South Africa criticised for signing defence deal with Zimbabwe

By Violet Gonda
18 November 2005

South Africa has been criticised for signing an intelligence deal with Zimbabwe despite its neighbour’s appalling human rights record.

In spite of growing international condemnation of Zimbabwe, the two countries signed an agreement to strengthen defence and intelligence ties. Observers say Mugabe, who is smarting from military sanctions, will use this deal to get around the arms embargo from the West.

Political analyst Professor Stanford Mukasa said, “Thabo Mbeki is putting his imagined national security interest over the humanitarian interest of the people of Zimbabwe. This defence agreement means Mugabe will be able to invoke South African military resources to suppress the people of Zimbabwe.” The outspoken commentator said this is similar to the time the apartheid regime brought in military resources to the Smith regime who used it suppress the freedom struggle.

The security agreement has been seen as a slap in the face for human rights and civic groups across Africa, who this week issued a joint letter to African Heads of State calling for them and the African Union (AU) to address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

After the signing of the bilateral agreement in Cape Town on Thursday, a journalist was humiliated when he raised questions about Zimbabwe’s record on human rights after the signing between South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils and his Zimbabwean counterpart Didymus Mutasa.
They attempted to mock the journalist by avoiding answering this very serious and truthful question.
The journalist had asked Mr Kasrils how South Africa, with a "good human rights track record", could sign agreements with Zimbabwe, which had a "poor human rights record".

Kasrils apologised to Mutasa, for the question and said, " "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."

Mutasa on the other hand suggested praying for the journalist saying, "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. The liberation struggle was much more painful than the insults we are getting from some of these misguided creatures."

Professor Stanford Mukasa said, “It is the world that must pray for Didymus Mutasa because he has become such a helpless psychiatric case… he is one of the most useless members in Mugabe’s cabinet and whatever he says should not surprise us.”

The agreement provides for a joint permanent commission on defence and security, boosting military, police and intelligence co-operation. It will also tackle specific areas of concern - such as cross-border crime and illegal immigration. There are about three million Zimbabweans living in South Africa, many of them without papers, seeking refuge from political repression and economic collapse.
Critics say that South Africa is under no military threat and the agreement raises the possibility of intelligence being passed to Zimbabwe on activists living in South Africa.