Chairperson, I think it is important that we set the record straight in terms of what happened in the committee. It is quite disingenuous for the hon Dudley to come here and do exactly what we had called her to order for in the committee to the extent that she had written a letter apologising for her conduct.
However, we are really surprised to see the same conduct which was displayed in the committee again. Just to set the record straight, the committee was a multiparty delegation that firstly visited the Gaza Strip and other parts in order to listen to both sides of the story, understand the difficulties and the situation in the Middle East. That is the first thing we need to clarify.
When the delegation was going to Palestine to hear their side, members, such as the hon Dudley, pulled out and left the delegation with only the ANC representatives. It was not ordinarily an ANC delegation, but a multiparty one that felt that they wanted to go and hear the other side of the story and not leave the matter with a one-sided view.
That is why we are surprised when she stands here, because she only has a one-sided view, and even more surprised when she goes to the extent of putting forward a document that portrays the committee as being ill- informed. We had to call her to order and felt that we had passed that stage. When she formally apologised in writing to the committee, we thought that we had finished the story. We had dealt with the matter in terms of her position, the sponsors and the people who had written documents against the committee regarding the issues of the visit.
The committee had negotiated through a multiparty forum. The resolutions were circulated to everybody to find out whether all of us were happy with what was in the document. We have adopted those resolutions as a committee. Therefore, the hon Dudley must not take a party-political matter and make it a parliamentary matter. We are a multiparty forum; the committee operates in that fashion and we have agreed on the resolutions and adopted the report.
She had raised her objection and we had accepted that, but it is wrong for her to do exactly what she had done in the committee and we had requested her to apologise. She is bringing the committee's name into disrepute. We could have decided to lodge a formal complaint with the Speaker. However, in the spirit of co-operation in the committee, we decided that an apology would be suitable. Thank you very much, Chair. [Applause.]
Motion agreed to (African Christian Democratic Party dissenting).
Report accordingly adopted.