Hon Speaker, hon members, the government of South Africa has said repeatedly that hostilities in Libya need to end, including the bombing by Nato. President Zuma made this point very clearly in his engagements with Prime Minister Cameron of Britain, who recently visited our country, to President Medvedev of Russia, as well as to the Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, when he attended a special meeting in Russia recently.
The President as well as the Minister and Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation have consistently spoken out against Nato's violation of the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 in seeking regime change and against the resultant loss of civilian lives as it continues its bombing campaign of Tripoli.
The South African government has been clear in all engagements on the matter of Libya that it is against regime change and will continue to raise this issue in an attempt to prevent further loss of civilian lives and in seeking the adoption and implementation of the African Union roadmap by all parties involved in the Libyan conflict. Hon member, the AU has made it very clear that the Libyan people must determine their own future through an inclusive process that will ensure a full democratisation of all political institutions. This will allow for macroeconomic recovery and the restoration of normality in Libyan society.
As hon Meshoe is aware, it is our collective view as leaders in Africa that no illegal removal of a government can be justified, not least through violent means. I thank you.