Military intervention by powerful Western countries pursuing “regime change” is often the real cause of crisis in middle eastern countries, the ANC believes.
International Relations minister and member of the ruling party's International Relations commission Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told journalists that Western countries were largely responsible for the current “refugee crisis” in Europe, in which millions of mainly Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war in their country are attempting to get to Europe.
This is because rich Western nations think that military action, even forcible regime change, is the way to solve political problems rather than dialogue.
Maite Nkoana-Mashane said this kind of militarism is also responsible for the rise in terrorism and extremism.
"The commission noted that global terrorism and extremism are on the rise. We see increased recruitment of young people into these weird organisations. The mass migration of people we see from the Middle East is driven by regime change by the big powers, accompanied by military intervention," she told a media briefing following the conclusion of discussions on foreign affairs and international relations.
Nkoana-Mashabane said the disintegration of places like Syria and Libya following Western intervention, vindicated South Africa's and the ANC's stance, which was that political problems could only be resolved through political engagement and dialogue, not the use of military force, particularly by outsiders.
Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2013, many of the globe's most powerful countries have flooded the country with weapons, covert support for the various rebel groups, and even direct military interventions, in an attempt to collapse the government of Bashar al-Assad.
Recently Russia has intervened by launching airstrikes in Syria, mainly aimed at defending and bolstering Assad.
Independent Media