Ramaphosa: SA stands in solidarity with DRC, backs their right to live in peace
In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote that South Africa supported the right of the Congolese to live free from forces that violated their human rights, plundered their natural resources and terrorised their communities.
People gather next to some vehicles from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission as they flee the Masisi territory following clashes between M23 rebels and government forces, at a road near Sake on 7 February 2024. Picture: AFP
CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said that while South Africa was contributing to peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it still believed that a diplomatic and political solution needed to be found.
As the families of 14 fallen soldiers await details of the return of their remains to South Africa after being killed in the crossfire in Goma two weeks ago, Ramaphosa said that this weekend’s heads of state summit which he attended in Tanzania on the conflict in the eastern DRC had provided a beacon of hope for bringing an end to hostilities in the area.
On Monday afternoon, the National Assembly will start the parliamentary year with a debate called by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on the deaths of the SANDF soldiers and the implications for the SA National Defence Force.
President Ramaphosa said that South Africa stands in solidarity with the Congolese people and their aspiration to live in peace and security after 30 years of civil war.
In his weekly newsletter, the second consecutive one he's dedicated to the situation in the DRC, Ramaphosa wrote that South Africa supported the right of the Congolese to live free from forces that violated their human rights, plundered their natural resources and terrorised their communities.
He said that this weekend's summit affirmed the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, and this means a process must be developed for uninvited foreign armed forces to withdraw from the DRC.
Ramaphosa said that as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), South Africa has a responsibility to support all efforts to bring peace and stability to a fellow African nation.
While the DA is expected to call for the withdrawal of troops in Monday afternoon’s parliamentary debate, the African National Congress (ANC) says it firmly supports the peacekeeping mission and is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.