Could it be that the Democratic Alliance (DA) is trying to outdo even the ANC and the MK Party in showing loyalty towards the communist Soviet Union? Going by the DA's own public statements, that indeed seems to be the case.
At issue are several public statements from the DA, especially a statement it issued on 27 October. This comes against the background of the DA and ANC's tug of war over Russia and Ukraine. For the ANC, Russia is a true "ally and friend", but for the DA, a supporter of Ukraine, it is an abhorrent aggressor.
Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, took the initiative to enable visa-free visits of official visitors from Ukraine to South Africa and vice versa. He made the announcement rather triumphantly and in strikingly similar words to what Ramaphosa used in relation to Russia, referring to Ukraine as a valued ally and friend.
But Schreiber went much further than that, namely to express gratitude towards the Soviet regime, under which Ukraine fell at the time, for supporting the armed struggle against South Africa's then white government.
Schreiber stated:
We continue to see Ukraine as a valued ally, as a valued friend who supported us right from the beginning, from the days of our struggle against apartheid, through to now.
Then followed the DA's media statement and DA leader John Steenhuisen's declaration in the National Assembly, showing gratitude to the former armed wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe - and therefore also the ANC, for the fight against the erstwhile white government.
According to the DA statement, the visa-free travel arrangement is a poignant display of South Africa's solidarity with Ukraine, "which served as a haven for many anti-apartheid activists during the struggle, and where many exiled South Africans advanced the fight against a racially oppressive regime from abroad with the aid of Ukrainian resources and support."
The DA continues: "Ukraine has always been an ally in the fight against the systemic disenfranchisement of South Africa's black majority by the apartheid government." The visa-free access for state officials between South Africa and Ukraine is an important step whereby South Africa gives something back to the countries like the Ukraine that fought so valiantly against white rule.
In his praise for the visa agreement, DA leader Steenhuisen also referred to Umkhonto we Sizwe members who were trained in Soviet Ukraine. In response to the MK Party's opposition to the visa agreement, Steenhuisen urged it to ascertain the historical connection between Ukraine and MK. Steenhuisen recounted that then Umkhonto we Sizwe leader, Joe Modise, took his organisation to Odesa in Ukraine for military training at the time. Steenhuisen rebuked the MK Party for having no clue about uMkhonto we Sizwe's history and its contribution to South Africa. “Go and understand your history before you come here and pretend to be Umkhonto we Sizwe when you know nothing about the real MK [Umkhonto we Sizwe] and its contribution to this country,” Steenhuisen reportedly said.
The DA’s new heroes (?)
So far, the DA has supported Ukraine against Russia based on Ukraine's status as a sovereign state invaded by Russia. Recognition towards Umkhonto we Sizwe played no part. Now, however, the DA has taken a completely changed course. The DA has now adopted and elevated the ANC's former military wing to a historical hero and now pursues good relations with Ukraine out of gratitude for Ukraine's hosting of the organisation that at the time carried out acts of terrorism against South Africa's white government.
With this, the DA identifies identified itself with the ANC’s history and its heroes.
Will the DA now also thank Russia and the (communist) Soviet Union?
Is the DA now also going to take a new position regarding Russia? Will it embrace Russia too? It can hardly do otherwise.
Present-day Russia and present-day Ukraine (and numerous other territories) were part of the communist Soviet Union (the USSR). It was this communist regime that maintained close ties with the South African Communist Party from Moscow over decades, supported the ANC, and provided assistance to Umkhonto we Sizwe.
If there was reason for the DA to thank Ukraine for its support of Umkhonto we Sizwe, there is clearly way more reason to thank Russia and the old Soviet Union for this. Much more than the Ukraine, it was the Soviet Union (and Russia) that supported Umkhonto we Sizwe and the ANC against the then white regime and contributed to its downfall.
UMkhonto we Sizwe was pernicious
Of course, there is no reason to be grateful to Umkhonto we Sizwe or anyone who has provided them with support. The organisation was of dubious character; its leadership often was too. Umkhonto we Sizwe did not hesitate to target civilians because it, along with the ANC, learned brutal war and insurrection tactics from the North Vietnamese communists, which were carried out in South Africa with great loss of civilian life as part of their People's War in the run-up to the constitutional transition in 1994. Author and political analyst, Anthea Jeffery described this in detail in People's war - New light on the struggle for South Africa.
Has that now become acceptable to the DA?
And Joe Modise, about whom John Steenhuisen refers in neutral terms, if not approvingly, was no hero. His criminality, including car and similar forms of theft, was detailed by Steven Ellis in External mission - the ANC in exile. After all, the communist Soviet Union was, as Ronald Reagan rightly said, an evil empire responsible for the some of the greatest mass slaughter and destruction in the twentieth century - and likely of all time. There is no reason to thank the Soviets – whether Russian or Ukrainian – for anything, especially their assistance to Umkhonto we Sizwe.
DA and ANC equally confused
The mildest judgment that can be passed about the DA praise of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Soviet Union is that they speak of profound political bewilderment. But when it comes to a judgment about and relations with Russia and Ukraine, the DA at least shares its confused mentality with the ANC.
Over decades, the ANC has maintained close ties with the Soviet Union and left-wing regimes like Cuba. But Soviet communism collapsed in the early 1990s and the Soviet Union formally dissolved in December 1991.
Since then, Russia has risen again, but this time as a conservative (and right-wing) state and force in international politics – shedding most of the distinctive marks of the left-wing power that the Soviet Union once was.
The ideological consonance that once existed between the Soviet Union and the ANC dissolved with the fall of Soviet communism and the USSR. Today, Russia under Vladimir Putin conducts realpolitik; not leftist ideological politics like the USSR before. This means that it uses any forces, regardless of their ideological orientation, to advance Russia's national interests. This is also how it relates to South Africa today.
However, the confused ANC cherishes Putin and Russia in the delusion that the old left-wing Soviet Union with which the ANC fraternized ideologically is somehow still in existence – this while Russia now, as a conservative force, embodies more the Russian ethnic identity and Orthodox civilization. There is therefore no notable congruity between Putin's Russia and the ANC. The latter is simply put to the use of Russian national interests.
Where to with the DA?
The DA is a constructive factor in South African politics. There are many good reasons why the DA - together with other constructive forces – deserve support. In addition, the DA is currently experiencing increased prestige and gravitas due to its involvement in the multi-party government.
Of course, this comes with increased responsibilities – including the responsibility not to lose its head ideologically, as we have just witnessed. This is disappointing for people who are well-disposed to the DA, and is, above all, to the disadvantage of the DA itself.
The DA leadership should rectify this forthwith and unequivocally. In doing so, it must take care that the party will not lose ideological coherence as a consequence of thoughtlessness, ideological bewilderment, opportunism, and attempts to score cheap points against the ANC.
Prof Malan is a constitutional jurist from Pretoria.
