ALGIERS, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- The Anti-Apartheid Committee in South Africa announced Sunday, the establishment of a global movement to combat apartheid practiced by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The announcement was made during a conference hosted by the South African capital Pretoria, where it confirmed in the closing statement of a series of discussion sessions "South Africa's official announcement of the establishment of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in occupied Palestine represents a historic moment filled with pride and commitment to the global struggle against racism, colonialism, exploitation and dehumanization." The statement added, "this event constitutes a firm position by South Africa against the apartheid settler regime and genocide against the Palestinian people." The statement noted, "this global movement draws its inspiration from the legacy of South Africa's struggle against apartheid and aims to mobilize a broad coalition of societal forces to oppose apartheid in Palestine and call for the complete isolation of the Israeli occupation." For his part, the head of the steering committee of the anti-apartheid movement, Pastor Frank Chikane, said that "the South African government has taken action against the genocidal practices committed by the occupation in the Gaza Strip, which extended to the West Bank," calling for "doing everything possible to stop this." Media sources quoted Chikane as saying, "We in South Africa (government and people) believe in the justice of the Palestinian cause, so we were present at the International Court of Justice, and in fact we have no choice because if there is injustice practiced against anyone in the world, including the Palestinians, we will stand by them." He added at the conclusion of the conference that "the genocide against the Palestinians and the impunity of the occupation must end, and we will continue our active solidarity with the Palestinians who continue to endure unimaginable injustice," adding, "We also demand accountability, justice and freedom from apartheid." (end) mr.mb