South Africa – The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was the subject of ongoing discussions, even in the face of pro-Palestine picketing outside the conference location.
On Saturday, trade officials from the United States (US) and Africa concluded their AGOA summit.
Over 30 sub-Saharan nations are granted duty-free and quota-free access to the US market through the AGOA for nearly 2,000 products.
A small group of pro-Palestine demonstrators congregated outside the Nasrec expo center earlier on Saturday, denouncing the American delegation for its nation’s cooperation in supporting Israel in its assault on Gaza.
Protesters shouted, “Palestine, Palestine, free!” They carried posters that said, “Palestine will be free.”
A group of pro-Palestine supporters have started to gather outside Nasrec as the #AGOA2023 business forum enters its third and final day. The picketers want to tell the US officials at the forum to drop their endorsement of Israel in the ongoing conflict. @khanya_mntambo pic.twitter.com/ppEqgdq3iU
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 4, 2023
Pro-Palestine organizations, such as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), demanded that Israel immediately end its present assault on Gaza.
Nearly a month ago, Hamas executed a surprise attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of over a thousand civilians.
Israel responded by attacking the gaze strip with a flurry of airstrikes. This led to a humanitarian crisis that has had disastrous effects on all parties.
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 favor 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 genocide against women and children,” said Vavi.
#AGOA2023 | Pro-Palestine groups, including BDS, want an immediate ceasefire in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine. pic.twitter.com/WII8wkKsnZ
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 4, 2023
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.”
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