by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE double standards of Western media and their backers is on display again as the second tri-nation naval exercise featuring China, Russia and South Africa.
South Africa is scheduled to host the drills in February off the east coast. Already two Russian warships and vessels from China are set to dock in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal for a 10-day drill in naval gunnery, force protection and air defence exercises.
The criticism by some media has elicited a reaction from South Africans and the continent at large.
“So what if South Africa chooses to do its naval exercise with China and Russia,” queried Lungile Dlamini from Nelspruit, Mpumalanga province.
Isn’t the same Western media turning a blind eye when the United States of America and the warmongering North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) terrorise nations or when Palestinians are being butchered daily by Israel since 1967?
The public’s reaction follow media criticism that the tri-nation naval exercise is “immoral”, “stupid” and “impractical.”
The same media forgot that South Africa is a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) bloc, the world’s fast-growing economies, set to collectively dominate the global economy by 2050.
It appears that prospect, and the upcoming naval exercise is sending shivers down the spines of NATO, the US and now the media.
One Ota Benga reacted: “South Africa and Russia are BRICS partners. We have always been allies with Russia even before the bloc.”
In fact, South Africa hosted such a tri-nation exercise in 2019.
Afzal Razack insisted: “Nobody has strayed anywhere. We stand with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and China against the evil of the Western world. Together we’re untouchable.”
One Shyfire131 also argued: “Why is it immoral? There was a lot of support during the struggle from those communist countries including Cuba. So it’s loyalty, not immorality.”
One Phalaphala concurred, “Russia was with South Africa during the days of apartheid.”
“Russia supported with everything (weapons and cash) while (the) western countries were oppressing us.”
Pablo Escobar insisted: “South Africa is a sovereign state, is not conduit of the western world get that, don’t make a mistake of thinking the enemies of the west should be our enemies. We don’t roll like that and it never will.”
Hando Ferreira argued the media were parroting the West’s double standards.
“The West doesn’t want to help, they demand submission! The pain and suffering inflicted on the world by the West to maintain their hegemony has directly led to the death of millions of civilians,” Ferreirra stated.
South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, is on record telling the American media to stop dictating Pretoria who to associate with.
“One of the mistakes, which political analysts make (NATO and the US), is to think that their enemies (then Cuba, Libya and Palestine) should be our enemies,” Mandela said.
“We have our own struggle, which we are conducting. We are an independent organisation with its own policy…and our attitude towards any country is determined by the attitude of that country to our struggle.”
Mandela reminded that Cuba, Libya and Palestine supported South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.
“There is no reason whatsoever why we should have any hesitation about hailing their commitment to human rights as they are being demanded in South Africa. Our attitude is based solely on the fact that they fully support the anti-apartheid struggle,” Mandela added.
The revered leader, now late, highlighted the United States was the chief violator of human rights.
“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.”
“They (Americans) don’t care for human beings…..because they are so arrogant. Who are they? What is the lesson of them acting outside the United Nations,” Mandela queried then.
– CAJ News