Image depicts an 1892 editorial cartoon by Edward Linley Sambourne for Punch magazine
By Iqbal Jassat
Is Tony Blair the Cecil Rhodes of Palestine?
The notion of British imperialist and war-monger Tony Blair being imposed as governor of Gaza, is as repulsive as the colonial-era of white supremacists dictating and controlling the lives of indigenous natives.
In South Africa we recall the disgust University of Cape Town (UCT) students held against Cecil Rhodes and who led the campaign to topple his statue that used to sit, head in hand, looking out over the UCT’s rugby grounds.
They viewed it as a “symbol of white supremacy” that offended their sensibilities, and wanted it removed. And it was removed.
Resistance against the glorification of a British colonial symbol at UCT, was justified and necessary.
So too was the argument: “As black students we are disgusted by the fact that this statue still stands here today as it is a symbol of white supremacy.”
Baffour Ankomah, a renowned African journalist, captured the sentiments described above and recorded that the feeling was universal across Africa.
He quoted Xolela Mangcu, a biographer of Steve Biko, who described Rhodes as one of the worst colonisers both in word and deed.
“His legacy speaks for itself. He laid the template through the native reserves, the pass laws, and saying extremely racist things. For his statue to have pride of place is anachronistic.”
Though there’s a span of 135 years between 1890 when Rhodes was imposed as governor and 2025, earmarked by the Trump administration to install Blair as governor of Gaza, the colonial template is much the same.
The policy of enforced racial segregation in South Africa commenced under Rhodes as Ankomah pointed out. “In other words he (Rhodes) started what became the obnoxious apartheid regime in that corner of Africa”.
Equally loathed across the Arabian Peninsula and the Muslim world from Cape to Cairo is Tony Blair.
He is the man who killed a million Iraqis on the basis of lies about weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Having looted hundreds of millions of pounds via his “Tony Blair Institute” by exploiting Arab despots under the guise of “services and public relations”, he has drawn up the “Gaza Riviera” plans for US president Donald Trump as well as the extremely contentious Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) plan.
Under this plan Blair is earmarked to be the governor of Gaza serving as the “supreme political and legal authority” of the territory which could last for five years or more in power.
In a post on X, Palestinian activist Nour Odeh warned that Blair “being recycled and repackaged to be part of the post-genocide picture in Gaza speaks volumes about what is at play”, in reference to a series of Western-led “post-war plans for Gaza” which have so far failed to significantly involve Palestinians and have triggered concerns over their future in their homeland.
Expressing his outrage, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said: “War criminals are proposing a war criminal a head (sic) of… Gaza. It would be precious comedy if it were not so tragic”.
Also historian William Dalrymple said sarcastically: “Given Blair’s superb record in the Middle East, what could possibly go wrong?”
In his sentiments, author and human rights activist Craig Murray didn’t hold back his disgust: “In any reasonable world this would be impossible. The degeneration of western society is profound. There are no ethics in play beyond the dominance of power, wealth and greed. Blair manages to embody these in one person”.
It is not surprising that there is and will be more outrage that one of the architects of the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq, could lead an externally imposed dictatorship in Gaza.
Though the South African government has yet to make known its views, it is hoped that President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress (ANC) will denounce the colonial undertones of the GITA plan.
To ignore it or be coerced to accept it, would be tantamount to giving approval to Israel’s horrific genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa