With Ed Fagan's lawsuit against certain Swiss and US banks for compensation for the victims of apartheid now a reality, is it not time for similar legal action against the French, German, Italian, British and Israeli firms that provided SA with the technology and expertise to develop the weapons industry?

And, secondly, isn't it time for similar action against the countries where the firms were based? They provided assistance, financially and otherwise, in addition to turning a blind eye to the arming of the apartheid state.

Should the Kurdish people, in light of their continued oppression by Iraq and Turkey with weapons supplied by the US and the West, not be encouraged to file suits against their home countries and those who armed them?

With acknowledgements to Ntsimane Ndekera and Sunday Times.