- Ronnie Kasrils
Ronald Kasrils (commonly known as Ronnie Kasrils) (born
November 15 ,1938 ) is aSouth Africa n politician. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008. He has been a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of theAfrican National Congress (ANC) since 1987 as well as a member of the Central Committee of theSouth African Communist Party (SACP) since December 1986.Early life
Kasrils' grandparents were Jewish immigrants from
Latvia andLithuania who fled from the Czaristpogrom s at the end of the 19th century. He is the son of Rene (born Cohen) and Isidore Kasrils. His father was a factory salesman. His mother worked as a shop assistant prior to her marriage. Kasrils matriculated at King Edward VII School inJohannesburg . He subsequently became a script writer for films in Johannesburg from 1958 to 1960 before accepting a position as a television andfilm director forLever Brothers ' advertising division inDurban from 1960 to 1962.Role in the ANC and Anti-Apartheid Activism
The
Sharpeville massacre radicalised Kasrils against theApartheid system and he joined theAfrican National Congress (ANC) in 1960, becoming secretary of the ANC-alignedCongress of Democrats in Natal in 1961, the same year he joined theSouth African Communist Party . In 1962, he received a five-year banning order prohibiting him from public speaking. He was a founding member ofUmkhonto we Sizwe (MK) as member of Natal Regional Command during the same year. He became the commander of Natal Regional Command in 1963. He underwent military training in 1964 inOdessa ,USSR and at the end of 1965 was sent to London to work for the movement there. During this time Kasrils worked withYusuf Dadoo ,Joe Slovo andJack Hodgson and they formed a special committee (1966-76) to develop underground activities in South Africa from the United Kingdom. During this time he trained various people includingRaymond Suttner ,Jeremy Cronin ,Ahmed Timol ,Alex Moumbaris ,Tim Jenkins and Dave andSue Rabkin , with the aim of establishing underground propaganda units in South Africa. He served the ANC and was based inLondon ,Luanda ,Maputo ,Swaziland ,Botswana andLusaka . Kasrils eventually became a member of MK's High Command and was appointed as Chief of MK Intelligence. Kasrils also served on the ANC's Politico-Military Council from 1985 to 1989 and worked underground for the ANC in South Africa duringOperation Vula from 1990 to 1991. He went on to head the ANC's campaign section from 1991 to 1994.Role in the Bisho Massacre
On
7 September 1992 , about 80 000 protesters from the ANC gathered outside Bisho in the nominally independent homeland ofCiskei inSouth Africa to demand the resignation of Ciskei leader Oupa Gqozo and the reincorporation of Ciskei into South Africa. The protest was led by senior ANC leaders includingSouth African Communist Party Secretary GeneralChris Hani ,Cyril Ramaphosa ,Steve Tshwete andRonnie Kasrils .Despite being warned by the Ciskei government not to enter Bisho, Kasrils led a group in an attempt to break through the Ciskei Defence Force lines to enter Bisho. Ciskei Defence Force soldiers opened fire on the marchers with automatic weapons, killing 28 marchers and one soldier, and injuring over 200. More than 425 rounds were fired, the first fusillade lasting one-and-a-half minutes, and the second lasting a minute.cite web|url=http://www.buffalocity.gov.za/visitors/massacre.stm|title=Bhisho Massacre|publisher=Buffalo City Municipality|accessdate=2007-02-20]
The
Goldstone Commission was tasked with investigating the massacre. In his report, JusticeRichard Goldstone condemned Kasrils for his irresponsible action in leading marchers breaking through the razor wire and provoking the forces into opening fire.cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1992-09-23.htm|title=Goldstone Commission investigates the Bisho Massacre|accessdate=2007-02-20|publisher=South African History Online]Democratic South Africa: Ministerial posts
After the first fully democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, Kasrils became a member of the Transitional Executive Council's (TEC) Sub-Council on Defence. He was appointed as Deputy Minister of Defence on
24 June 1994 , a post which he held until16 June 1999 . He was also the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry from 1999 to 2004 and was appointed as Minister of Intelligence Services in 2004.Following the resignation of President
Thabo Mbeki in September 2008, Kasrils was among those members of the Cabinet who submitted their resignations on September 23. [ [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=nw20080923184406171C229697 "Confusion rattles markets"] , Sapa ("IOL"), September 23, 2008.]Ronnie and the Corvette
In 1995, there was some confusion in the popular press and media due to a report that Ronnie Kasrils had bought himself a
Chevrolet Corvette sportscar - this was in fact a garbled report of then-Minister of Defense Kasrils considering the eventual purchase of a new fleet of Corvette-class Warships for the South African Navy. This did inspire some amusing cartoons at the time of the reports.Positions on Israel/Palestine conflict
Kasrils is known for his strong criticisms of the government of
Israel and for his sympathies towards Palestinian political struggles. [ [http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110010440 The Wall Street Journal Online - OpinionJournal Federation ] ] He rose to international prominence after penning a "Declaration of Conscience by South Africans of Jewish Descent" in 2001 against Israeli policies in the occupied territories. [http://www.dwaf.gov.za/Communications/MinisterSpeeches/Kasrils/2001/Israel%20Palestine%20Conflict%20Declaration%20of%20Conscience%20speech%20by%20Minister%207%20Dec%2001.doc] He has participated in events in thePalestinian Territories with all elected Palestinian parties and endorses atwo-state solution premised on the 1967 borders. [ [http://www.amin.org/look/amin/en.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=7&NrArticle=40359&NrIssue=1&NrSection=3 South African Minister of Intelligence led a delegation to Palestine ] ]In a two part essay "David and Goliath: Who is Who in the Middle East" [ [http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pubs/umrabulo/umrabulo27/art11.html Umrabulo Number 27, November 2006 ] ] [ [http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pubs/umrabulo/umrabulo28/art12.html Umrabulo Number 28, March 2007 ] ] published in the ANC's theoretical journal
Umrabulo in late 2006 and early 2007, Kasrils outlined a history of Israel-Palestine since 1948 very critical of Israeli governments and military actions. Parts of the essay were published in theMail&Guardian in a summarised form under the title "Rage of the Elephant: Israel in Lebanon." [1 September 2006, Mail & Guardian, http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=282802&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/] The article caused considerable controversy, [See letters to the Mail&Guardian in response: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=282802&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/] when Kasrils, commenting on the results of civilian deaths following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in July 2006, and referring to the Israeli leadership, noted: "...we must call baby killers 'baby killers' and declare that those using methods reminiscent of the Nazis be told that they are behaving like Nazis." [The full reference: "...we must call baby killers “baby killers” and declare that those using methods reminiscent of the Nazis be told that they are behaving like Nazis. May Israelis wake up and see reason, as happened in South Africa, and negotiate peace. And finally, yes, let us learn from what helped open white South African eyes: the combination of a just struggle reinforced by international solidarity utilising the weapons of boycott and sanctions." http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=282802&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/]In November 2006, the
South African Jewish Report lodged a complaint ofhate speech against Kasrils with theSouth African Human Rights Commission on the basis that the articles inUmrabulo and theMail&Guardian violated Constitional protections (viz. Section 16(2)(c) of the ). [ [http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/1996/96cons2.htm#16 Documents - Constitution - 1996 - Chapter 2 - Bill of Rights ] ] On 29 March 2007, the Commission ruled that Kasrils had not engaged in hate speech, [ [http://www.sahrc.org.za/sahrc_cms/publish/article_247.shtml Media Releases 2007 ] ] and noted: "Mr Kasrils’ call for peaceful negotiations is not compatible with the interpretation that he is calling for the destruction of the state of Israel. Neither can his comments reasonably be associated with Holocaust denials." [ [http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302371&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/ Israel: not 'hate speech' but free speech : Mail & Guardian Online ] ]In May 2007, during a visit to the
Palestinian Territories , Kasrils met with PalestinianPrime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and invited him to make his first visit outside the Muslim world to South Africa. South Africa's Jewish Board of Deputies criticised the invitation, saying the "racist ideology" of Haniyeh'sHamas organisation, which led the Palestinian unity government at that time, stood in contrast to South Africa's own post-apartheid ideals. In response to criticism of the invitation Kasrils was quoted (Haaretz ,7 May 2007 ) as stating: "Those who myopically object to such invitations merely show that they have learnt nothing from South Africa's transition". [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/856650.html Jewish S. African minister slams critics of invitation to Hamas PM - Haaretz - Israel News ] ]Publications
Kasrils has written several books on
Bertrand Russell andpoetry as well as articles on politics, defence and water & forestry issues. His autobiography, "Armed and Dangerous", was first published in 1993 and updated and re-published in 1998 and 2004.Quotes by and about Kasrilis
* "Whatever the drawbacks and failures I am convinced that in years to come humanity will look back to Soviet achievements as a source of profound inspiration"
** R. Kasrilis, "Armed and Dangerous".External links
* [http://www.intelligence.gov.za/Biography.htm Biography at Ministry of Intelligence Services, Government of the Republic of South Africa]
Notes
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