South Africa urges halt to Israeli settlements as Abbas visits

[Jefferson23]

PRETORIA (AFP) -- Israel's settlements policy is "undermining" prospects for a two state solution, South African President Jacob Zuma said Wednesday as he welcomed President Mahmoud Abbas on a state visit.

"We reiterate our call for the total cessation of all settlement activities," Zuma told a joint news conference with Abbas.

South Africa was ready to assist with negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and had appointed two special envoys for the task, Zuma added.

Abbas said the Palestinians sought to benefit from South Africa's "successful experiences" in building an independent state.

"We are the last nation in the world that is still living under occupation," he said.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=742959

[oberliner]

1. "We are the last nation in the world that is still living under occupation..."

Tibet? Chechnya? Cyprus? Crimea?

[Scootaloo]

2. While that statement is incorrect, so are you

1) Tibet is not occupied, at least in the legal sense of the word. The Dalai Lama - the ruler of Tibet - signed a treaty with the People's Republic of china that ended Tibet's short run as an independent Kingdom. This treaty promised some autonomy for the province in exchange for it being "returned" to rule from Beijing. The Dalai lama then fled and repudiated the treaty, but... that doesn't actually change anything. Tibet was only occupied for a few months, then became legally part of China

2) Chechnya is not an occupied nation, but is a breakaway province of Russia.

3) Cyprus and Ukraine are indeed occupied, but partially; Cypriots and Ukrainians have portions of their nations where there is no level of control by Russia or Turkey. I believe the statement made refers to a full occupation, where the whole of one nation is controlled by another nation. So legally yes, these portions of Cyprus and Ukraine are occupied territory, but the nations as a whole retain independence.

However, the statement is wrong - there is another fully occupied state out there - Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, AKA western Sahara. it's been occupied by Morocco since 1975 - with a few weeks of occupation by Mauritania, and following the occupation by Spain.