What was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting aimed at improving American-south-African relations quickly became controversial on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a press conference at the White House, accusing South Africa of complicity in a “white genocide” against white farmers.
In an unexpected movement, Trump showed a video showing several crosses along a road, which, according to him, was funeral projects for murdered white farmers.
However, the video contained images from Congo, not from South Africa, showing serious markers unrelated to the supposed genocide.
The allegations of “white genocide” have circulated among the right-wing groups for years, but they have been largely demystified and rejected by the South African experts and authorities.
Ramaphosa, seemingly imperturbable, replied calmly, stressing that such claims were not supported by the South African government.
“What you have seen … is not a government policy,” said Ramaphosa, stressing that the multipartite democracy of South Africa allows various opinions, but these opinions did not reflect official policy.
The exchange has also moved to the controversial policy of the expropriation of the lands of South Africa.
Trump suggested that the South African government’s position on land redistribution was linked to violence against white farmers.
Ramaphosa said that criminal activity in South Africa was not motivated racial, the majority of victims of agricultural attacks being black South Africans, not white farmers.
To broadcast tension, Ramaphosa invoked the presence of notable African Africans in his delegation, including famous golfers and the richest individual in the country, Johann Rupert.
“If there was a genocide, these three gentlemen would not be there,” joked Ramaphosa.
Despite attempts to calm the situation, the meeting highlighted the growing diplomatic fracture between the United States and South Africa.
Tensions have increased since the United States granted asylum to 59 white South Africans and suspended critical aid in South Africa in February.
Critics of the management of the White House situation, including the use of misleading images, accused Trump of trying to embarrass Ramaphosa and to derail the meeting.
The controversy on the demands of “white genocide” continues to fuel the debates around the race and the agrarian reform in South Africa.
Government’s land expropriation of land expropriating remains a controversial question, attracting international examination and stirring political divisions.
