ANTI-WEST ELITE DON'T CARE FOR THE POOR
The rule in South African foreign policy has been that the ANC government never met a dictator it didn't like. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has long been feted by ANC politicians, many of whom he has bankrolled handsomely.
In 1997, he received South Africa's highest honour, the Order of Good Hope. In 2003, South Africa proposed Libya to chair the UN Human Rights Commission. Gaddafi also served recently as Chairman of the African Union. It was all absolutely grotesque since he has always been a brutal dictator.
There should be no surprise at the naked violence he unleashed on protestors calling for freedom and democracy. Or his threats like "We are coming tonight. We will find you in your closets. We will have no mercy and no pity."
It was a real about-turn for South Africa to support the UN resolution for a "no fly" zone in Libya. But old habits returned, and President Jacob Zuma balks at the logical end-point which is Gaddafi's ousting. His government sold arms to Libya but now castigates any arms or other direct assistance to the rebels.
What happened to the ANC that denounced those who refused to choose between the apartheid government and its opponents?