American citizens need to recognize how freedom of speech and journalism are being silenced, Nkosi Mandela urges
Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, has condemned the growing hypocrisy in the US towards freedom of speech in an exclusive interview with RT.
“The rhetoric that is coming from the US is the same that we have been witnessing in occupied Palestine with Al Jazeera having been banned and kicked out of occupied Palestine by the Zionist entity,” Mandela stated. “You today are witnessing the same hypocrisy in the US where RT is being subjected to the same banning that Al Jazeera has witnessed.”
The US Treasury announced a new round of sanctions on Wednesday targeting Russian media figures, including RT executives, saying that it was acting to counter “malign influence operations” conducted on American soil ahead of the November presidential election.
The Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against two Russian citizens for violating the 1939 Foreign Agents Registration Act, alleging that they were producing English-language content and disseminating it to American audiences on behalf of the Russian government.
Mandela stressed that US citizens need to recognize how freedom of speech and journalism are being silenced. “It cannot be accepted that in the free world, as it were, you have such oppression,” he urged.
Zolani Mkiva, secretary general of the South African Congress of Traditional Leaders, has also criticized the US for its accusations that Russia interfered in US elections. In an interview with RT, Mkiva called the allegations “ridiculous.”
“It’s very interesting that a country [the US] that has positioned itself as the ultimate representative of democracy in the universe would think that its own processes could easily be interfered with or hacked by countries that it sees as secondary countries,” Mkiva stated. He expressed disbelief at the idea that Russia would have any incentive to interfere in US elections.
“Russia as we know it and as we’ve always known it is a country that has a huge respect for the sovereignty of the nations of the world,” he added.
Mkiva suggested that these allegations are tied to concerns over the potential election of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who has indicated his intention to repair relations between the US and Russia.
“If Trump wins … they will be back on the talking table, they will be able to tackle some of the global challenges,” the South African politician concluded.
