Latest news with #white
IOL News
an hour ago
- Politics
- IOL News
More Afrikaners leave for the US
US President Donald Trump. Image: AFP US president Donald Trump was aware there was no white genocide in South Africa but wanted to use the claim to get his way. This was the view of International relations expert Rich Mashimbye who asserted that even if Trump was advised otherwise, it would not make a difference. This comes as Mark Burns, a close ally of Trump, returned from a visit to South Africa with a message contradicting claims of genocide against white farmers in the country. Burns, who is the founder and CEO of the NOW television network, met with white Afrikaner farmers and business owners during his trip and concluded that there was no evidence to support the claims of genocide. It also comes as a second, small batch of white Afrikaners quietly arrived in the US on Friday as part of Trump's offer to resettle them amidst false claims of white genocide and persecution in South Africa. While spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation Chrispin Phiri said they are not aware of the second batch of Afrikaners landing in the US, trade union Solidarity said the group, smaller than the first to arrive in the US, included children. Last month the first group of more than 49 white South African Afrikaners landed in the US after a private plane was chartered for them. Trump in February had issued an executive order where Washington cited the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 as one that enables the persecution of Afrikaners. Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said the second group departed on a commercial flight on Thursday that landed in Atlanta in the US on Friday. 'Several more groups will fly to the USA over the next few weeks. 'The US Embassy in Pretoria, in collaboration with the State Department in Washington DC, is currently processing 8000 applications, and we expect many more Afrikaner refugees to travel to the USA over the next few months. "They are settling in states across the USA, but particularly southern states such as Texas, North and South Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska,' Kleynhans said. President Cyril Ramaphosa had attempted to fend off false claims of white genocide in South Africa when Trump ambushed him with videos and articles to prove his narrative that white farmers were being targeted for their land. The unexpected stunt turned the usually staid diplomatic setting of the Oval Office into a stage for Trump's contention that white South Africans are being persecuted. Reports indicate that the US embassy in South Africa is aware that 'refugees continue to arrive in the US from South Africa on commercial flights as part of the Afrikaner resettlement programme's ongoing operations'. Solidarity said it has helped some people understand the application process better and referred them to the right people at the US embassy. They have also assisted the US government in determining the criteria for Afrikaner refugee status. Kleynhans said he was campaigning in at least ten countries to increase international pressure on the SA government in the run-up to the G20 summit. Kallie Kriel, AfriForum's CEO, said he did not know the Afrikaners who were leaving because they applied directly to the US embassy. According to Mashimbye, for a while, the SA-US diplomatic tensions centred around the Trump-led government's accusations that the Ramaphosa government was persecuting white South Africans and confiscating land from Afrikaner farmers while remaining silent. He said it did not matter what people said because Trump was aware there was no white genocide in South Africa but wanted to use the claim to get his way. 'As president of a country with one 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,' he said. Political analyst Sandile Swana said Burns' public statements were encouraging and showed that not everyone in Trump's camp agreed with him. 'To me they represent signs from the Trump's camp… that they have to tell a different story, which they are now doing…and a different story they are now telling is that whatever crime that is happening, is not a genocide but just crime that needs to be attended to." Cape Times
IOL News
20 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Trump allies' fact finding mission on white farmers and genocide may not change US President's mind
US President Donald Trump's narrative on white farmers received a backlash from his ally, Pastor Mark Burns (right). Image: X Mark Burns, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has returned from a visit to South Africa with a message contradicting claims of genocide against white farmers in the country. However experts believe that Trump always knew that there was no white genocide in the country and even if Burns advises the US President otherwise, this will not make a difference. Burns, who is the founder and CEO of the NOW television network, met with white Afrikaner farmers and business owners during his trip and concluded that there is no evidence to support the claims of genocide. According to Burns, the farmers he met were shocked to discover that such claims were being made. "You were able to hear their perspectives. "From their point of view, being white Afrikaners, there is absolutely no genocide or white genocide in South Africa," Burns said. He added that the farmers were more concerned about crime and safety, rather than genocide. Burns cited statistics provided by a white farmer, which showed that out of 5,200 murders in the last reporting quarter, only 12 were related to farmers, and only three of those were white. 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 ✕ Ad Loading "You clearly see that based on those statistics, and this was given to me by a farmer, a white farmer, and that to me speaks extreme volumes," he said. Despite the controversy, Burns is optimistic about the future of US-South Africa relations. He believes that a stronger South Africa is a stronger America, and vice versa. "If we are going to continue to make America great, partnering with South Africa is one of the components to do it," he said. Burns The question remains whether Burns' claims will change Trump's "belief" that there is a white genocide in South Africa. International relations expert Rich Mashimbye said for a while, the SA-US diplomatic tensions centred around the Trump-led government's accusations that the Ramaphosa government, was persecuting white South Africans and confiscating land from Afrikaner farmers while remaining silent. He said it did not matter what people said because Trump was aware there was no white genocide in South Africa but wanted to use the claim to get his way. 'As president of a country with one 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,' he said. Political analyst Sandile Swana said Burns' public statements were encouraging and showed that not everyone in Trump's camp agreed with him. 'To me they represent signs from the Trump's they have to tell a different story, which they are now doing…and a different story they are now telling is that whatever crime that is happening, is not a genocide but just crime that needs to be attended to." "There are about 600 American companies in South Africa such as Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, the Ford Motor Company and so on, so quite clearly the sources of information they have used (for the genocide claims) were not genuine. He said the country should welcome the efforts of Burns and hope that his camp will start to change their narrative to a much more sensible one.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Supreme Court allows Trump to begin removing 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration's request to categorically revoke humanitarian parole for more than 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and order them out of the country. The court did not explain its order staying a lower court decision that temporarily blocked the administration's abrupt policy change. In March, the Department of Homeland Security revoked protections for migrants from five countries issued by the Biden administration. The agency gave them 30 days notice to leave the country unless they had legal protection under another program. MORE: What the Constitution, Supreme Court say about 'due process' for Trump deportees: ANALYSIS A number of migrants and immigrant advocacy groups sued over the move, alleging that federal law did not give DHS Secretary Kristi Noem discretion to categorically eliminate humanitarian protections -- only to do so on a case-by-case basis. A federal district court agreed. The high court's decision means the Trump administration can move forward with it's policy change even as the litigation continues in lower courts on the merits. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. Jackson, writing in opposition, accused the court's majority of callously "undervalu[ing] the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending. "Even if the Government is likely to win on the merits, in our legal system, success takes time," Jackson wrote, "and the stay standards require more than anticipated victory. I would have denied the Government's application because its harm-related showing is patently insufficient." Earlier this month, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to terminate "Temporary Protected Status" for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans who were protected from deportation and allowed to work in the United States. MORE: Supreme Court allows White House to end protections for 350K Venezuelans for now While the administration's moved to restrict immigration and turn away refugees from countries like Afghanistan and Haiti, it recently accepted white South African refugees -- prompting criticism. The administration's falsely claimed a genocide is taking place against white Afrikaner farmers, which South Africa's president pushed back on during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Supreme Court allows Trump to begin removing 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela originally appeared on
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Welcome to the high treason club
Journalist Karin Mitchell has authored The High Treason Club, which delves into the Boeremag trial of a fanatical group driven by nationalism, racism, militancy and fear. After a cross-country manhunt, 23 men were arrested and charged with high treason after the police seized explosives, homemade pipe bombs, weapons and ammunition in arms caches all over the country. On the night of 30 October 2002, eight bomb blasts tore through Soweto, leaving one woman dead and damaging vital infrastructure. The bombs were the work of far-right white Afrikaner separatist group the Boeremag, whose stated aim was to overthrow the ruling ANC government, rid the country of black people and reinstate a new Boer-administered republic. This is an edited extract of The High Treason Club published by Penguin Random House at a suggested retail price of R340. Mitchell also covered the Marikana Massacre, the Oscar Pistorius trial and other significant political events. She has been writing full time since 2016. In what became the longest and most expensive trial in the country's history, told in reporter Karin Mitchell's book The High Treason Club, the public learned of a fanatical group driven by nationalism, racism, militancy and fear. Treason It was 19 May 2003, the first day of the Boeremag treason trial. The early days of the trial were held in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria, ironically in the same courtroom where Nelson Mandela was sentenced in the pivotal Rivonia treason trial in 1964. At that time, capital punishment was in effect, and it was almost certain that Mandela and his co-accused would be executed in the Pretoria gallows if they were found guilty of some of the 200-odd charges against them. Almost 40 years later, the Boeremag accused sat squashed against each other in the same dock where Mandela delivered his famous speech in which, fully aware that he could be sentenced to death, he vowed he was prepared to die for the liberation of black people. The court found Mandela guilty on four charges relating to sabotage against the state. He was not sentenced to death, as had been widely expected, but was instead sentenced to life in prison. He spent many of the next 27 years excavating rock in the dusty white quarries on Robben Island, within sight of Cape Town and the South African mainland. Four decades after Rivonia, the trial of the Boeremag became the first high treason case to be heard in democratic South Africa. After some months, the trial was relocated and the remaining twenty-two accused lined the weighty double-rowed dock in a larger courtroom at the North Gauteng High Court, just across the road from the Palace of Justice. It was here that I first encountered the Boeremag eight years later, in May 2011, as a fledgling journalist for Jacaranda FM. Time drags in court, and on days when it felt particularly stagnant, I would observe each of the men. They'd already spent close to ten years in this courtroom, and over time I became aware of some of their habits to overcome the boredom. Some of them read outdoor magazines or a newspaper would get passed along the line until the pages became worn. Others wrote in notebooks or sketched on pieces of paper. I was often the only journalist in court for weeks on end during the period that I covered the trial. Taking advantage of the empty public gallery, I would sit at the end of the front row where it was easier to hear proceedings in the cavernous space. I had been reporting on the trial for over a year when, on 26 July 2012, in an unusually packed courtroom, Mike du Toit became the first of the Boeremag accused to be found guilty of high treason. Since there were more than twenty accused in the trial, the judgment proceedings spanned several days. The following day, his brother, André Tibert du Toit, was also found guilty. On that day, after Judge Eben Jordaan had left the courtroom, I rushed over to the dock to get a comment from either Mike or André. I wanted to capture their reactions to being convicted. As I was making my way towards them, Mike stood up, shook his brother's hand, laughed and said, 'Welcome to the High Treason Club!' His comment stopped me in my tracks, and I knew that I'd just witnessed something momentous. I was incredibly disappointed that I had not been quick enough to record the exchange between the brothers, as it perfectly encapsulated the comradery that had grown between some of these men over the decade that they had been on trial. Although I'd been attending the court proceedings since the previous year, I'd pretty much kept to myself, popping out into the foyer to report for our hourly radio news bulletins, not really interacting with anyone. So, I had to literally force myself to go up to the man regarded as the 'Boeremag kingpin'. 'Excuse me, sir,' I said with polite hesitation. 'Could I please ask you to repeat what you just said to your brother so that I can record the moment?' Mike looked at me and the rest of the photographers gathered in front of the dock and nodded. He turned to his brother, stretched out his hand and smiled from ear to ear as he re-enacted his initial response. The scene felt somewhat contrived at the time, but I managed to take a photo and got the audio that I needed for the upcoming radio bulletin. Addressing him again as 'sir', I thanked Mike for obliging to my request in such a friendly manner. 'My name is Mike. You can call me Mike,' he replied in a slightly pitched voice. A few days after this brief interaction, I greeted Mike when I went to take pictures of the accused men in the dock, which I would then post to my employer's Twitter feed. I always found it uncomfortable standing in front of accused criminals in court to photograph them, and although Judge Eben Jordaan had granted permission for photographs to be taken and it was my responsibility to do so as a journalist, it never ceased to feel intrusive. 'Is that a phone you are taking pictures with?' Mike suddenly asked, looking at the slim white iPhone in my hand. 'Indeed,' I replied, confused by the question. I carefully observed Mike as he tilted his head and stared at the iPhone. 'But where are the phone's buttons?' he asked. Then it dawned on me. Mike had never seen a phone with a touchscreen before. 'When was the last time you saw a cellphone, Mike?' 'I last used a cellphone in 2002. Mine still had buttons,' he quipped. We both chuckled, and I turned the phone around to show him the touchscreen from a distance, fully aware of the watchful eyes of the authorities in court, and I swiped to show him how one simply tapped the glass screen to make a call. 'That is very interesting,' he said as he examined the slim piece of technology from the dock. I took my seat in the public gallery, feeling as if someone had punched me in the gut. It had dawned on me that the nine years in which Mike had been locked up meant that he had entirely lost touch with the outside world and fast-moving technology. Despite this uncomfortable realisation, I couldn't believe my luck that I had just talked to one of the central Boeremag accused. In our brief exchange, I'd expressed my interest in getting a unique perspective of the trial from inside prison, something that had not been done before in this case. When I went back to the Jacaranda FM office after court, I couldn't help wondering what Mike's life was like in prison and what had led to his decision to become part of the Boeremag. In court a few days later, a lawyer handed me a folded piece of paper over the bench. 'Mike asked that I give this to you.' I looked up and saw Mike watching over his shoulder from the dock. He nodded. Before I had a chance to open the letter, the court clerk bellowed, 'All rise in court!' Judge Jordaan emerged from the door behind his bench wearing a bright red robe. He'd presided over the trial since 2003, and in that time his hair and neatly trimmed beard had changed to a crisp white. Judge Jordaan took a seat in his burgundy leather chair and hunched over the notes before him. I felt as if the letter from Mike was burning a hole in my hand, and I couldn't open it soon enough after adhering to the court etiquette of first giving Judge Jordaan my undivided attention until he took his seat. Finally, I nervously unfolded the handwritten letter: Karin You can visit me this weekend. You can decide whether you want to come on Saturday or Sunday, as long as you are inside the prison between 09:00 and 12:00. You will have to fill out a form. My details are: Name: M.T. du Toit Number: ********* Indicate that the visit will be for one hour. Very important: Don't leave anything in your car, such as phones, cameras or other valuable items. Make sure to leave all these items at home, as they will otherwise only get stolen. Regards, Mike
Eyewitness News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Nelson Mandela Foundation rejects claims it failed to defend SA against Trump's false genocide claims
Alpha Ramushwana 26 May 2025 | 15:52 Nelson Mandela Foundation Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema President Ramaphosa was in Washington D.C. in the United States of America on 21 May 2025 for a working visit at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS JOHANNESBURG - The Nelson Mandela Foundation has rejected claims that it had failed to defend South Africa against false statements of a genocide on white Afrikaner farmers in the country by US President Donald Trump. This was in response to remarks made by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema last week, accusing the foundation of keeping mum amid escalating tensions with the US. Trump's assertion that a "white genocide" is underway in South Africa has sparked outrage, with the EFF calling on prominent organisations to take a stand against the false narrative. ALSO READ: • Malema slams Ramaphosa for painting SA as a crime hub during US visit • EFF reiterates its opposition to proposed changes to allow Starlink to operate in SA • Trump, Ramaphosa engagement proof EFF remains 'major political force', says Malema • EFF dismisses Ramaphosa, Trump engagement as meeting of white privileged men • EFF disappointed with Ramaphosa for not defending SA's courts in Trump meeting During an EFF march last week, Malema criticised the Nelson Mandela Foundation, accusing it of failing to take action and condemning Trump's claims. However, the foundation has unequivocally refuted the allegations, labelling them untrue. The foundation emphasised that its CEO, Dr. Mbongiseni Buthelezi, publicly addressed the frosty relations between Pretoria and Washington. It also added that it had been actively engaged in closed-door discussions with political leaders and academics to navigate the complex diplomatic challenges. The Nelson Mandela Foundation has firmly dismissed the EFF's accusations, reiterating that it had not remained silent on the strained diplomatic ties.
