South Africa’s government has said it hopes this working visit to the US will help “reset” relations with the Trump administration. Beyond that, it also wants to set the record straight on various issues raised by Trump as justification for worsening relations.
The Trump administration has made several unfounded allegations, including saying that white farmers are being killed in a “genocide” and alleging that their land is being stolen due to .
Afrikaner lobby groups such as Afriforum have actively engaged with Trump since his first presidency, lobbying for action against the South African government. However, even Afriforum was surprised by Trump’s decision to grant these groups refugee status.
Trump’s comments have caused a lot of concern in different sectors in South Africa and many South Africans want the government to set the record straight on these issues.
Last week, I attended South Africa’s largest agricultural expo, Nampo, and spoke to Dr. Theo de Jager, president of the Southern African Agri Alliance. He said while farm murder is a major concern, it cannot be equated to genocide as Trump has done.
“This is not a genocide. We know what a genocide is. We have seen it in Rwanda,” he said.
De Jager added that farm murder is a serious concern for the farming community, and they want Trump to push the South African government to act.
“We want the government to acknowledge that we have a problem, and when they acknowledge that, we want them to set up a special task team to plan with us to prevent this,” he said.
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