Cyril warned about ‘risky’ visit to USA

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to the US will be risky as he might be subjected to the same embarrassment Donald Trump unleashed against Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visited the White House.

This is the view of at least one international relations expert as Ramaphosa prepares to meet with Trump in Washington where he is expected to attempt to persuade the US leader that there was no Afrikaner genocide or persecution in South Africa.

Ramaphosa’s visit comes in the wake of a group of people thought to be Afrikaners flying to the US on Sunday in response to an executive order Trump signed in February, giving his administration the go ahead to admit Afrikaners from South Africa who applied to be resettled in the US because of this purported violence.

The group, who have been granted refugee status by the US government, has falsely claimed that they have been subjected to a barrage of violence in South Africa because of the colour of their skin, fueling already existing tensions between the two countries.

Dr Rich Mashimbye, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, University of Johannesburg, said Trump was fully aware there was no genocide or violence in the country.

“As a president of a country with one of the largest embassies that is fully staffed in South Africa, Trump has access to all the information he requires about South Africa's transformation project and he likely knows that the issues of land reform and crime dynamics are not as has been portrayed so far. He knows that there is no genocide happening, nor confiscation of white-owned farms in South Africa.

“It is likely that the diplomatic attacks directed at South Africa are aimed at discouraging the Ramaphosa government from robustly executing the transformation project. This would align with key Trump advisors like Elon Musk and David Sachs who have South African roots and are opposed to the transformation imperative in South Africa,” he said.

Another expert Dr Noluthando Phungula said she was confident the meeting would hold.

“The South African government reiterated its commitment to finding diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings or disputes. I am confident that the Trump administration is well aware of the actual status and stance of Afrikaner people in this country, which is largely privileged. As such, whether the administration can be convinced is neither here nor there.

"However, the message that there is no Afrikaner genocide must be clarified... whether the message is received is something else,” Phungula said.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the meeting with Trump was a necessary step towards mending relations with the US.

“The ANC supports the president of South Africa meeting with the president of the US. It would be the first time since the inauguration... they have been receiving reports and they have been talking on the phone…so we have confidence that the meeting is necessary,” Mbalula said.

Ramaphosa, on the government’s social media platform on Wednesday, said that those that had fled were not being persecuted but wanted to leave because they did not want to change in accordance with the constitution.

He said that the American government had the wrong end of the stick, however, they would continue to engage with them.

US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Tuesday released a statement saying the arrival of the group sent a clear message that the US would act to protect victims of racial discrimination.

“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity. In the coming months, we will continue to welcome more Afrikaner refugees and help them rebuild their lives in our great country,” Bruce said.

The standoff between the countries was sparked by white lobby groups AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement during their trip earlier this year where they claimed that minority groups were being targeted with the passing of the Expropriation bill into law.

The two organisations are now under investigation for alleged acts of treason, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told Parliament this week.

“The law enforcement agencies are investigating the treasonous act of misinformation… But we continue to make sure that the treasonous acts cannot be left unpunished,” Ntshavheni said during an oral question session in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

Cape Times