Zuma and Dutch PM discuss international terrorism
Dutch Prime Minister Marc Rutte has cut short his visit to South Africa and is returning home on Tuesday night because of the security crisis that has gripped Europe after the terror attacks in Paris on Friday.
Rutte announced this on Tuesday after meeting President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria for official talks. Rutte, who travelled to South Africa with a large trade delegation of over 70 Dutch companies, will still host a trade reception in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening as planned.
But he will not complete the rest of his programme on Wednesday, which included visits to Liliesleaf Farm to honour the Rivonia triallists, to Diepsloot informal settlement to see Dutch development projects and to Cape Town where he was to visit several Dutch supported projects.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Martijn van Dam will complete Rutte’s programme, the Dutch embassy said.
Rutte said at a joint press conference with Zuma on Tuesday that he had considered calling off the trip but had decided instead to shorten it to one day “because although it is clearly not business as usual, I believe it is important that we continue our work, our lives.
“This is an important visit, not just for continuing and discussing political and economic relations, but also we are close partners in counter-terrorism, in fighting terrorism.”
Rutte noted that South Africa and the Netherlands were partners in the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum which the Netherlands was currently co-chairing.
He said the “barbaric” attacks in Paris had highlighted the importance of such global cooperation in fighting terrorism.
Rutte was also asked by a Dutch journalist if he did not fear that his weekend remark that the Netherlands was at war with the Islamic State had not made the Netherlands a target of the terror group. He did not answer that question.
Zuma agreed that “we are ready, all of us, to participate in the fight against terrorism”, though he added that different countries could contribute in different ways and those closer to the conflict could make a more concrete contribution.
He noted that the African Union was addressing extreme terrorism in North Africa and the sporadic, but very serious, terrorism attacks in Kenya. (perpetrated by the Somali Al Shabaab Islamist terror group which the AU is fighting through its AMISOM force)
Zuma stressed that the global fight against terrorism should be conducted through the UN and required global coordination, including intelligence sharing.
“No place is safe” from terror attacks, he added, noting that attacks had occurred in all the regions of the world.
But Zuma also suggested that the recent surge in terrorism was partly the responsibility of those who had intervened militarily in some countries.
“It is our strong belief that the interference by outside parties in some countries and the pursuit of the regime change doctrine has perpetuated a cycle of conflict and instability in many parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
“The preference for military action instead of political solutions becomes a breeding ground for violent extremism and terrorism.”
Root causes of terrorism had to be addressed, Zuma said, adding that it would be hard to find lasting peace without resolving longstanding issues in the Middle East such as the Palestinian question. – ANA
(Photo: GCIS)