SACP calls for decisive action against the US ambassador to South Africa

12 May 2023

The conduct of Reuben E. Brigety II, the United States ambassador to South Africa, leaves much to be desired. In defence of our democratic national sovereignty and for his hysterically unbecoming behaviour, South Africa must send him packing as a matter of urgency. Brigety’s utterances suggest that he may as well be embedded in rogue intelligence operations involved in spying on our country.

The case in point

At a press briefing he addressed this week right in our country, Brigety accused South Africa of “arming… Russia… with a vessel that landed in Simons Town”, further asserting that this was “fundamentally unacceptable”. Meanwhile, conservative estimates underline that the United States allocated nearly 115 billion dollars actively participating in sponsoring the war in Ukraine, with military hardware and other warfare spending. The amount is rising. Also, it was not South Africa but the United States-dominated NATO that provoked the war in Ukraine through imperialist expansionism aimed at Russia. The hypocritical imperialist regime of the United States under its “Monroe Doctrine” does not permit any country to do in the western hemisphere what it does in other global regions.

On 26 October last year, the United States Embassy and Consulate in South Africa issued what they called a security alert as part of the United States government, alleging it has “received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 October 2022”. In what did not make sense, the statement concluded that there was “no further information regarding the timing, method, or target of the potential attack.”

The claims Brigety spreads amount to attempts at destabilising South Africa and are a national security threat. That said, the United States does not have a single right whatsoever to determine South Africa’s international relations policy, to tell South Africa which country to associate or dissociate with in any aspect of international relations, and to decide on behalf of South Africa what is fundamentally unacceptable.

The SACP reiterates its call for an end to all imperialist wars in all parts of the world, towards peace, justice and development for all.

Issued by Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, SACP Central Committee Member, National Spokesperson: Political Bureau Secretary for Policy and Research, 12 May 2023