Ramaphosa details ‘patronising’ phone call from Europe over travel bans
Two weeks ago, several developed nations red listed travel between their countries and Southern Africa after the discovery of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
DAKAR - President Cyril Ramaphosa has for the first time detailed what he said was a “patronising” and “disrespectful” phone call from Europe to alert him of the decision on the travel bans.
Two weeks ago, several developed nations red listed travel between their countries and Southern Africa after the discovery of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Ramaphosa was addressing the Senegal Peace and Security Forum in Dakar on Monday where European leaders were in attendance when he scolded the approach of the global north to partnership and multilateralism.
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He said Africa wanted a relationship with the global north that was based on mutual respect, but this had not been forthcoming from the latter, while fraternalism underpinned the continent’s approach to partnership.
To demonstrate this point, he told the hundreds of delegates attending the forum about the abrasive manner in which European countries treated South Africa over the Omicron variant.
In the one-way conversation, he said the European leaders said: “I am sorry to tell you we are banning travel, thank you, goodbye.”
He said there was no discussion nor attempts to hear what Pretoria’s views were.
“We as Africans are respectful. We have always been - and maybe that is where our mistake is and why we were colonised in the way we were colonised because we respect too much, and we say respect us as well.”
President of the European Union Council Charles Michel reassured African leaders in attendance of the region’s commitment to partnership – but did not address the issue over the bans – except to say the expressions that there was medical apartheid in the handling of the pandemic was “dramatic”.
