DIRCO conveys disapproval to Moroccan govt for receiving MK Party's Zuma with SA national symbols

CAPE TOWN - The Department of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO) said it has conveyed first-hand to the Moroccan government its disapproval of having received former President Jacob Zuma in Rabat against a backdrop of South African national symbols.

Zuma travelled to the country in July and extended his MK Party's support for Morocco’s ongoing occupation of Western Sahara, which flies in the face of government’s official position.

The department said on Wednesday that the manner in which Zuma was received appeared to give the impression that it was a state-endorsed visit.

The former president's visit to Morocco in July irked government and the African National Congress (ANC), which labelled him a sell-out for flip-flopping on South Africa’s official position - that Western Sahara should be an independent state.

The department said that while it respected Morocco’s right to invite and receive guests, it strongly protested against the use of South African national symbols for a meeting with an opposition party leader who is a non-state actor.

Spokesperson Chrispin Phiri: "This characterisation is inconsistent with established diplomatic protocol as the participants did not represent the official positions, or engagements of the South African state."

Phiri said that government’s position had been conveyed to the Moroccan foreign affairs minister, Nasser Bourita, with whom Zuma also met.