Free Market Foundation CEO David Ansara welcomed Trump’s order. Picture: Free Market Foundation
AMERICAN President Donald Trump’s executive order that would punish South Africa for its domestic and foreign policies has been received with disdain and admiration by various political parties and civil movements.
The order means that America has officiated its hostile stance against South Africa for, among other things, passing what he believed to be an anti-Afrikaner community Land Expropriation Act and Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.
The order was a retaliation to South Africa’s “aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements”.
The order also opened a gate for Afrikaners who felt victimised by the government to migrate to America on refugee status.
The EFF described Trump’s actions as frantic and irrational.
“This is a testament to the erratic nature of policy-making that has overtaken US foreign policy, which is controlled by emotions and misinformation,” read the EFF statement.
The party said Trump used the plight of the Afrikaners to retaliate against South Africa for taking a position against Israel, an American ally, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged genocidal crimes against the people of Palestine.
“This is the real reason why the USA is pursuing any form of cutting off aid and is harming diplomatic relations with South Africa, not the baseless misinformation of confiscation of land and ill-treatment of Afrikaners,” the party said.
Julius Malema’s party called on South Africa to react by tightening its diplomatic relationship with Russia, China, and nations who belong to BRICS “to avoid unnecessary confrontations with maniacs such as Donald Trump”.
African Transformation Movement (ATM) said Trump was misled about South Africa’s transformation policies.
“It is imperative to recognise that the restoration of human dignity in South Africa is intrinsically linked to land restitution.
“For far too long, millions of South Africans have been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and deprived of their wealth by a system entrenched in white supremacy — a regime that has been justly characterised as a crime against humanity,” said the ATM.
The party called on Trump to stop being economical with the truth behind his order, which it said was the case against Israel.
“We call for constructive dialogue that acknowledges the rights of individuals to their ancestral lands and emphasises the importance of addressing the legacies of colonialism and apartheid.
“It is only through honesty, transparency, and a commitment to justice that we can hope to build a future based on equality and respect for all,” the ATM added.
Political analyst Tessa Dooms said “the fact” was that no Afrikaners would take the refugee status.
“This is about building international solidarity to fight battles at home, not to take themselves elsewhere.
“If the same white South Africans, who are claiming to be disadvantaged, truly were disadvantaged, they would have left in masses,” she said.
She said even those who left for New Zealand and Australia still held land in South Africa because they still believed in the future of the country.
However, the Free Market Foundation (FMF) celebrated Trump’s decision.
“The decision by the United States to halt state aid or assistance to South Africa is an entirely justified response from the Trump administration given the ongoing threat to private property rights in South Africa, the South African government’s hostile foreign policy posture towards the United States, and the continuation of race-based discrimination in domestic policy.
“The decision to halt state aid or assistance to South Africa is entirely justified given the ongoing threat to private property rights in South Africa, the South African government’s hostile foreign policy posture towards the United States, and the continuation of race-based discrimination in domestic policy,” said Free Market Foundation (FMF) chief executive officer David Ansara.
bongani.hans@inl.co.za