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Zuma cancels state visit to RI due to unrest
South African President Jacob Zuma announced on Saturday that he had canceled his state visit to Indonesia, where he had been scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo and attend the Asian-African Commemoration Conference (AACC)
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outh African President Jacob Zuma announced on Saturday that he had canceled his state visit to Indonesia, where he had been scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and attend the Asian-African Commemoration Conference (AACC).
The cancelation was made amid ongoing xenophobic violence that has continued to spread across South Africa's financial center, Johannesburg.
'President Zuma has canceled his visit to attend to matters at home relating to the attacks on foreign nationals,' a statement released by South Africa's presidential office read.
Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa would replace the president in Indonesia, it added.
Zuma was due to arrive in Jakarta on Sunday afternoon and give a lecture themed 'South Africa-Indonesia Relations: Lessons from the 1955 Bandung Conference' at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java, on Monday.
It is not yet known whether Ramaphosa will also replace Zuma in the lecture and if the vice president will be received in a state ceremony by President Jokowi.
Zuma was initially set to be the only state leader to be received in a state ceremony at the State Palace on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Zuma visited displaced foreign nationals in Durban, according to the statement.
He once again expresses his condemnation of the attacks on foreign nationals and has urged the police to continue working round the clock to protect communities and bring perpetrators to book.
'We reiterate our message that there can be no justification for the attacks on foreign nationals. These attacks go against everything we believe in. The majority of South Africans love peace and good relations with their brothers and sisters on the continent. We will engage stakeholders next week as we need all leaders to work together to bring the situation to normality,'' said the president.(+++)
