South Africa’s Ramaphosa prepares for crucial talks with Trump amid Afrikaner concerns
Although he anticipates it will be brought up, President Cyril Ramaphosa prepared a less important agenda for his meeting with his counterpart, Donald Trump, this week that does not include Africans who flee South Africa’s genocide and migrate to the United States as refugees.
Ramaphosa was aware that the topic of his government suing the Israeli government in the International Court of Justice might be a hot topic during the White House talks, but he was primarily ready to discuss economic and trade issues with Trump.
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.
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 claimed that Ramaphosa had sufficiently stated the nation’s stance on the issue and that his stance “will remain as firm as we have communicated it in the past.”
According to Magwenya, “the President will not accept a distorted view about the state of his own country.”
Trump also charged that South Africa was siding with Israel and its allies in legal actions against Israel, but “not Hamas,” for committing genocide, and for bolstering ties with Iran, which he said was funding terrorism around the world.