Discussions on the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) continued – despite Pro-Palestine pickets that took place outside of the conference venue.
Saturday was the last day of the AGOA summit as United States (US) officials met with trade officials from Africa.
AGOA gives more than 30 sub-saharan countries duty-free and quota-free access to the US market for almost 2,000 products.
Earlier on Saturday, a small group of Pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Nasrec expo centre condemning the American delegation for its country’s complicity in arming Israel in its attack on Gaza.
Protesters chanted ‘free, free Palestine. Palestine will be free’ and carried placards bearing the same sentiment.
The pro-Palestine groups, including the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) and pro-Palestine BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] called for an immediate ceasefire from Israel in its current onslaught on Gaza.
Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israel almost a month ago, killing more than a thousand civilians.
In response, Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the gaze strip. This resulted in a humanitarian crisis that has been devastating on both sides.
SAFTU’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi who led the protests said while AGOA was beneficial for South African exporters, he doesn’t believe America should be let off the hook for its allegiance to Israel.
“AGOA may be important symbolically but AGOA doesn’t mean life and death for South Africa. Even if they were to remove it, nothing significant is going to change because the trade relationships are such that they are in favour of America.”
Vavi said the US should not be allowed in this country while it sides with Israel.
“It is just a shame on Joe Biden, who took such a strong stance against the South African apartheid regime, for him now not to see absolutely anything wrong and to proclaim that they stand on their side. Oh, shame on them all,” said Vavi.
Vavi accused the US of using AGOA to silence African leaders.
“It is just unspeakable, that these guys who are now here representing the so-called good interests of trade relations with the African continent, see absolutely nothing wrong that they use their money and their weapons to commit a genocide against women and children,” said Vavi.
University of Johannesburg (UJ) education professor, Salim Vally who was also demonstrating said the lack of condemnation of the war by African leaders at the AGOA summit was troubling.
“We really need to take a stand. Just remembering the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu ‘we cannot be neutral in the face of injustice. If you are neutral, you are siding with the powerful, you are siding with injustice.”
-EWN
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