US EMBASSY IN SOUTH AFRICA RE-OPENS FRIDAY

VOA
By Peter Clottey
25 September 2009

The youth wing of South Africa's ruling party has demanded a thorough investigation into threats against the U.S. Embassy ahead of Friday's re-opening.

The African National Congress Youth League said it places confidence in the cooperation of Pretoria and Washington to ascertain the perpetrators of the threat.

An undisclosed security threat led to the closing of U.S. government offices, including the embassy in South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a press briefing in Washington Tuesday that "credible" information had been received about a possible threat against the embassy.

Paseka Letsatsi is the spokesman for the ANC youth league. He tells reporter Peter Clottey that his group supports the outpouring of support for the embassy staff.

"The African National Congress Youth League will like to give the position on the process of investigating all the issues which happened in the U.S. embassies the right of government to investigate and find out the reasons why these issues happened," Letsatsi said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Mission expressed appreciation to the South African Government and in particular, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Division: Crime Intelligence, for outstanding cooperation and support.

The mission also thanked members of the South African public for their good wishes and support during the embassy's closure.

Letsatsi said the youth league is proud of the people's support for the American embassy.

"We do support the feeling of South Africans because we are convinced that South Africa remains a safe place for people to visit," Letsatsi said.

Map of Pretoria in S. Africa

He expressed confidence in the ongoing cooperation between Washington and Pretoria to ascertain the truth.

"We don't want to preempt what was the reason (but) we think that the South African government and the American government will together establish and ensure that what happened within this particular space of time (wont happened again)," he said.

Letsatsi said it is unlikely the threats that led to the closing of the embassy will undermine South Africa's huge tourism industry.