As with Apartheid, neutrality is not an option

When I was at university during the eighties, the majority of lecturers openly supported apartheid. However, there were a few who claimed to be left-wing. One day I asked one of them what exactly his view was about Apartheid. “I’m an academic,” he answered, “so I have to look at things from both sides. I therefore choose to stay neutral.”

Of course, we all knew that that was a cop-out. If you sat on the fence during Apartheid, your silence or neutrality actually supported the regime. By not opposing, you were implicitly supporting.

I was thinking about that over the last week as I struggled to understand South Africa’s position towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I phoned a number of friends and read through endless WhatsApp narratives in the hope that I could find the justification for why South Africa would choose to stay “neutral” at a time like this.

Yes, I understand that we rely a lot on the whole BRICS partnership to give us leverage in economic and political multilateralism. With China and India (and presumably Bolsonaro) being sympathetic to Russia we would stand out like a sore thumb amongst our BRICS buddies if we criticized Putin’s actions.

I also understand the emotional ties many in the ANC have towards Russia. They did, after all, give refuge and training to thousands of ANC freedom fighters for decades.

I even understand that because of our strong economic ties with Russia that we don’t want to antagonise them.

But is that really enough?

How can we pretend to stay neutral when one country invades another without any provocation? 

Over the last few days I – like many people – have been watching the increasingly indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets.  Rural villages - far from military bases - in ruins, big apartment blocks with gaping holes in them, petrified women and children hiding in metro shelters and children needing chemo for cancer, sleeping in bunkers on chairs.

Over one million people have fled the Ukraine, many of them children on their own – who look into cameras with fear, shock, and incomprehension because their lives have been destroyed.

For what?

It is very hard to find any other reason than the ego games of powerful men or perhaps even one man.  

The accusations by Russia that the Ukraine promotes Nazism seem so laughable that it is difficult to see how anyone in their right mind could take that seriously. Any other arguments such as the expansion of NATO or anti-Russian sentiments surely could have been dealt with through diplomatic discussions. It is Russia, after all, that annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and has occupied parts of the nation’s Eastern fringes since 2014.

It is of course true that there can be no justification for the racism that many have experienced whilst trying to flee the Ukraine.

However, nothing, absolutely nothing, warrants our neutrality in the face of the devastation and human suffering that we are seeing now.

Our government claims that the main reason for staying neutral is that they want to be able to influence both sides, and especially Putin, to find a peaceful outcome.

I have a lot of respect for our President’s negotiation skills. He is without a doubt one of the best in the world. However, I have serious doubts as to whether he will ever get the president of Russia on the phone. Putin is clearly not in the mood to listen to President Ramaphosa - or for that matter anyone else.  

When America invaded Iraq, Madiba spoke out fearlessly against the act of aggression. He took on Britain and America without a moment’s hesitation.  He did it on a point of principle.

As we should do now.

In the weeks and months to come the Ukrainians will suffer the most, but this conflict will have implications far beyond their borders. Ordinary Russians are already starting to feel the effects of the sanctions. Fuel and food prices will escalate globally and affect everyone – including us in Africa. There is also the horrific possibility of a nuclear disaster and the accompanying radio-active fall-out – if not by active warfare, then by damage to nuclear plants.

Many of our biggest trading partners in the West will undoubtedly remember that we chose to remain “neutral” at a time when the vast majority of the world tried to put an end to a conflict that was without any justification.

The holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, insisted there can never be a morally justifiable neutrality when it comes to suffering, human rights abuses, and the killing of innocent people.

South Africa needs to decide where it stands on this issue, because - as with Apartheid – a neutral position is not an option.