Dear Editor
The DA has written to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Denys Anatoliiovych Monastyrsky, advising that it considers having ANCYL members who participated in Russia’s sham referendums in the Donbass region declared as undesirable persons.
The basis of the DA’s call is that these ANCYL members entered Ukraine territory unlawfully and by so doing, violated Ukraine’s immigration laws.
Using the relevant statutes of the Ukraine’s immigration law, Minister Monastyrsky will use his discretion to prescribe the time period within which Khulekani Mondli Skhosana, Stella Mondlane, Venus Lorato Blennies and other ANCYL members who entered the Donbass region unlawfully, will be barred from entering Ukraine territory.
Our submissions follow the steps taken by the Ukraine Ministry for Reintegration to mandate Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies to “investigate evidence that concerns conducting sham referendums – in particular, the legitimacy of entry, stay, and operation of so-called foreign observers…”.
The disdain with which the ANCYL showed to Ukraine laws and its territorial integrity makes a mockery of the rules based international order. It signals to European countries is that South Africa has no desire for reciprocity with regards to visa-regulated international travel.
Even worse, it sends a message that South Africa’s governing party condones the illegal movement of individuals across borders. South Africa could face the real risk of being slapped with more severe entry requirements to these countries for travel and business which is only detrimental to the country in the long run.
As a member of the community of nations, South Africa is expected to show an adherence to the laws governing the movement of people across borders if we are to be taken seriously as a trading partner. What the ANCYL members did was to rubbish this principle and break the law while the rest of Europe watched.
In a rambling statement issued yesterday, the ANCYL exposed their lack of understanding of the principles governing the rights of nations to self-determination. They claimed to be supporting Russia’s self-determination oblivious to the fact that, by endorsing a sham referendum on the land of a sovereign country, they were infringing on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The contradiction in the ANCYL’s stance is that they preach the doctrine of anti-imperialism while at the same time supporting Russia’s imperialist invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs needs to send a strong message that the country will not allow its laws to be violated with reckless impunity. South Africa will not take the fall for the recklessness of the ANC and its youth league – it is time they faced the consequences of their actions.
Regards
Darren Bergman MP
DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
