South Africa put under pressure to arrest Vladimir Putin
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South Africa put under pressure to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he arrives for the Brics conference
South Africa put under pressure to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he arrives for the Brics conference.
After inviting Vladimir Putin to visit the nation for the Brics conference in August, opposition politicians in South Africa charged the ruling ANC government with “going rogue” and demanded that the Russian leader be arrested in accordance with an ICC warrant if he sets foot on South African soil.
In addition, South Africa has just welcomed two Iranian warships to dock in its Cape Town port, potentially in breach of US sanction, prompting the shadow international relations and co-operation minister, Darren Bergman, to tell i: “It’s fair to say South Africa seems to be going rogue.”
Mr. Bergman said his country was “antagonizing” the West and has called for South Africa’s international relations and co-ordination minister, Naledi Pandor, to appear in front of the international relations portfolio committee for an explanation.
“We want the invitation to Putin to be rescinded. The most embarrassing thing that could happen is if it’s not rescinded before that meeting starts,” added Mr. Bergman, who is also concerned about the threat of US sanctions on South Africa, particularly around the Iranian warships.
There has been no suggestion so far that Mr. Putin intends to travel to the conference.
Reuben Brigety, the US ambassador to South Africa, sent a note to the international relations committee in reference to the Iranian ships stating that “entities and individuals that provide support, including maritime services, to designated entities could be subject to sanctions risk under US authorities”.
The ships have come from Brazil, where they were docked in February when Mr. Brigety said: “In the past, those ships facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we firmly believe those ships should not dock anywhere.”
Mr. Bergmans’s party, the Democratic Alliance, has also called on the ICC to use third parties to arrest Mr. Putin if he comes to South Africa and Pretoria fails to do so.
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The government is currently awaiting legal advice about how to proceed with the ICC’s arrest warrant for President Putin.
The ICC at the Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin’s arrest for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
The ICC affirmed that it “relies on the states parties’ co-operation and respect of their legal obligations within the framework of part nine of the ICC Rome Statute.”
“In case of non-cooperation, the court may make a finding and inform the Assembly of States Parties for the Assembly to take any measure it seems appropriate,” added an ICC spokesperson.
South Africa, though a signatory of the ICC, has previously failed to act on one of its arrest warrants, when Sudan’s former president, Omar al-Bashir, came to the country in 2015. This latest warrant has led to many in South Africa to question the neutrality of the ICC.
“There’s a whole issue of double standards in global affairs. There are many, many countries that have been involved in wars in the invasion of territory, none of them have ever been pulled up by the ICC,” said Ms. Pandor when she confirmed the invitation made to Putin for the BRICS conference.
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