South Africa: Pomp, Pageantry and Protests As Brics Summit Begins

GovernmentZA / Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
From left: Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Cyril Ramaphosa hosts, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Johannesburg, August 22, 2023.
22 August 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Leila Dougan

Delegates from across the globe arrived for the 15th BRICS Summit, taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August. As planes touched down, officials were met with flags, music and traditional performances.

More than 40 heads of state and delegates from around the world will engage in talks at the Sandton Convention Centre. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have significant global importance due to their collective economic strength, population size, and emerging market potential.

The missing head of state is of course Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia will be represented by its minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov. Putin will take part in talks via video link, unwilling to risk attending in person after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him and Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova on 7 March, following an investigation into war crimes committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The people in blue (and brown) are out in full force. On Monday, in the lead-up to the event, Police Minister Bheki Cele addressed hundreds of law enforcement officers. He said the security contingent would make the lives of criminals "very difficult". Sandton will no doubt be the safest area of Johannesburg this week while the rest of the city will be forced to contend with the gap in policing.

Our protest today with @AmnestySAfrica and the @HelenSuzmanFdn...

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