Cape Town - Calls for solidarity, peace, justice and democracy are increasing in the Western Cape amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the dean of St George’s Cathedral, Reverend Michael Weeder, Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba and members of the church held a silent protest on the steps of the cathedral against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Makgoba called on the government to "condemn unequivocally" the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it was a "flagrant breach" of Article 2.4 of the UN Charter.
"After all the support the United Nations gave us in the Struggle against apartheid, it is unthinkable that we should approve such a flagrant violation of a central tenet of the UN Charter," Makgoba said.
He said he was pleased that the government has demonstrated its adherence to the charter and to international law by calling on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine immediately.
"While we can all agree with President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister Naledi Pandor and the ANC that the conflict should have been averted by negotiation, that is no excuse for Russia's flagrant act of aggression," he said.
The protest happened after students from Stellenbosch University and UCT held a march for solidarity with students from Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday evening.
The march took place in Victoria Street, Stellenbosch, with a candle-lit demonstration held on the Rooiplein.
A joint statement issued by students, stated that the purpose was to draw urgent attention to the atrocities of war and served as a call, made in the name of today’s youth, for all aggressive combatants to pull back their forces and cease the onslaught.
Kristina Oliinyk, 31, who was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has been living in Vredehoek, Cape Town for the past seven years, said she was woken up at 4am by a distressing phone call from her mother last Thursday, as Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia announced the military operation.
Oliinyk said she turned on the TV, and watched the news in horror with concerned individuals around the world. “I was heartbroken and felt so helpless,” she said.
She added: "This war is not only against Ukraine but against democracy and democratic values of the independent country which has its own traditions, language and borders, which was fighting for their rights to exist for generations."
She said they could not just sit and watch while a catastrophe of that scale was happening in 2022. The only hope was for the world to hear them.
sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za