QUOTE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO: 1345 (NW1491E)
PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO X OF APRIL 2011
Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of International Relations and
Cooperation:
(1) Whether she has been informed of the four South Africans that have
been arrested in Zimbabwe; if not, what is the position in this
regard; if so,
(2) whether her department is communicating with the specified persons;
if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether her department is currently offering them any assistance; if
not, why not; if so, what is the nature of the assistance;
(4) whether her department will intervene to resolve the matter with the
Zimbabwean authorities; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the
relevant details and (b) by when does she expect the matter to have
been resolved? NW1491E
REPLY:
1) Yes
2) Yes
3) The Department of International Relations and Cooperation renders
consular assistance to South African citizens arrested abroad in terms
of its mandate arising from the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations (VCCR), 1963 in particular Article 36.
4) No, Government does not intervene in the judicial processes of
sovereign states. The four South Africans are scheduled to appear
before court on 20 June 2011. They have legal representation in
Zimbabwe.
UNQUOTE