Johannesburg - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday praised the role played by the African Union in resolving the Burkina Faso crisis, saying the organization showed it would not tolerate military coups.
The African Union and other African regional organizations “have made clear that military coups will not stand,” Steinmeier said during a visit to South Africa.
The 54-member African Union threatened Burkina Faso with sanctions unless the army handed power over to civilians after its October 31 ouster of president Blaise Compaore. A civilian president was sworn in this week.
Steinmeier called on African countries to increase the political, social and economic participation of citizens to tame what he described as a global virus of violence.
“In societies with political participation, the individual does not need to resort to violence to make himself heard,” he said in a speech at the South African Institute for International Affairs in Johannesburg.
He again referred to Burkina Faso, where violent protests erupted against Compaore's 27-year rule.
The minister also commented on the Ukraine crisis, saying it would be “a great mistake” to cancel a ceasefire there because “it is the only document we have in which obligations are documented and signed by all parties.”
He stressed the need to clearly define the line beyond which Russia needs to withdraw its troops. “As long as there is no fixed and agreed line, there will be no progress,” he said.
Steinmeier visited South Africa for a biennial meeting of a German-South African commission.
Germany's main concerns include South Africa's decision to cancel a bilateral agreement to protect investments. It dealt with issues such as taxation and eventual expropriations.
South Africa has been cancelling agreements signed under the 1948-94 apartheid regime, according to German diplomatic sources.
“There is no imminent risk” to investments but “the signal (sent by South Africa) is not a good one,” one of the sources said.
German companies have investments worth billions of euros in South Africa in fields including electronics and the car industry.
South Africa is Germany's top economic partner in sub-Saharan Africa while Germany is South Africa's top trading partner after China.
Sapa-dpa