An ally of South Africas ruling African National Congress (ANC) party holds a large rally in the countrys administrative capital, raging against the United States deadly and aggressive attitude towards Iran and its destructive policies in the West Asia as a whole.
The demonstration was held by the South African Communist Party (SACP) outside the US Embassy in Pretoria, the South African online news platform reported on Thursday. The SACP is in the Tripartite Alliance with the ANC.
The demo saw SACPs members picketing outside the diplomatic mission as "a way of standing in solidarity with the Iranian people following the assassination of the most revered military veteran , [Lieutenant] General Qassem Soleimani," the website said.
The US assassinated General Soleimani as he was on an official visit to Baghdad alongside senior Iraqi anti-terror commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and some others in a set of drone strikes that targeted their vehicle in the Iraqi capital on January 3.
During his lifetime, General Soleimani became reputed as the Middle Easts most venerable, decisive, and effective counter-terrorism commander due to his indispensable contribution to the defeat of the most brutal of the terror groups to ever take on the region, including the Daesh Takfiri outfit.
The assassination had been directly ordered by US President Donald Trump, who is waging a campaign of "maximum pressure" against the Islamic Republic. As part of the campaign, the US left a historic nuclear deal with Iran and major world powers in 2018, reinstated its nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran, and began forcing others to succumb to the American bans.
Speaking with the media, the deputy Secretary General of the SACP, Solly Mapaila, confirmed during the rally that the demonstration was the partys way of sending "a stern message" to Trump about his recent decisions regarding Iran, the website added.
"We are picketing here to protest against the US aggression in the Middle East, particularly against Iran. [Extraterritorial jurisdiction] killings, violation of international law - as you know, for instance, the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by US instruments," he said.
The protesters held up pictures of General Soleimani, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, IRNA reported.
The SACP also handed a four-point memorandum condemning the aggression imposed by the US on Iran to its Embassy to be relayed to Washington. The party said the memo also reflected the ANCs standpoint.
According to the website, the memo demands that the US "engage in a dialogue with Iran for peaceful resolution of matters of common interest, including the lifting of unilateral sanctions."
The South African demonstrators also asked Washington to "stop exporting wars" and "[extra-jurisdiction] killings."
Finally, the party urged that America "respect the sovereignty of states in determining their own destinies; and respect human rights and United Nations resolutions and international law."
The SACP has given the Trump administration seven working days to send back a response to its demands.
Following the assassinations, Iraqs parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution demanding expulsion of all US-led forces from the Arab country, and caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi asked Washington to engage with Baghdad towards the purpose.
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 on the second leg of its so-called war on terror, which had had it first stage a no-holds-barred attack against Afghanistan.
Unremitting violence has continued to plague both the countries ever since the invasions, with anti-American sentiment and US-led foreign presence being blamed for much of the plight.
Washington staged a renewed wholesale operation in Iraq in 2014 at the head of a number of its Western and regional allies, presumably seeking to uproot Daesh. The outfit had risen amid the chaos and volatility that had resulted from the 2003 invasion.
The US retains around 5,000 forces on the Iraqi soil, although Baghdad and its allies, including Iran, defeated Daesh in late 2017. Various reports and regional officials have, over the past two years, warned that the US military has been engaged in transferring defeated Daesh terrorists from Iraq to Afghanistan, where the group is trying to expand its turf.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/13157
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