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IOL News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
South Africa's Ramaphosa prepares for crucial talks with Trump amid Afrikaner concerns
SA president Cyril Ramaphosa and his US counterpart Donald Trump are expected to discuss bilateral relationship during their meeting this week. Image: Picture: X AFRIKANERS who migrate to America as refugees under the pretext of escaping genocide in South Africa are less important on the agenda, which President Cyril Ramaphosa prepared for his meeting with his counterpart, Donald Trump, this week, although he expects this to be raised. Ramaphosa was mostly prepared to engage Trump on economic and trade issues, but was aware that the issue of his government taking the Israeli administration to the International Court of Justice might come up strongly during the discussions at the White House. Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president did not see the Afrikaner "refugee" matter as important, as it 'does not define US-South Africa relations.' Ramaphosa and some ministers will visit Washington, D.C. from Monday to Thursday to meet his counterpart, who on February 10 signed an Executive Order, which was seen to be threatening to cut ties with South Africa. This will be the first diplomatic face-to-face meeting since Trump was inaugurated in January. Trump alleged that Ramaphosa's government confiscates 'disfavored' citizens' property without compensation, subjecting Afrikaners to genocide and discriminatory transformation policies. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Magwenya said Ramaphosa would not be apologetic or back down on refuting the distortion of facts regarding the treatment of Afrikaners. 'The President will once again affirm the untruthful nature of so-called genocide claims. 'However, there are far more important issues that are central to the relationship between the two countries. 'For the president, this issue (of Afrikaners) is not a priority,' said Magwenya. He said Ramaphosa had articulated the country's position on the matter well enough and that his position 'will remain as firm as we have communicated it in the past.' 'The President will not accept a distorted view about the state of his own country,' said Magwenya. Trump also accused South Africa of taking a position against his country and its allies for taking legal actions against Israel, but 'not Hamas' for committing genocide, and also strengthening ties with Iran, which he accused of supporting terrorism globally. Magwenya admitted that the tension between the Israeli-Gaza issue 'remains a very difficult issue between South Africa and the US'. 'We will correct the impression that we have a relationship with Hamas, we don't, [as] there's also no evidence to the contrary. 'The President strongly condemned the October 7 (2023) attacks by Hamas and called for the return of all hostages, a permanent ceasefire, and the resumption of peaceful negotiations,' he said. He said the most important issue on Ramaphosa's agenda was the trade relationship. He said Ramaphosa would seek clarity on Trump's position on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which would expire in September and whose future under Trump was uncertain. 'From our side, the President would like to see both the extension of AGOA and South Africa's continued participation in the trade scheme, for the benefit of South Africa and that of the African continent. 'However, we are also ready to engage over a new, mutually beneficial trade framework that will be fair and prosperous for both countries,' said Magwenya. Cosatu wants Ramaphosa to come back home with a bag full of investment and job opportunities agreements. 'We would encourage President Ramaphosa to assure President Trump that there is no white genocide, land grabs, or discrimination, but there is crime, unemployment, and that affects everyone, especially Black people,' said the federation's parliament spokesperson, Matthew Parks. He called on Ramaphosa to assure Trump that South Africa belonged to all who lived in it and that Afrikaners were an integral part of the country. He said Trump should be told that crime in South Africa was affecting everyone irrespective of race. 'We would welcome US support for South African law enforcement to win the war against crime. 'We would welcome ways to increase trade and investment between both our countries in ways that create jobs for South African, African and American workers,' said Parks. The South African Communist Party had, on Workers Day earlier this month, accused Trump's administration of representing imperialism, which 'dictates to us or undermines our hard-won democratic sovereignty'. The party said on Friday that although the trip was not sanctioned by the tripartite alliance, Ramaphosa should protect South Africa's sovereignty 'without reservation, including the right to make its policy in line with its constitution and legal prescripts'. 'The South African delegation to Washington should emphasise the importance of the development of the global south as a shared objective among the people in this region of the world and as well as their right to self-determination. 'The South African government, therefore, cannot and would not act to promote the interests of forces whose interests are detrimental to the development and transformation of the country. 'The refugee programme of the US government induced by these forces is therefore based on a fallacy concocted by anti-transformation forces in South Africa intended finally to construct a racialised international solidarity for their benefit underpinned by white nationalism and white supremacy,' said SACP spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said South Africa should never stop engaging with anyone who tampers with its sovereignty. 'In particular, the notion circulating in the USA — that there is genocide and the killing of a particular racial group in our country — is a complete distortion and must be dispelled. 'This meeting comes amidst a wave of negative and distorted developments that we have all read about. 'It is worrisome that the President of the USA seems to believe those distortions,' said Mbalula.
IOL News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Afrikaners can now keep South African citizenship while living in America
The Constitutional Court judgment means that Afrikaners who will take the US refugee status offer would remain South Africans. Image: Independent Media Archives AFRIKANERS who will be leaving to take up new citizenship in America because of the South African government's transformation policies will leave with peace of mind knowing that they could still come back if they are not happy in their new home country, said political analyst Thobani Zikalala. This followed a Constitutional Court ruling on May 6 in favour of a Democratic Alliance (DA) application to protect people who are taking new citizenship in a foreign country from losing citizenship of their country of birth. 'This ruling means that people can now leave to get a passport of another country because they are gatvol with South Africa, but can return to be South Africans when convenient. 'This judgment says that those people who left South Africa to become citizens of other countries can now come back,' said Zikalala. He said the judgment was convenient for the DA because most white people who left the country before 1994 in fear of the black government, could now vote for the DA. International media had reported this week that US government officials had organised a media briefing to be held at the Dulles airport in Virginia on Monday to welcome 50 Afrikaners, which would be the first group to be granted US refugee status and citizenship. In March, it was reported that there were up to 70 000 Afrikaners who expressed interest in taking President Donald Trump's offer for them to move to his country. In his executive order, Trump alleged that the South African government had passed policies that would allow it to confiscate Afrikaners' private property and discriminate against them. He also accused South Africa of practising white genocide. The Constitutional Court ruling invalidated Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 (the Act) that said South Africans who would take the citizenship of another country would cease to be South African citizens. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'People who are outside of the country can now claim citizenship and vote in the South African elections. 'For me, this is something that we should be concerned about because the citizens of the country should be about loyalty, because if you go to another country and claim its citizenship, you should lose the citizenship of South Africa, the country with which you are not happy, because you chose to relinquish your citizenship.' He said his concern was that those who left the country to avoid being ruled by the black government but found the situation not conducive for them in a foreign land, would now come back to the country that they had not been loyal to. Zikalala said this judgment was coincidental with the Afrikaners leaving for America, but said it would work for them when they found that their stay outside the country was not working for them. 'White people have been leaving South Africa before, even before the idea of the American refugee status came up, people have been leaving South Africa for countries like New Zealand, Australia, since 1994. 'It is good for white people who will go to the US, although I don't think this is for the benefit of Afrikaners. But by way of coincidence, they will benefit because they will continue to run their businesses in South Africa not as foreigners but as citizens, as they will carry a passport of South Africa and a passport of whatever country, and in this case, the USA,' he said. The DA had launched an application on behalf of South Africans who, unbeknownst, lost their citizenship. It told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that the automatic loss of citizenship deprived the affected people of their citizenship rights enshrined in Section 20 of the Constitution of South Africa.
