ANC justifies deployment of army during national shutdown
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the ANC government could not afford to stand by and watch as potential anarchy unfolds.
He's defended the decision to deploy some 3 400 army personnel during Monday's EFF-led shutdown.
The protests were largely peaceful, with no major incidents reported.
"To protect the country and to maintain the rule of law and defend an ailing economy cannot be excessive. We are still reeling from the impact of that disaster of last year in the name of what? Anarchy and chaos? No. The army deployment was justifiable," Mbalula said.
READ: EFF lauds supporters' behaviour during 'national shutdown'
On Russia, Mbalula says the ANC government will, for now, not disclose whether or not it will arrest Vladimir Putin, who's expected to attend the BRICS summit here later in the year.
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest for the Russian president, saying he's committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Mbalula said while they are not commenting on the matter, they won't be strong-armed by any country.
"You know that certain economies and countries must be bullied economically by the powers that be. We have been fighting that right from our inception. Our government is engaging with the US and we will encourage those engagements to continue."
ALSO READ: EFF demands ‘immediate release’ of supporters arrested during ‘shutdown’
Seven years ago, South Africa, which is a signatory to the ICC, failed to execute an arrest against former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir when he was in the country for an AU summit.
Government ignored a high court order preventing him from leaving the country and instead cleared the way for his flight to leave.
