THE Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) wants BRICS nations to boycott the upcoming summit because Russian President Vladimir Putin is not coming.
On Friday, 4 August, the party said this would send a message to the South African government.
EFF said the government took an “irrational" decision to block Putin from attending the 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit.
The summit takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joburg from 22 to 24 August.
The EFF said President Cyril Ramaphosa buckled under pressure from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin if he came to Mzansi.
Party spokeswoman Leigh-Ann Mathys said the EFF has formally written to the heads of state of the BRICS nations through their embassies and associated political parties to boycott the meeting.
“The communication urges BRICS leaders to consider a boycott of the summit, particularly in response to the South African government's decision to effectively block Russia's President Vladimir Putin from attending, under irrational pressure and bullying by the International Criminal Court (ICC),” she said.
She said in the letters they emphasised the importance of solidarity among BRICS nations and cautioned against succumbing to neo-colonial pressures from the West.
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Ramaphosa announced on 19 July that Putin was no longer attending the summit.
He said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would represent Russia.
On 21 July, the Pretoria High Court issued an order for cooperation with the ICC after the South African government agreed to arrest Putin if he came to Mzansi.
Mathys said communication is a call to action, urging the BRICS nations to uphold the principles of mutual respect, understanding, cooperation, and non-interference.
She said the matter is important because it is not limited to the integrity and unity of the BRICS organisation, but the future direction of global politics and economics.
"The absence of any member, particularly due to political manoeuvring, threatens the unity, strength, and future influence of BRICS on the global stage. The EFF requests for the BRICS leaders to stand together against external pressures and to consider the implications of their attendance or non-attendance at the summit," Mathys added.
