No need to replace me with a white ambassador, Rasool tells Ramaphosa

Former SA ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool says President Cyril Ramaphosa does not need to choose a white ambassador to replace him after his expulsion from the US.

Rasool was expelled for remarks he made at a foreign policy seminar, accusing US President Donald Trump of leading a white supremacist movement.

On Sunday, he was received by a large number of ANC supporters in Cape Town. Addressing the crowd, Rasool emphasised the importance of finding a suitable candidate to repair SA's relationship with the US.

“We have this relationship we must reset and rebuild,” he said.

“We must hope Ramaphosa will be able to pick up where we left off, but we cannot have a simplistic idea that, while we say there must be an ambassador, we must put in a white ambassador for a white president in the US.

“Ramaphosa must be able to find someone who can mend the relationship without sacrificing our values.”

He said SA tried conventional diplomacy, but a new approach centred on ubuntu and mutual interdependence was necessary.

“The diplomacy of ubuntu is not the art of lying for your country. It is the art of speaking the truth gently. The diplomacy of ubuntu does not involve flattering your host or denying what is wrong. It encompasses intellectual engagement and the persuasion of your host in a better way.

“The diplomacy of ubuntu is not about sacrificing your values but about universalising them. It is not about forfeiting your interests or lacking interests with another country. It is about pursuing your interests while maintaining your dignity. That's what the diplomacy of ubuntu is about, and that's what I believe is the way forward in this very difficult and challenging relationship with the US.”

Recent reports suggest some stakeholders are lobbying for deputy justice and constitutional development minister Andries Nel to replace Rasool. DA federal council chair Helen Zille wants former DA leader Tony Leon for the role. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has said Ramaphosa is in no rush to appoint a replacement, despite lobbying efforts.

He said: “The president is going to take his time. The absence of an ambassador in Washington DC does not mean an absence of engagements with the Trump administration. Equally, in SA the US has not appointed an ambassador yet, but we have been able at different levels of government to continue to have engagements with diplomats from the US embassy.”

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