Tag: apology

Israel apologises for insulting Brazil

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin had to apologise on Monday to his Brazilian counterpart for a remark by a foreign ministry spokesperson calling the Latin American powerhouse a “diplomatic dwarf”.

The comment in July was made by spokesperson Yigal Palmor after Brazil criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as excessive and recalled its envoy in Tel Aviv.

In a phone call Monday, Rivlin assured Brazil President Dilma Rousseff that Palmor’s comments “do not correspond to the sentiments of the population” of Israel, Rousseff’s office said in a statement.

Rousseff had criticised Palmor’s remarks, saying “Words, including the spokesperson’s, sometimes create a very bad climate. In this case, we have to be very careful.”

Israel and Hamas Monday started a new 72-hour ceasefire, as negotiators in Egypt worked to seek a permanent end to hostilities.

Rousseff “expressed hope for the continuation of the ceasefire and the current negotiations,” the statement said.

Source: AFP

Xingwana ‘apologises unconditionally’ to Afrikaner men

Minister Lulu Xingwana

Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana on Wednesday apologised for her comments about Afrikaner men.

“It has become clear to me that my comments may have offended some members of our community. I would, accordingly, like to retract these remarks and apologise unconditionally to them,” she said.

Xingwana told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that young Afrikaner men were raised to believe they owned women and children.

“Young Afrikaner men are brought up in the Calvinist religion believing that they own a woman, they own a child, they own everything and therefore they can take that life because they own it,” she said during the interview aired on Monday.

“We also have cultural differences as well in our own communities where we have women who are forced into marriage and we are dealing with all those issues.”

Xingwana was being interviewed following the arrest of paralympian Oscar Pistorius after the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14.

“Through my comments, I sought to convey the message that, as a country we have emerged from a very violent past and that some tend to use cultural and religious beliefs to justify gender inequality and abuse,” she said.

Earlier, the Afrikanerbond said Xingwana had proven beyond doubt she was not fit to hold office in a constitutional democracy.

The Christian Democratic Party called for President Jacob Zuma to fire her.

“Many non-Afrikaners, black and white, are members of Calvinist churches and her latest statement could be considered as religious intolerance,” party spokesman Rev Theunis Botha said.