HEADLINE:   Mandela has some-explaining to

PUBLICATION: Mercury

PAGE NUMBER: 9

AUTHOR:     Zubeida Jaffer

DATE:       2001-11-13 22:00:00

Mandela has some explaining to do

By supporting the US bombing spree, the former president is out of touch with

the broad interfaith movement against the war, argues Zubeida Jaffer

Former president Nelson Mandela needs to explain his recent statements at the White House. How can a man who has led us towards finding peaceful solutions to our problems support the indiscriminate bombing of Afghanistan?

A war which started as an effort to find one man has now become a battle against an oppressive regime which harbours him. What if Mr Osama bin Laden moves to Pakistan or to the United Arab Emirates? Will the bombs follow him there? Or is the real intention to bring about political change in Afghanistan?

If Mr bin Laden takes refuge with extremist groups in Cape Town, will we too become targets?

The saddest part is that the course of action probably does little to avenge the deaths of those killed on September 11. Surely their memory is best served if we try to create a world where this sort of act is not possible?

President George W Bush and his allies are doing the predictable. The chain of events they are unleashing must be playing right into the hands of those who committed the September 11 atrocity.

Instead of doing the unexpected, which could have unnerved the perpetrators, they are repeatedly doing what they have done around the world for decades, confirming the prejudice that Americans are a war-mongering people. And it is precisely those indiscriminate war actions over the years which breed the kind of hatred which prompts extreme action.

Parliament's chairman of foreign affairs, Mr Ebrahim Ebrahim, said at the start of this war that the Bush administration's approach was likely to result in the emergence of an entire generation of extremists ready to do harm against Western interests.

His sentiments are echoed by US conflict resolution professor John Paul Lederach: "Military action to destroy terror is like hitting a mature dandelion head with a golf club. The seeds are scattered far and wide, ensuring another generation of recruits."

Shortly after September 11, Prof Lederach made a call on his government to pursue the unexpected. The key did not lie in finding and destroying territories, camps and certainly not the civilian population. The key was to think about how a small virus in a system affected the whole, and how to improve the immunity of the system.

As a contribution, Prof Lederach makes three suggestions:

o Energetically pursue a sustainable peace process to the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict now.

o Invest financially in development, education and a broad social agenda in countries surrounding Afghanistan.

o Quiet but dynamic support of the Arab League seeking to explore together the cause of discontent in numerous regions. At the same time, an energetic engagement is needed in interfaith dialogue to create a web of ethics for the new millennium, that builds from the heart and soul of all faiths, and creates the capacity for each to engage the roots of violence in our own traditions.

What is desperately needed is an approach which impacts on the roots of violence which will safeguard our children and our grandchildren.

The bombs incinerate the Taliban fighters now, but it is their children who will come back to haunt us.

Last week, BLU-82 bombs were dropped on the Taliban front lines. Daisy cutters, as they are called, detonate a metre above the ground and cover a 1,6km area with aluminium powder which burns at 5 537C.

According to the United Nations, already 5 million Afghans are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance as a result of the bombing campaign

Mr bin Laden must be sitting somewhere in his comfortable cave having a good laugh at the mighty and powerful who through their weak actions confer on him a power which he could only have dreamed of.

Our foreign minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has been resolute in her opposition to the bombing.

President Mbeki and his cabinet have ruled that warships will not be allowed to dock in our harbours.

Mr Mandela is clearly out of touch with the sentiments in his own party and the broad interfaith movement against the war which is gaining momentum across the world.

Zubeida Jaffer is an 

award-winning freelance journalist. Comments can be sent to her at 

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