AfriForum, Solidarity hold White House discussions

South Africa has found itself in the White House's crosshairs, in part due to a recent land law.

Pretoria native Elon Musk, the world's richest man who's dominating Trump's inner circle, has lambasted "racist laws" and amplified conspiracy theories claiming -- without evidence -- that whites are being singled out for persecution.

South Africa's foreign policy has also pushed it away from Washington, as the country aligns with Russia and China and led the charges against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Trump recently claimed that South Africa was "confiscating" land through the Expropriation Act, a charge that the South African government has vehemently denied, describing it as misinformed.  

However, Trump has refused to back down, vowing to cut aid to South Africa and offering Afrikaners refugee status in the US, claiming that the law allows the government to seize land from white farmers. 

South Africa’s government has rejected this, calling it a misrepresentation.

In a statement following its visit to the White House, the Afrikaner rights groups urged the US not to punish South Africa as a whole for its diplomatic differences with the government but instead pressure ANC leaders to address the issues.

“We cannot allow that ordinary South Africans suffer even more as a result of the mistakes of the ANC,” the group said. 

“The Solidarity Movement’s task to act on behalf of ordinary South Africans is greatly impeded by the South African government’s persistent view that the diplomatic dispute is simply due to misunderstandings and that they do not plan any policy changes despite the multiple crises the ANC-led government policies have landed the country in.”

The delegation reported that feedback from senior US government leaders indicated that the diplomatic dispute with South Africa is much deeper than just communication issues or “disinformation,” as the South African government claims.

“The delegation of the Solidarity Movement also expressed its serious concerns about the consequences of the new Expropriation Act, racial laws, calls for violence against Afrikaners, and attacks on Afrikaans schools, such as the passing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA),” the movement’s Flip Buys stated.

“The delegation also emphasised that while they respect South Africa’s sovereignty, the government cannot hide behind it when the human rights of a minority group are being violated or threatened by laws like the BELA education legislation, discriminatory racial policies, or the Expropriation Act,” he added.

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