South Africa’s new ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, has dismissed President Donald Trump’s comments that white Afrikaners are facing genocide in South Africa.
Meyer, an Afrikaner himself, said there was no evidence of a campaign against the white minority in South Africa. ‘Is he talking about us?’ Meyer said recalling his first reaction when he heard Mr Trump make the comments.
The ambassador accused the former president of misrepresenting the situation in South Africa and questioned where the information came from. Meyer was one of the negotiators during the transition to democracy in the 1990s and took up his post in April, after tensions between the US and South Africa increased.
Trump had often spoken out about the perceived threat to white South Africans, and his administration created a special visa category for Afrikaners to enter the US as refugees. Almost 13,000 people have taken up the offer, with just three from anywhere other than South Africa.
Among those supporting the Trump programme, some said they had been the victims of attacks and were worried about their safety. Lielie, who moved to Texas with her family, said she had suffered repeated security scares at the farm where they live in South Africa.
Freedom Front Plus council member, SJ Du Venage, accused the government of waging a political campaign against whites and farmers. The Trump administration plans to take in a further 17,500 white Afrikaners as refugees within the next 12 months.
The South African government has denied any genocide of the white population.
