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SA won't ask Saddam to leave
02/04/2003 19:17 - (SA)
Cape Town - South Africa will not consider persuading Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to go into exile in view of the war and developments there, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
Replying to questions in the National Assembly, he said it would "be a wrong move".
"We cannot determine what happens to the leaders of other countries."
It was important to observe and respect the sovereignty of other countries, and it was the people of those countries who had the right to change their leaders, he said.
"I don't know what will happen if countries could be standing on top of their mountains and shouting to leaders 'leave your country, go to exile' and everybody had the right to do so."
There were ways of "persuading people to use themselves as people" to change leaders in their countries.
As much as one could say some leaders "are practising the kind of rules that are not acceptable", this did not mean certain countries could practise undemocratic methods, such as demanding other leaders go into exile.
Strange culture
"I think that's totally out of order.
"You need to find correct methods of dealing with the issue, particularly in Iraq, because the United Nations was discussing the issue," Zuma said.
The major issue was the destruction of weapons of mass destruction, which the world was supporting.
But there was no consensus in the world on the issue of whether the leader of the country should leave or not.
The world understood there were systems in every country where the electorate of the country would exercise their duty.
Even in areas where there "are dictators the people overthrow those leaders; this is an accepted norm".
"I think this culture of calling on leaders to go into exile is a very strange one indeed," he said.
South Africa was part of the process of calling on those involved in Iraq to stop the war.
Once the war was over, the world through the UN and other organisation would discuss "what do we do with the devastation there", and South Africa would play its role at that time and level, Zuma said.
- SAPA
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