Echo in South Africa

By M. S. Prabhakara

CAPE TOWN, OCT. 16. Passions continue to rise high among the small but influential Muslim and Jewish communities in South Africa over the developments in West Asia. The intervention of the Israeli ambassador in a popular and nationally broadcast radio talk show this morning where the guest was the ambassador of Palestine soon degenerated into a virtual shouting match between the two.

A protest rally over the weekend in support of Palestine and against Israel organised at the Green Point Stadium by an umbrella organisation called Palestine Solidarity Committee ended in what the police described as ``public violence'' when angry protesters attacked a McDonalds outlet near the stadium.

The demonstrators chanted anti-Israel and anti-U.S. slogans and burnt Israeli and American flags. Some cars parked in the premises were wrecked, one of them being set on fire. Some of the people attending the rally ``signed up'' to fight for achieving the ``total liberation'' of Palestine.

The rally, intended to ``raise awareness'' among the people about the situation in West Asia, coincided with similar rallies and demonstrations worldwide that day, designated as the ``day or rage'', by Palestine supporters.

Speakers called on the Government to sever diplomatic relations with Israel. One of the speakers described today's ``emergency summit'' in Sharm-al-Sheikh in Egypt as a hoax. Another speaker, Ms Abedia Roberts, who is the national secretary of People against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), said the time had come to ``declare war on Israel''.

Pagad, a predominantly Muslim vigilantist organisation based in Cape Town, has been accused by the authorities, including the Minister for Safety and Security, Mr Steve Tshwete, of being involved in what is now routinely described as the ``terror bombing campaign'' in metropolitan Cape Town. Leaders of Pagad have repeatedly challenged the authorities to produce evidence of the organisation's involvement in terrorist activities, to little avail.

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Section  : International
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