Day: November 18, 2021

Programme Director,

Ministers and Deputy Ministers,

Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise,

Members of Parliament,

Chancellor of National Orders, Ms Phindile Baleni,

Members of the Advisory Council on National Orders,

Members of the diplomatic corps,

Distinguished Recipients of the National Orders together with their family members and friends,

Fellow South Africans,

Two years have passed since we last held a Presentation of National Orders.

Since we last gathered here for this noble purpose, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused great devastation in our country and across the world.

It has cost many lives, threatened many livelihoods, and disrupted almost every part of our lives.

While we acknowledge that the pandemic is still very much with us, we also recognise the important duty we have to honour those among us who have made outstanding contributions towards the betterment of our country and of the human condition.

Through these national orders we recognise many outstanding individuals who defied great odds and made immense sacrifices not only for us to attain freedom, but so that such freedom is meaningful.

The outstanding individuals that we honour here today are, in different ways, champions of freedom, peace, human rights, social justice and equality.

Regardless of the sphere of life in which they applied themselves, the recipients of the awards today have honoured and upheld the values which combined represent the highest ideals of humanity.

We are conferring today the Order of Mendi for Bravery.

Awards of this Order are made to South Africans who have performed acts of bravery, often putting their lives in great danger or losing their lives in their efforts to save others.

The awards are made to people who, in the most exceptional manner possible, have placed the lives of their fellow men and women above any risk that they themselves faced.

We are also conferring the Order of Ikhamanga, which is awarded to South Africans who have excelled in the field of arts, culture, literature, music, journalism and sport.

We confer it on some of our country’s most dedicated and outstanding athletes, to musicians whose brought us comfort and hope during the darkest days of apartheid.

We confer it on the artists who make our democracy enjoyable and who remain the conscience of the nation, reminding us through their works to fulfil, and not betray, the promise of freedom.

These are the people who use their tremendous talent not only to entertain, provoke and inspire, but to strive for a better, more just and humane society.

We honour the writers who have chronicled both the suffering of our people and their remarkable triumphs, their fears and their hopes, their everyday cares and their timeless desires.

The Order of the Baobab is awarded to South African citizens for distinguished service in the fields of business and the economy, science, medicine, and for technological innovation and community service.

These people – some of whom are unfortunately no longer with us – are pioneers who laid the path along which others would follow.

We honour those who worked from the ashes of apartheid to build a new society in which the economy is truly inclusive and the country’s wealth is shared among all its people.

These are people who challenge prejudice, who fight for people living with disabilities and for all those who are marginalised because of nothing other than the circumstances of their birth.

These are people who use their knowledge and their capabilities, their ideas and their energy to forge a South Africa defined by solidarity, community and progress.

The Order of Luthuli is awarded to South Africans who have served the interests of South Africa by making a meaningful contribution in the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice, peace and conflict resolution.

They are the peacemakers, who walk into battle armed only with the conviction that there is no dispute too great or complex that it cannot be resolved peacefully through dialogue.

They are the jurists who believe in transformative constitutionalism.

They see the purpose of law to be the pursuit of justice in the interests of the dispossessed, the injured, the wronged and the vulnerable.

They are the women and men who confront oppression and exploitation wherever they manifest.

They are the people who organised pickets and strikes, marches and meetings, vigils and prayers.

They organised underground, they took up arms, they went out to the corners of the globe to argue the case for the struggling masses of South Africa.

For their efforts, they were restricted, banned, detained, banished, tortured, jailed, exiled and murdered.

And yet, they stood firm, knowing that the guns would fall silent, the jail doors would swing open and the sound of freedom would ring across the land.

The achievement of our freedom owes much to the devout support of the international community.

Many countries offered solidarity and opened their arms to our activists.

Many people in our neighbouring countries lost life and limb for our cause.

It is for this reason that among us are the recipients of the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo, which is awarded to eminent foreign nationals for friendship shown to South Africa.

We honour these remarkable human beings who stood alongside our people, at home and in exile, who provided material and other assistance to our students, activists and combatants.

In doing so, we express our sincere and eternal gratitude to them for joining a struggle that was not theirs, in a land far from their own, and for giving so much, for so long, to so many.

I wish to congratulate all those who are to be honoured today.

This is a roll call of heroes and heroines, of people who have been prepared to devote their talent, their energy, their lives to the affirmation and the advancement of others.

By the power vested in me in terms of Section 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, I now confer the Order of the Mendi for Bravery, the Order of Ikhamanga, the Order of the Baobab, the Order of Luthuli, and the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo to the distinguished persons indicated.

And they shall henceforth be honoured as esteemed Members of the Orders.

The people of South Africa salute them all.

I thank you.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa

KHARTOUM— Sudanese authorities have announced the closure of four out of 10 bridges linking the capital, Khartoum, with the cities of Bahri and Omdurman, Sudanese television reported hours before mass anti-coup demonstrations were expected to begin.

Resistance committees across the country on Wednesday called for a million-strong demonstration in Khartoum to demand the return of a civilian government.

The death toll from Sudan’s anti-coup protests at the weekend rose to eight, medics said, bringing the total number of those killed since last month’s military takeover to at least 23.

Three teenagers were among those who lost their lives during the latest mass protests on Saturday, which were met with the deadliest crackdown since the Oct 25 coup.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, an independent union of medics, named all eight protesters killed, including 13-year-old Remaaz Hatim al-Atta, who was shot in the head in front of her family’s home in Khartoum, and Omar Adam who was shot in his neck during protests in the capital city.

The military takeover sparked a chorus of international condemnation, including punitive aid cuts, with world powers demanding a swift return to civilian rule.

Demonstrators have rallied since then despite internet outages and disruptions of communication lines, which forced activists to disseminate calls for protests via graffiti and SMS messages.

Since last month’s coup, more than 100 government officials and political leaders, along with a large number of demonstrators and activists, have been arrested. The army also placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest at his residence in Khartoum.

Pro-democracy groups have promised to continue protesting until the return of the Sovereign Council, which was formed in 2019 as part of a power-sharing agreement between members of the army and civilians with the task of overseeing Sudan’s transition to democracy after a popular uprising led to the removal of longtime ruler al-Bashir.

In an interview with Al Jazeera earlier this month, al-Burhan said he was committed to handing over power to a civilian government, promising not to participate in any government that comes after the transitional period. But last week he announced the formation of a new Sovereign Council and appointed himself as to its head.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

On 13-16 November, landslides and floods caused by heavy rain were reported across the Departments of Alta Verapaz (northern-central Guatemala), Izabal (central-eastern Guatemala) and Peten (northernmost Guatemala), as reported by the Guatemala National Coordination System for Disaster Reduction (CONRED).

In Alta Verapaz, floods across Chisec Municipality affected 1,176 people and caused damage to 255 houses. A landslide in the outskirts of San Juan Chamelco Town affected six people and damaged one house. Floods were reported in San Luis (Peten) and Puerto Barrios (Izabal), impacting local communities and damaging houses.

On 18-19 November, drier conditions are expected over Guatemala.

Source: European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

ADDIS ABABA— Some 7,425 refugees presently residing in Ethiopia have received COVID-19 jabs, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said.

The UN refugee agency said in its latest situation update issued on Wednesday that some 4,481 of the refugees were fully vaccinated, who meet the government’s prioritization criteria.

According to the latest figures from UNHCR, Ethiopia is the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, sheltering 806,374 registered refugees and asylum-seekers as of the end of October 2021. The overwhelming majority originate from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan.

Ethiopia’s national Agency for Refugees and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) had in April this year disclosed the commencement of giving COVID-19 jabs to refugees residing across camps in the East African country.

The COVID-19 vaccine jabs rollout to refugees is being done in collaboration with various stakeholders including the UNHCR, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ethiopia Public Health Institute (EPHI).

UNHCR, the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) and partners, continue to reinforce prevention measures in the refugee camps and sites hosting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Amid a national push for vaccination, Ethiopia has so far administered 5,084,917 COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to the figures from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.

Ethiopia received the first batch of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government in March.

On Oct 24, Ethiopia received the latest batch of Chinese-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines, totaling 800,000 doses, giving a boost to the East African nation’s vaccination efforts.

China has so far donated in excess of 1.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ethiopia, which the Ethiopian government said has played an important role in combating the virus.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Today marks a year since Ugandan security forces brutally clamped down on people protesting the arrest of opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, killing 54 people, and injuring scores more.

Just before noon on November 18, 2020, two months ahead of Uganda’s general elections, security forces arrested Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, as he prepared to hold a campaign rally in Luuka, Eastern Uganda. The police said they had arrested him for breaching Covid-19 regulations, but it was clear authorities were using the pandemic as a pretext to clamp down on opposition during the election campaigns.

As news spread about Kyagulanyi’s arrest, widespread protests in Kampala and other parts of the country erupted for two days. Authorities responded with teargas, by beating protestors and using live bullets, killing at least 54 people, even according to the government’s own admission. Those killed included bystanders and market traders who had nothing to do with the protests. Numerous others were injured.

A week after the protests, President Yoweri Museveni said the government would compensate only the families of 22 of the people who had died, saying the other 32 were rioters. Police later said they had launched investigations into the killings, but a year later, the authorities have not published their findings, held anyone accountable, nor compensated victims.

Uganda’s Constitution protects the rights to peaceful assembly, and association. The government is obligated under international law to ensure that use of force, in particular lethal force, is subject to scrutiny, to ensure effective investigations that lead to accountability for unlawful killings and injuries, as well as to provide access to effective remedies for all victims.

The government should take meaningful steps to show that it is serious about upholding human rights and the rule of law by ensuring justice for the November 2020 violence. It should fulfil its promises and obligations under international law to the families of those who died and were injured at the hands of the security forces, whether they were protesting or not, through a transparent justice process that provides regular public updates on the progress of investigations and guarantees victims and their families effective participation.

Source: Human Rights Watch