South African Police Service, looked at the real last preparations as you would expect. Apart from FIFA and the LOC, on the side of government we have got extensive involvement of the Police Service, we have got extensive involvement of Home Affairs, we have got extensive involvement of our Department of Arts and Culture. Needless to say, the Presidency is at the heart of this and, of course, our Department, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

In as far as we are concerned, I think we have had a number of important landmarks in this very long journey. The first one, of course, would have been the hard work that had to precede the final FIFA draw, because we had to persuade friends to remember us at the critical moment when they had to cast their vote.

Having passed that stage, we then had to make sure that we worked together with the rest of the African Continent to be true to what we had said in our bid, that this is an African bid, and so that we can try to the best of our abilities to maintain the African character of this bid and make sure that this becomes something that mobilises the whole of the African Continent.

Now, there have been a number of things that had had to be done in that process. Our Department of Sport and Recreation, needless to say, the Minister of Sport and Recreation had to have extensive consultations and discussions with the sports ministers of the Continent. Secondly, we had to make sure that at the level of the African Union, and this is something that our own Department has been at the forefront of, make sure that the Heads of State fully embrace this event as an African event.

You will recall that a few years ago we had an event in Addis Ababa on the occasion of the African Union Summit, where South Africa formally hosted, and the President of FIFA went there to Addis also, and that was part of this effort of making sure that we have this build up.

I must say right at the outset that we are really, really happy with the support that we have received from the African Continent. Many countries of this Continent, even during the times when some people were spreading rumours and creating doubt about the capacity of South Africa to host this event, African countries stood at our side and were very clear in their defence of their understanding of the possibilities and capacity that South Africa had. And they have always showed confidence that we will try our best to do our Continent proud.

So, we are extremely grateful for that generous, generous faith support, that we had received from the African Continent.

We also want to particularly thank the African Continent for the excitement that we have been feeling during the process of the mobilisation of volunteers. And again, that has sent a strong signal to us that the African Continent wants this to be a success. And, of course of late, the general excitement that is in the streets on the Continent, as we get closer to this great day tomorrow, is quite palpable.

So, really, we would like to place on record our appreciation and our thanks to the African Continent.

Now, as a result of us wanting to make sure that we, up to the end, we protect an project the African character of this World Cup, our President extended invitations, as you know, both for the Opening Ceremony and for the Closing Ceremony to his colleagues, counterparts, Heads of States and governments of the Continent.

Now, we also identified a number of eminent persons that we thought we would also invite. And these, I will not go into the names, would include, for example, some former Heads of State, or, for example, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, people like those that we believed, again, were important for us to extend an invitation to.

Now, at the present time, the confirmation of Heads of State who are from the African Continent will be twenty, the people who will definitely come, twenty African Heads of State. We also, in addition, would have another eighteen eminent persons coming, and those would be the categories. And some of those who would be coming amongst the category of eminent persons, for example, in recognition of the role we are playing in Zimbabwe, both Prime Minister Tsvangirai and then Deputy Prime Minister Mutumbara and I am pre-empting, because I know this question will come, and of course, Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who will also be amongst those. But, the Head of State of Kenya, the Head of State of Zimbabwe will come as the specific guests, Heads of States of those countries.

So, we have got about twenty confirmed Heads of State and we have got about eighteen or so eminent persons.

Now, there probably are another three or so invites that we will confirm in the course of the day. The numbers I am giving you are people who have confirmed.

Now, some of the confirmations and the changes that have taken place. We have had, for example, withdrawal for matters of state of one or two Heads of State who had already confirmed and hence, those who might have heard the leak of earlier numbers, so that they are not surprised. So, about those, that is the confirmation now.

Now, the Heads of State, by and large, start arriving today. We will prefer not to give specific details of the Heads of State. You will see there, we will not give you a list of which Heads of States are necessarily here. There are also three countries that will be represented at the level of either their Vice-Presidents or the Speaker of the National Assembly. And just to say, for example, we know that the President of Ghana landed in South Africa very early this morning. So President Atta Mills is already in the country. Other Heads of State will be arriving, in fact, we are just in our final preparatory meeting and colleagues have rushed to receive them.

Our official port of entry is the Waterkloof Air Base. That is the official one but, of course, there will be other Heads of State who would arrive either through OR Tambo International Airport or through Lanseria International Airport. And that includes the eminent persons. Most of them will be arriving through OR Tambo or through Lanseria.

Everything that we needed to do in terms of the preparations for these Heads of State to make sure that, and these eminent guests of the President, all that is in place. We have been working closely with the African missions. There is a clear programme that has been agreed upon that would ensure that all the Heads of State, all the eminent persons, will be in Soccer City certainly by the time that the Opening Ceremony starts at 14:00. And then all of that and, of course, you would appreciate that for reasons of security and otherwise we will not give you the details as to exactly what time they will get there. But all that is in place.

As I say, yesterday we had also a meeting that included our Protocol people, the Police Service and all other arms of government to make sure that everything is quite in place. From the point of view of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, of course, I am sure General Cele would be in a better position to speak on that, but from the point of view of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, we are absolutely satisfied with the measures that the South African Police Service and the security services of the state have put in place to make sure that these guests, that the people who would be coming here and, of course, also the guests of the President, would receive the necessary security whilst they are in South Africa.

We are also satisfied that the many people, South Africans and our international guests who will be at Soccer City, that the measures that have been put in place, both to facilitate movement into Soccer City, as well as to make sure that the necessary security to create an ambience that would really project South Africa in a very good way, all that we are satisfied that those things are in place.

Now, as I have indicated, the Heads of State and, again, we will prefer comment there. There are quite a number of the Heads of State, for example, those who would not be coming, who have already confirmed they are coming for the Closing Ceremony. And some of them, for matters of state, it has not been possible for them to come both for the Opening and for the Closing. So, some of the Heads of State, and of course, there are some of the Heads of State in the group that will be coming who have also indicated that they would also be coming also for the Closing Ceremony, and that will be done.

Now, the final point just I would like to make is that as a general point of procedure for FIFA, FIFA had made it very clear to us right at the beginning that FIFA takes responsibility for the Presidents of the teams that are on the field at the particular point in time. So, in the case of the Opening Match, President Zuma and President Calderon of Mexico, would have been the guests of FIFA.

Sometime back we had agreed with Mexico that President Calderon was due to visit South Africa either in May or June for a brief working visit and that has been, by mutual agreement between the two countries, it made sense for us, given also that we will be playing against each other in the Opening Match, that we should make these two things coincide. So, President Calderon will also have a meeting with President Zuma tomorrow. President Zuma would also meet the African Heads of State who are visiting, who are his guests, sometime tomorrow before the Heads of State proceed to Soccer City.

We also have made the necessary arrangements for the African Heads of States who will be here, all the guests. Some of them will leave immediately after the match. Others will leave in the course of the weekend. But all those arrangements are quite in place and their movement out of here.

Now, of course, other eminent personalities, that is the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, largely from a protocol and also from a security point of view, who have arrived into the country, who are guests of FIFA, that we are also taking care of, we are looking after. We are working very closely with FIFA, but it is not for us to speak about that. I think FIFA will make the necessary announcements about what eminent persons that they have. But just to say, we are working very closely with FIFA, even with respect to those personalities who have been invited by FIFA.

Now, coming back to the point that I had just started, just to say that the FIFA procedure is that they would look after the Heads of State of the teams that are on the ground. That is the commitment that they made. That necessary arrangements meant that if President Zuma is inviting the African Heads of State in line with what we had said, to maintain the African character of this bid, that we would then have to make provision. And we had had very successful engagements with FIFA, with Match, which led us to agreeing on a suitable accommodation at Soccer City for purposes of where the guests would be.

So, that is all taken care of. These are guests of the President of the Republic and they are being treated as such. I think that is it, unless there are some specific questions.

Question and answer session:

Chairperson: Your name, media institution and your question. Peter?

Peter Fabricius, Independent Group: Did you say plus or minus twenty African Heads of State or twenty overall Heads of State?

Member of the Media: When you say that FIFA is in charge of the guests of the countries that are playing, does that mean the African Heads of States also?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No. No, I said FIFA looks after the Heads of States of the teams that are on the field on the day. So, for now, technically, FIFA would be looking after President Calderon and President Zuma. Every other Head of State, certainly all the African Heads of State who are coming are coming as guests of President Zuma.

Member of the Media: Will President Al-Bashir be attending both the opening and the closing ceremonies?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: We have not finalised the issue of the Closing Ceremony, but certainly for the Opening Ceremony, the President of Sudan was invited, and the President of Sudan, for reasons related to Sudan, will not be able to come.

Jean-Jacques Cornish, Radio 702: in addition to President Al-Bashir, was the President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina invited and the coup leaders from Guinea and Niger? I know our President had problems with them being invited to the France-Africa Summit last week. Have they been invited to the football competition?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: We have maintained the standing protocol, which is the policy of the Republic, that any leader who has assumed power through unconstitutional means, who is under sanction by the AU, would not have received an invite.

Member of the Media: You are saying that the Sudanese President has been invited and he is coming. I would like to know whether we will arrest him if he comes.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: I am not answering that question. I have said categorically, don't change what I have just said. I have said the President of Sudan was invited. He has said he is unable to come for the Opening. And that is where we leave the matter of Sudan.

Member of the Media: And then, is there a possibility of him coming for the Closing, as you said that he has declined the invitation for the opening match?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: We leave that. We are not dealing with the Closing now. We will deal with the issue of the Closing when the time for the Closing comes. We will have another media event on the 10th of July.

Sipho Masondo, The Times: DG, I just want to check. The President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, has he been invited and is he coming? And also, issues relating to security. I mean, are they bringing their own personal security or is our state responsible for their security, and are they being accommodated at the state's guest house, or what are their accommodation arrangements?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Can I just say that one of the things I want to try to avoid is to get to individual leaders. But, I will confirm again, the President of Libya was invited. President Muammar Gaddafi is unable to attend. So, the other questions about where he will stay then become irrelevant.

Sipho Masondo, The Times: No, not necessarily him, but I mean the others who are coming.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No, the others that are coming, we have got two ways we host our guests in South Africa, the guests of the President. We use our guest houses and we use hotels. And we have maintained exactly the same arrangements now. But don't ask me which hotels, please.

[Laughter]

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: That is what we do all the time, and we have maintained the same.

Sipho Masondo, The Times: And the security issue? Are they bringing their own security or is, are we responsible for their security?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: The South African Police Service is responsible for the security of every guest that has been here. And quite clearly, as you know, that any Head of State would come also with some of their security people. But the overall security responsibility falls, and I don't want to get into the details of what arrangements they have made between the South African Police Services, but it is very clear, everybody who has landed here, the teams, everybody, the security for all the teams, for all the Heads of State who are here, falls squarely on the shoulders of the South African Security, led by the South African Police Service.

Sipho Masondo, The Times: And then, lastly from me: Who is paying, you know, for all these Heads of States, I mean, in terms of accommodation, you know, the food and the security, is the South African government paying, a certain percentage for them. I mean, or is it FIFA that is responsible?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: South Africans, please. We have invited guests. We look after the guests we have invited. We have always done that and this is no exception. We look after the guests, in as much as when these guests invite us they look after us.

Member of the Media: Sorry, just for interest: I would like to know what is South Africa's position on the sanctions on Iran which were approved by the United Nations?

[Laughter]

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Why do you want us to cloud the issues of the World Cup with the UN’s?  I mean, I think this is something that is going on at the Security Council. There's a discussion at the Security Council. We have in the past not been in the habit of discussing the final position whilst negotiations are going on. Because our final decisions on these things usually are determined at the end of the day, sometimes by the wording of the resolution, which then dictates whether we will support the resolution or will vote against or will abstain. So, we are aware that there are ongoing discussions. We are aware of the details of those discussions, but I think the issue is very complex.

Member of the Media: A last one relating to the World Cup. There is not going to be a SADC Summit on the sidelines of the World Cup?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No SADC Summit on the sidelines of the World Cup. No SADC Summit at all.

Member of the Media: I would like to know if there is any state or government coming from Asia for the World Cup?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: For the Opening Match, we have some prominent personalities, not Heads of State from Asia that I know of. But, in the course of the World Cup, we have already had notice that there are Heads of State who would be coming around the times that their teams are playing. Some of them are not coming for this. Some of them will come for the first matches of their teams. And we are in discussion, and as I have already said, when those Heads of State come, by and large for the matches where their teams will be playing, by and large they will be guests of FIFA. But, of course, we are working with FIFA. There will be certain courtesies that the South African government will be expected to extend to them and that we will do. But for the Opening, apart from President Calderon, possibly President Morales from South America, there is one from Europe who might come, but let's rather keep it, because we have no confirmation of that.

Jean-Jacques Cornish, Radio 702: Sorry, one more. Last year at the United Nations, President Barak Obama said to me, when I asked is he coming to the World Cup, he said, "That is my goal". Has there been any advance on that? Do we have any indication whether he will in fact be coming?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No, no final word from the US. No final word from the US. The US has, during the time that President Zuma was in Washington for the Nuclear Summit, I think during their discussion we were formally informed, as early as that time, that Vice-President Biden will be in South Africa, and the option is still open, as we understand it. I suspect, as you would imagine with these things, it probably also depends on the progress of the US team.

Chairman: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. Thank you DG.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Thank you very much. Good luck. Let's all wish Bafana Bafana well.

[Laughter]

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Now I will take your questions.

[Laughter]

Chairperson: Your name and institution.

Member of the Media: I just find out, I mean, more about this, I mean, positive picture that, I mean, that SA had created. What about the vuvuzelas, because some people from the other countries are not so happy with the vuvuzelas.

[Laughter]

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: I think the people who have been uncomfortable with the vuvuzelas are far in the minority.

[Laughter]

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: In fact, what is very interesting is that the people who have been, some of the nationalities that have been uncomfortable with the vuvuzelas have been seen at the airports leaving with quite a bundle of vuvuzelas. So we are really not necessarily worried about that. I think generally, there is a general sense that is created, a vibe around our stadia.

I know some people would like to see South Africans do what they do best, which is far much more singing. But I think in the match of Bafana Bafana, there has been a combination of both of those. So, we really are not worried about that.

Member of the Media: On the 16 June, there was a session held at the UN Human Rights Council. The South African delegate had stipulated that the issue of sexual orientation demeans the fact of victimisation on racism. I am asking this because South Africa has a Constitution and policies that sort of protect sexual orientation in the community. My question is that, where does South Africa stand, the South African government stands when it comes to international platforms and in relation to sexual orientation, given the laws in the country.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Well, let me start with the South African position, clearly, before I comment on the happenings in Geneva. The first one is that I think the South African Constitution is very clear on the right of all people to dignity and equality. And of course, the South African Constitution concludes that discrimination based on any grounds is prohibited in terms of our Constitution. So, that is one part.

So, there is no ambiguity about the South African position with respect to the rights of individuals, including the issue of sexual preferences or sexual orientation. There is no ambiguity about that.

I think what the issue has been is that during the World Conference Against Racism, which was held here in South Africa in 2001, when there was discussion about what are the areas that should be put on that global agenda, to focus on at that point in time, there were the issues of racism and so on, and other related intolerances, and there was a debate about whether the issue of sexual orientation should be included. And then there was a conclusion that it should not. Now, there have been also a number of other engagements in the international community. And part of the concern has been sometimes the issue of sexual orientation is raised in the context of watering down the focus of some of those areas that have been identified, which are a bit uncomfortable for the global community to deal with, particularly the issues of racism.

I think we should see the South African statement in that context. Not in the context of any statement that would have said that the issues of rights and the rights of individuals with respect to sexual orientation should be violated in any manner, but far much more in the context of saying that the rapporteur had presented a report and that report was relating to significant aspects of the WCAR. And, of course, even last year when there was a discussion around the follow up to WCAR, you will recall that there was a fierce debate in Geneva. And again, at that point in time, it was not sexual orientation but the issues of religious tolerance, which were topical.

And so, I think that’s how we should look at South Africa's position. I don't think it was intended, that statement, to send any message of the South African government probably moving back from its Constitutional position. But I think it was more an expression of making sure that the focus remained on the issues that WCAR dealt with. The words we used in the Geneva statement might not have been the most elegant, I am not going to comment on that. But, certainly, the general principle was far more to say, look, there is an issue here which is the issue of racism that is the area of focus in this discussion.

And let's not combine issues, where we have standing resolutions on, where the international communities agreed on, as they had agreed in WCAR here in Durban and also agreed in subsequent UN engagements also captured in resolutions, and link those and put them at the same time with issues, which obviously you know are contested, because South Africa may fall in one position that fully recognises those rights, but there are many other countries and that is why even in Durban there could not be an agreement on it.

So, I think that was, that would be the context and that would be the message that was intended to be communicated. But as I say, I don't want to be focusing necessarily on particular words. I would say maybe the formulation was not as elegant as it could have been to convey the message that we are conveying.

Peter Fabricius: Can I ask you whether you find the word "demeaning" in that statement unsatisfactory?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Peter, let us accept, let me accept that perhaps we could have used a different word to describe what we are saying.

Peter Fabricius: Can I also ask you about the case of the Rwandan army general. What is the Department's understanding at this stage of what exactly happened and if it proves to be the case that the Rwandan government was behind it, what would be the diplomatic consequences of that?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Well Peter, first of all, I mean, I guess you would appreciate it is a very difficult and sensitive issue. Suffice to say that we have obviously been following very closely some developments within Rwanda first, and also, you know that the particular person who was affected did come to South Africa, indeed, in February. You know that the person affected was the former High Commissioner of Rwanda to India, amongst other responsibilities that he has had. Upon arrival in South Africa, the particular person obviously submitted himself to the normal processes in the country, and up to and including the fact that quite early on he was given a certificate, the Section 21 Certificate, which basically is a holding certificate that recognises the person's presence in the country, whilst the person has formally applied for asylum.

Now, we of course do know that the government of Rwanda has not been necessarily happy with the presence of the individual in South Africa, and this is something that we have interacted with the government of Rwanda on. At the present time, all we know is that there was the particular incident that happened, a violent incident against the individual concerned. What we can also confirm is that indeed there are some people who have been arrested in connection with this. At the present time we don't want to add to the speculation about the nationality of those individuals. So, no follow up question around the nationality of those individuals will be answered. But there are people who have been arrested.

Secondly, we also do know that there was a warrant issued by some countries to the Interpol system. All that is receiving the attention of the law enforcement agencies in South Africa. We are, as a Department, in direct contact with both the South African Police Service and also with the Department of Justice. The assurance that I can give you now is simply to say that we are happy from our position that our law enforcement agencies are following the issue closely. They are giving it the priority it deserves. There are processes linked to consideration which are essentially legal in character, looking at the representations that have been made, and there are also other processes linked to tracking the perpetrators of this action.

The commitment we can make is that in doing that, we will act fully in accordance with South African law. And, secondly, we will also act in a manner that fully recognises and respects the international obligations that we have. That is all I will say on it. We are hoping that things will become clearer in the days to come. Now, it will be only at the end of that investigation, Peter, that we will then be in a position to conclude whether this was a clear, just purely a criminal act or whether, in fact, it was political, there was a political basis to it and, if there was a political basis, who the responsible personalities are, or which country is. And I think for now it would not be even be wise for us to speculate about what action we will take, because already your question would seem to suggest that you have a particular country in mind. We want to have an investigation of the situation as clearly as is possible.

Obviously, if it is a political act within the territory of South Africa, suffice to say it would be a very serious thing and therefore we will have to treat it as a serious incident, indeed.

Cobus Coetzee, Beeld Newspaper: Just to follow up on General Nyamwasa. The SABC reported today that South Africa is reconsidering extradition of the General. Are you reconsidering this or will you wait until the asylum seeker’s application is finalised?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No. I am trying to avoid getting into that because there is speculation about that. I mean, there is all sorts of speculation that is out there. There is the issue that there is the warrant of arrest. There is the issue that we are reconsidering it. There is also the issue that his status may be completely already, at an advanced stage with respect to his presence in South Africa. Now, I don't want to get into that. That is why I am simply saying that the justice and the relevant law enforcement agencies in the Republic are following the case very closely. We don't want to speculate, because we know that this issue, this is a file on the table of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, as we speak, and therefore he is attending to it. And I am sure within the next 24 to 48 hours there would be, probably, a very simple explanation of whatever position that South Africa would have taken. But there is just too much speculation around it.

Jean-Jacques Cornish, Radio 702: If the warrant has been issued, can you give us some detail about it, who is the warrant out against?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: I think the warrant that we are talking about and would like to confine ourselves now is to General Nyamwasa. That is what we would talk about for now.

Member of the Media: Just to clarify something, you mentioned that he had asylum seeker status or whatever. Can you confirm that he doesn't have permanent asylum status at this time?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No. I will not confirm that.

Member of the Media: Okay.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Because that is one of the issues that are being looked at. All I am simply saying is that when the issue was raised at the time upon his arrival, within a week of his arrival, he went to the South African authorities and applied for political asylum, for refugee status, on the basis of which he was then given, like anybody else in that process, a Section 21 Certificate.

Now, we, at the present time, do not want to comment about at what stage that process had already been processed, his refugee status seeking application. Now, that is all part of the information for now, that is all being considered by the courts … by the Minister of Justice. And therefore, that is why I am saying that in the next 24 to 48 hours there would be far much more clarity on that.

Jean-Jacques Cornish, Radio 702: Can you confirm that we do not have an extradition treaty with Rwanda?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: I am not sure about that JJ. I am really not sure about that.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Well, first of all, let me say that we know that the DRC today is far much better than it was probably about 3 or 4 years or so ago. That we are certain about. We also are concerned about the fact that we don't seem to have been able to really deal with the instability in the eastern part of the DRC. Sometime back we were extremely hopeful, after the rapprochement between Rwanda and the DRC leading to the joint military efforts there. However, with the passage of time we have continued to see some atrocities still against the civilian population.

So, the first point, yes, we recognise that there is still instability in the east. So, to an extent that will mar any sense of jubilation around the celebration of the 50 years of independence of the DRC. Now, coming to what South Africa is doing. First of all, you know that we are a major or a significant contributor to MONUC whose purpose is basically to help focus on the stabilisation of the east. Secondly, within the context of our Bi-National Commission with the DRC, there is a lot of effort, a lot of support that our Defence Force is giving to the armed forces of the DRC, including, some people are helping them with the constitution of their general staff and the head quarters establishment. Also, some people have been participating in the process of training and also the DDR process there. In addition to that, there is a lot of other support that different departments are giving to try to improve the capacity for governance in the DRC, stretching from the public service. The Police are also involved in a significant way, with far much more policing work in the DRC.

So, there is a wide range of support that we are giving. Of course we have also encouraged from a non-government perspective, encouraged business to actively participate in the reconstruction efforts in the DRC, and also some of our major parastatals and state-owned enterprises. So there is a wide range of support that we are giving to the DRC primarily because we believe this region and the interests of our region, in particular, will be best served if we were able to assist the DRC to reach a point of full stability, which we acknowledge is not the situation at the present moment.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: No, I think you are taking this to the extreme. First of all, there was an incident in Malawi. The South African government and this Department and the Presidency released a very clear categorical statement. Secondly, the reference to other related intolerances was actually the title of the Conference that we hosted here in 2001. So, it is not a new thing. It was still in that context that this issue was discussed, and the decision that I alluded to, and the failure to reach consensus on a global level was.

So, the context in which this statement was made, was precisely in that context. So, as we try to deal, correctly so, with a legitimate issue of trying to deal with the violence against minorities as you described there, then we must make sure that at the same time that does not detract us from other things that are central and a key on the global agenda. And that was the context in which that statement was made.

I don't think it would have been an expression of any change or less concern around this. We have made repeatedly, in the African Union context, our concerns about the violence that you are alluding to, which is taking place in the Continent, and we have spoken openly about that. Now, I don't think this statement would in any way, in my view, be aimed at trying to reduce the importance that we attach to that. And so, if my answer doesn't satisfy you, then there is not much I can do. All I can say is simply to restate the fact again what the position of the South African government is and I will also restate the point that i would completely concede that perhaps the statement on the specific issue could have been crafted in a manner that would have conveyed far much more accurately the South African position. That is what I said.

Member of the Media: A last one. I just want to check with regards to the South African Ambassador to Israel following the flotilla attack. What is the future in going forward? Are we planning to reinstate him permanently?

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: I think our current government position for now is that we will continue to maintain diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. And so, the recall for consultation of our Ambassador is not, is not, and I want to stress this, is not, should not be interpreted as any cutting of diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. And I am stressing this point precisely because I know there are people in our country, for very understandable reasons because of the strong views that they have and the strong views that we share, are against what we have seen happening, particularly manifest more recently in the activities in Gaza and the flotilla attacks. We have been calling on government to take precisely that position. But that is not where we are. Our Ambassador is still in the country. We have had full consultations with our Ambassador. Incidentally, I can also indicate that as part of understanding the situation that is happening in the Middle East, particularly in Israel and Palestine fully, not only did we recall our Ambassador, but later, as a separate act, in order to understand what is happening in Palestine, we have also consulted with our Ambassador based in Ramallah, who has gone back to his post. But our Ambassador to Israel will be leaving also, probably in the early part of next month.

Chairperson: Thank you very much. See you next week.

Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba: Thank you.