Brics leaders called on to address Russia/Ukraine conflict at summit

Civil rights groups are calling for “bravery” from leaders attending the Brics summit to pressurise the Russian government to withdraw its troops from Ukraine instead of remaining silent about the conflict.

The Ukraine Association of South Africa, Amnesty International and the Helen Suzman Foundation gathered at Innesfree Park in Sandton to hold a peaceful demonstration before the summit on Tuesday morning.

The small group held up placards reading “No to Putin imperialism” and “Go home Lavrov”. Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergei Lavrov is attending the summit instead of President Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Putin in connection with the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine Association of SA’s Gauteng representative Lesya Karpenko said the continued conflict is due to the lack of criticism from many world leaders including South Africa, which has chosen not to take sides in the war.

“The problem in SA is that Russia spends a lot of money on propaganda and people don’t know what is actually happening. They call it a proxy war as Ukrainians don’t want to give away the land.

“My question is, would you give away your Western Cape to Putin? The Western Cape has everything Putin likes — a military base, marine base, access to the ocean. That is when you will see how we feel,” she told TimesLIVE.

The protesters also called for Ukrainian children who were illegally displaced to be returned to the country, while the whereabouts of many are unknown.

“Russia announced there are 700 children who were moved to Russia, but we found 20,000 so far because big areas are under Russian occupation,” Karpenko said.

“Our other call is for the release of political prisoners and all prisoners of war. Let them come back so they can get the necessary medical treatment.”

According to Amnesty International SA campaigner Sibusiso Khasa, about 20,000 human rights activists are facing punishment in Russia for protesting against the war.

Khasa accused the summit organisers and law enforcement of censorship as they were turned away from picketing outside the Sandton Convention Centre, where the summit is being held.

This was after a permit was issued which was allegedly withdrawn at the last minute.

“We have been put in a more secluded type of place, which is about 3.7km away from where the summit is taking place. That alone speaks volumes because it looks as though they are trying to curtail freedom of expression because we can’t send the message directly to the people we are targeting,” he said.

“Since we are prevented to send the message directly, we hope they get it through the media.”

TimesLIVE