Minister Thandi Modise defends attending Russian cocktail function

The office of defence minister Thandi Modise has defended her attendance of a cocktail function at the home of Russian ambassador to SA Ilya Rogachev on the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

“We confirm that [Modise], her special adviser, Tsepe Motumi, and the chief of the SA National Defence Force, Gen Rudzani Maphwanya, attended the Russian Motherland Defender’s Day on the said date, as invited by the Russian ambassador,” said her spokesperson, Cornelius Monama.

“This is integral to the fulfilment of defence international affairs, of which the defence establishment has several with many other countries. The Russian Motherland Defender’s Day is an annual event to which the diplomatic, defence and business communities are always invited,” said Monama.

Modise has come under fire by the DA for attending the event, held on February 24 at the residence of the ambassador. The event was allegedly boycotted by all Nato member countries.

“But this did not stop Modise, Motumi and Gen Maphwanya, in full uniform, from clinking glasses and sipping champagne as they celebrated the power of an army that had just invaded its neighbour that very morning,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.

“At a time when the world has chosen to stand united in its condemnation of Russia’s war declaration on a sovereign nation — when the staunchest Putin allies such as the Hungarian prime minister and the Czech president have turned against him, and when even China felt it had to abstain from a UN Security Council vote rather than support Russia — our own ANC government could not scramble fast enough to the wrong side of history.

“The grotesqueness of this gesture cannot be overstated. Imagine raising a glass to the might of the German army at the German embassy on the day that Hitler invaded Poland,” Steenhuisen said.

Modise’s office refused to comment on Steenhuisen’s comments. The office also did not reply to TimesLIVE questions on whether there was any discussion of the Ukraine invasion during this event, or whether Modise was aware of the stance taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Monama said: “We have no comment on the statements made by the opposition party.”

Meanwhile, other members of the ANC attended an event held by the Russian consulate in Cape Town on February 28. The event was meant to celebrate 20 years of relations between the ANC government and the Russian Federation. 

A video of the ANC’s Cameron Dugmore taken on the day of the event has gone viral. In it, Dugmore said that among the things discussed during the cocktail evening was the invasion.

“Honourable Masondo also referred to the situation as it pertains now and reiterated the call of the president that we need to seek solutions that bring a lasting peace,” said Dugmore, referring to the chair of the National Council of Provinces, Amos Masondo. 

“But it is actually worth noting that while we are here, celebrating this very important relationship between the ANC and the former Soviet Union and now the relationship between our government and the Russian Federation, the DA this evening, without consulting anyone, invited people to gather in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, lighting up the building in Ukraine colours. This just shows the bankruptcy of the DA in this province, where they are trying to opportunistically use this conflict,” he added.

Dugmore said they would not be drawn into this, saying they had a “relationship to build” with Russia and the ANC movement was more interested in maintaining peace.

Speaking to Cape Talk earlier this week, Dugmore said he had no regrets about attending the event.

“I, as the leader of the opposition, don’t have mandates to talk broadly around the intricacies of this issue, so it was an invitation that I had honoured. If I receive an invitation from the Ukrainians tomorrow, I would definitely honour that invitation,”  he said.

Russia issued a statement celebrating its 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations with SA.

“Traditionally friendly ties between our countries date back to the times of struggle against the apartheid regime. Many prominent ANC members, stalwarts of revolution such as Josiah Gumede, Moses Kotane and John Beaver Marks, visited the Soviet Union in 1920-1930s,” the Russian embassy said in a statement.

“This line of interaction between our peoples continued well into [the] 1960s and 1980s when the USSR rendered assistance to liberation movements that fought against apartheid, first and foremost — to [the] SA Communist Party and ANC. [The] Soviet Union provided humanitarian, financial, organisational support, as well as training for military and civilian specialists among the black population of SA,” it said.

“Meanwhile, the Soviet diplomacy worked tirelessly to attract the international community’s attention to the anti-human nature of the regime of racial segregation. Such resolve was fully supported by the common citizens of the Soviet Union, who experienced the horrors of Nazis’ wicked racial theories themselves.”

Russia said it was “honoured with the fact that South Africans cherish the memory of those Soviet citizens who sacrificed their lives to assist the liberation struggle in Southern Africa, including the anti-apartheid struggle in SA”.

While Russia’s military specialists have been honoured at the memorial heritage park in Freedom Park, Pretoria, Russia said it was working with the government of Moscow on renaming either a street or square after the late former president Nelson Mandela.

On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly held a vote, with member nations overwhelmingly voting to reprimand Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and demanding Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, an action that aims to diplomatically isolate Russia at the world body.

SA, however, abstained from the vote and explained it did so because the resolution “does not create an environment conducive for diplomacy, dialogue and mediation”.

Thirty-five members, including SA and China, abstained and five countries including Russia, Syria and Belarus voted against the resolution. While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight.

“Our position ... is that SA remains deeply concerned by the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and the regional and international socioeconomic implications. We strongly urge all sides to uphold international law, including humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said SA’s permanent representative to the UN, Mathu Joyini.

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