The sound crackles. She spits songs to the glory of Ukraine. The scene does not take place in Europe but in the South African capital, Pretoria. Opposite the Russian Embassy on Wednesday, February 22, protesters deployed a red-stained sheet on the asphalt. Soft toys, children's shoes and scattered clothes complete the picture. "Russia must go home!" Putin must fall! “, chant the protesters. About forty came to denounce the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. Too little to attract local media attention.
Some demonstrators regret this lack of attention with bitterness. It is true that on this day, the eyes are turned on the coast of the Indian Ocean, where South Africa begins naval exercises with the Russian and Chinese navies. The continuation of these maneuvers on February 24, the first anniversary of the start of the war, despite the neutrality officially defended by South Africa in the face of the conflict, did not escape Western chancelleries.
Although Pretoria mentioned routine exercises, the United States expressed concern. "South Africa's position of neutrality is not one", was annoyed more frankly the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, referring to these exercises in an interview with Le Monde at the end of January. In front of the Russian embassy, the demonstrators share this opinion and Anastasia Korpeso, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Association in South Africa, does not despair of being heard.
"We continue to raise awareness"
The association, which has around 200 members, has organized around 20 demonstrations across the country since the start of the conflict. Anastasia Korpeso assures that the ranks are growing little by little. “Fortunately, not all South Africans share their government's position. That's why we continue to raise awareness," she said. For the first time, black South Africans joined the rally in Pretoria. "We've been through apartheid, we know what it's like to face an aggressor," says Freeman Bhengu.
An activist from civil society accustomed to demonstrations hostile to the ANC, the ruling party, Freeman Bhengu came from Soweto, nearly 100 kilometers away, with about fifteen people. “We cannot sit idly by while our government makes a mistake by associating with Russia. As South Africans, we want to say that we stand with Ukraine,” he continued, worrying that his country “allied with an autocratic government”.
While many South African media regularly denounce the lack of condemnation of the Russian invasion by South Africa, it is not common to come across Freeman Bhengu's speech in townships like Soweto. "Unemployment is skyrocketing, people are hungry, we have power cuts all the time... People don't think about Ukraine, they're wondering what they're going to eat tonight," acknowledges the activist .
On social networks, conversely, there is no shortage of pro-Russian accounts. In a recent op-ed, Ukraine's Ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, said she was "horrified" by the "hundreds of hilarious emojis and comments praising Putin and his hordes" under the articles evoking the war. She sees in it the result of Russian propaganda. "I think it's influencing certain segments of the population who can't or won't do their own research and verify what they read," she added in a phone interview.
Diplomatic representation projects
In response, the ambassador gives voice. Every week, she publishes a column on the South African investigative site Daily Maverick. “The idea is to draw the attention of South Africans to how Ukrainians feel and the stories that are unearthed when we take back territories,” she explains. "As paradoxical as it may seem, this aggression has 'helped' Africans to understand that Ukraine is a sovereign country that has long historical relations with Africa," continues Liubov Abravitova.
kyiv now has the ambition to develop its relations with the continent. Last October, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana where he announced the upcoming opening of an embassy. "Ultimately, the goal is to have diplomatic representation in all the countries of the continent," adds Liubov Abravitova. She also hopes for a tour of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in southern Africa in the coming months, with a stop in Pretoria, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was warmly welcomed in January.
In the meantime, Liubov Abravitova points out that Ukraine seems to be gaining support on the continent. On February 23, South Sudan, Madagascar and Morocco voted in favor of the United Nations resolution demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. In the first United Nations vote condemning Russian aggression, in March 2022, these countries either abstained or did not vote. South Africa abstained.
