Shannon Ebrahim
Former Group Foreign Editor, Independent Media, and a senior manager at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Shannon Ebrahim | No compromise in supporting the Sahrawi, Palestine struggles
These struggles for self-determination have been fought for decades – Palestine for over 75 years, and Western Sahara since 1963, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
South Africa to prioritise the needs of the Global South
Through our participation in the G20 we seek to provide strategic direction in establishing a more equitable, representative, and ‘fit for purpose’ international order, in support of the main multilateral processes under the UN, the writer says.
War hysteria hyped up by the west rings hollow
OPINION: Russia’s main concern is NATO’s encroachment right up to its borders, and the prospect that it could one day be faced with NATO military bases in Ukraine, with missiles pointed in its direction. At the end of the day this is where Russia draws a line in the sand, and can we say we blame them? writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Qatar Gears Up for Soccer World Cup 2022
Qatar has started rolling events in the lead up to the Soccer World Cup 2022 in Doha which will start on November 18.
Forging a new axis to counter outside interference
OPINION: Emerging economies are now flexing their muscles as competing centres of power, and the rest of the world will have to make tough choices as to which axis they are allied with, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
The Folly of Forgetting
I dedicate my final column as Group Foreign Editor to my late husband Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, who passed away two months ago, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Russia’s right to secure borders
OPINION: Russia has plans for military collaboration with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and if the current trajectory of provocation continues, this could lead to a whole new era of heightened tension and potentially armed conflagration, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Frank Dutton’s monumental legacy
OPINION: Investigator Frank Dutton’s grit and simplicity were the hallmarks of his success, and his belief that no one is above the law ensured that all perpetrators were held to account, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Is Germany being hypocritical by prosecuting foreign war criminals?
OPINION: Germany may have issued an apology to the descendants of the Herero and Nama people of Namibia last year for the genocide its officials carried out, but it has failed to make appropriate amends from the perspective of the victim’s families, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Race to exploit oil reserves drives conflict in Congo
OPINION: As a result of four consecutive attacks in the Djugu area, 40 000 people were forced to take refuge in a refugee camp. It is the women and children who typically bear the brunt of the suffering, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
The real reasons why Kazakhstan exploded
OPINION: Kazakhstan’s elite keep most of their assets in the West, which is why Western states are not interested in the downfall of the government, or the fact that there is no legal political opposition in the country, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Gloomy global forecast for 2022
OPINION: As we start the new year, it is worth looking at WEF’s Global Risks Perception Survey for 2022, but the outlook is not one that bodes well for the developing world – it forecasts consistent volatility, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Russia prioritises strategic relations with Africa
OPINION: Russia has been open about its interests in Africa’s natural resources. For Africa, the eagerness of global powers like Russia to invest in Africa is in our interest in order to diversify our investors and strategic partners, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Foreign agendas at play in Ethiopian conflict
OPINION: Those financing and arming the TPLF rebels in their pursuit of retaking power may end up plunging Ethiopia into a civil war that will end in massive bloodshed and starvation, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Late former president FW De Klerk’s global stature eclipsed his role in apartheid era murders
Instead of owning up to his own culpability, as was expected of others who testified at the TRC, de Klerk declined to apply for amnesty, and distanced himself from the kill orders which were regularly handed down by the SSC, on which he sat, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Ethiopia standing at the precipice
OPINION: Ethiopians know the horrors of war, they have been through it many times before, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Only in Afghanistan do government workers get paid in wheat
Many countries are mired in poverty, but one is hard-pressed to think of a country that is at the precipice of such total collapse that it is forced to pay its government workers in wheat.
Climate negotiations still have a long way to go
The COP26 climate conference, one of the most important in history, is at a critical juncture after one week of negotiations. The rubber will really hit the road, politically, in the second week of the Glasgow COP, with ministers engaging directly in the final deal.
Standing on the shoulders of lawyers like Denis Kuny
OPINION: Denis Kuny was one of those quiet but extremely effective Struggle lawyers, who for over three decades took on political cases few others would, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Farewell to Denis Kuny, the people’s lawyer
During the dark decades of the apartheid state’s repression, Denis Kuny was the people’s lawyer, defending political detainees across the country under the most difficult circumstances.
The mixed legacy of Colin Powell
OPINION: While Powell’s reputation was irrevocably blemished by his willingness to be the public face, defending an unjust war that should have never have happened, he remained much loved by Americans, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Have we reached the climate apocalypse?
OPINION: Top environmental experts say we are in the final throes of life support for our planet, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
Americans bid farewell to Colin Powell
Former US Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Adviser Colin Powell has passed away of Covid-19 complications at the age of 84 despite being fully vaccinated.
Will the Taliban enforce Women’s Rights?
OPINION: The Taliban is working hard to propagate a new image that they have changed with the times, are more reasonable in their implementation of Islamic law, and are not to be feared, writes Shannon Ebrahim.
When will France move beyond its colonial narrative?
French President Emmanuel Macron’s supposed commitment to healing old wounds and forging better relations with Algeria is a ruse, writes Shannon Ebrahim.