Address by the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe at the dinner hosted by His Excellency Ambassador Pekane, Warsaw, Poland
Programme Director, Ambassador Dr Ted Pekana;
Your Excellency, Mr Katarzyna Kacperszyk, Deputy Minister of Poland;
Your Excellency, Mr John Godson;
Your Excellency, Mr Celestine Migliore, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps;
Your Excellency, Mr Cseslaw Fiedler, South African Honourary Consul;
Your Excellency Mr Slawomir Majman, President of PAILIZ;
Diplomatic Corps;
Business Executives and Investors;
Ladies and gentlemen:
As I stand before this esteemed audience in a city that has risen from the ashes of war and oppression, and grown to prosperity, I am reminded of our late President Nelson Mandela's words: "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Today, I felt this respect from our hosts, who have not only welcomed us but shown us that they want to enhance the freedom of others, as they enjoy their own freedom.
The solidarity that the people of Poland have had with South Africa has helped us to reach our goals and we can proudly say that, with the support and help of the international community, we celebrate 20 years of democracy and freedom from oppression.
It is sad that our great leader, Nelson Mandela, is not with us to commemorate a milestone that he, together with so many others, carried us to.
I would like to thank the Polish people for their outpouring of support to our nation as we grieved and laid to rest a true international icon. On that day, we stood together, not just as South Africans, but as a unified international family, in song and praise and celebration of a hero.
This is the South Africa we bring to you today as we visit this beautiful country. We carry with us the strength and legacy of Madiba, as Nelson Mandela was affectionately known, with our hearts wide open to Poland and its people.
South Africa abandoned its shameful past and steadily moved towards building a new culture based on respect for human rights and dignity. All the positive developments of the past 20 years gave rise to a rebirth of our country's foreign policy.
Once we gained freedom in 1994, we sought to reposition and project South Africa positively within the international community after years of isolation. We knew that we needed to establish an all-embracing and inclusive identity for our people who had been divided for so long. That identity needed to resonate with the world around us, especially our neighbours.
The renaissance of our foreign policy was built on the principles of human rights; the promotion of democracy world-wide; a belief in the rule of international law and the attainment of international peace.
It also needed to be a foreign policy that identified with and reflected on the interests of our continent as a whole and ingrained in that, was and remains the belief that South Africa's economic development depends on the development of our region and on strong international co-operation.
Ladies and gentlemen;
Few people know that the relationship between South Africa and Poland dates back to World War 2 when South African pilots played an important role in delivering supplies to Polish citizens during the Warsaw uprising in mid-1944.
On Sunday I will lay a wreath at the Michalin Memorial to pay homage to the memory those pilots. Our visit will be reminder of the hundreds of Polish Orphans who came to South Africa during World War 2, followed by many demobilised soldiers and their families.
They formed the first Polish community in South Africa. Years later, as refugees from their home country several other Polish citizens came to South Africa after fleeing martial law as a result of their activism in the solidarity movement. The South African Polish community is now 30,000 strong and they are playing an imperative role in society as proud South Africans.
This is demonstrative of our shared experiences of transition to democracy and shared values of freedom, human rights, and democracy. The leaders of our two countries' democratic struggles, the late former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa have been acknowledged for their sterling contribution in this regard.
These shared values and experiences hold out the real prospects of strengthening bonds of friendship and complementarity between our two emerging economies.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to continued strengthening of relations between our two nations. Similarly, I am confident that our two nations will continue to pursue the ideals of a truly free, equal, just and prosperous world where all humanity enjoy the fruits of the earth.
I thank you.
