Trump’s divisive rhetoric threatens unity in South Africa - analyst
THE portion of white South Africans who have added their voices to US President Donald Trump’s controversial claims that their racial grouping was treated badly in the country would reverse the gains made since 1994 to unite all races.
This is the view of Professor Siphamandla Zondi from the University of Johannesburg.
“There has always been a portion of white people who fear being discriminated against or being abused at some point in future. But their fears are completely without reason, and they fall into the trap set by extremists taking advantage of their fears,” said Zondi.
His comments come after scores of Afrikaners trekked to the American Embassy in Pretoria on Saturday and handed over a memorandum to thank Trump for his support.
Trump recently claimed that “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly” and afterwards announced that his country, the US, would welcome white South Africans as refugees if they decided to leave the country. Plus, Trump announced that he will cut aid to South Africa.
Said Zondi: “Trump has simply emboldened this group of people, no wonder they welcome the idea of refugee support by the Trump administration. This is a challenge to nation building and unity as it suggests a portion of people still feel they are not part of the country’s future.”
Zondi said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) should move swiftly and allay “unfounded fears and separate it from racist causes meant to preserve unfair advantage and prevent transformation”.
The group of Afrikaners chanted the old national anthem, Die Stem, with some of them hoisting the old national flag.
Willem Petzer, who led the group, handed a 26-page memorandum which outlined the history of the Expropriation Act, farm murders as well as all racial laws against white South Africans to the US Embassy in Pretoria.
The American Embassy confirmed it received the memorandum in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“The US Embassy in South Africa received a petition this morning addressed to President Donald Trump, seeking US support to change policies and laws affecting the Afrikaner community in South Africa. We will transmit the full text of the document to the president and Secretary of State for immediate action,” read a statement from the embassy posted on X.
The US Embassy in South Africa said it will submit a petition from a group of white South Africans seeking to change South Africa’s policy to Trump.
After addressing the crowd, Petzer shouted: “Make South Africa Great Again” to which the crowd responded with the same words in unison.
Petzer claimed the Expropriation Act was meant to target whites “and benefit blacks, but we know it’s for the benefit of just a few”.
“The ANC is still committed to land reform, but the ANC is not a Marxist organisation; it’s a racial organisation which makes only a few rich.”
“We just want to say to America and the West, despite the foreign policy decisions the South African government has made over the past two decades, the West still has a friend here in South Africa,” Petzer said.
Ramaphosa drew the line in the sand during his State of the Nation Address (Sona), telling Trump, without mentioning his name, that South Africa will not be bullied.
While the US embassy claims South Africa has taken a position against America and its allies, several countries have pledged their support for South Africa after Trump signed the executive order cutting aid to the country.
Meanwhile, some Afrikaners have rejected Trump’s offer. President Ramaphosa has been at pains to explain that no land would be seized from owners.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula launched a scathing attack on Trump, telling him to “stay out of South Africa’s affairs”.
“South Africa is a sovereign country and will not be controlled by Donald Trump or any president,” said Mbalula.
DAILY NEWS