Thousands of Afrikaner protesters descended on the US embassy in Pretoria, demanding 'recognition'.
Image: Marco Longari / AFP
The US embassy in South Africa has assured thousands of protesters who descended on the diplomatic mission to show support and hand over grievances directed at President Donald Trump that their petition will be conveyed.
IOL reported on Saturday that thousands of South African Afrikaners had gathered at the US embassy in Pretoria voicing their support for Trump.
Some of the people gathered outside the embassy were seen with posters written: "Mr Donald Trump Thank You Very Much”; "Make South Africa Great Again" and "Recognise the White Nation like Israel was recognised".
Willem Petzer, who according to his Facebook page is an Afrikaner commentator, posted a video on social media where he said that more than 3,000 people were at the rally.
In a YouTube video, Petzer said that people were there to show their support for Trump's actions that he had taken against the SA government due to the Expropriation Act.
In a post shared on social media platform X, the US mission in Pretoria said it acknowledges the petition on South Africa’s land policies.
“The US embassy in South Africa received a petition this morning (Saturday) addressed to President Donald Trump, seeking US support to change policies and laws affecting Afikaner (spelling error) community in South Africa.
“We will transmit the full text of the document to the president and secretary of State for immediate action,” the embassy posted.
US President Donald Trump is expected to receive the memorandum handed to the US embassy in Pretoria by disgruntled Afrikaners.
Image: Jim Watson / Pool / AFP
Earlier this month, IOL reported that Trump has made good on his promise to cut funding to South Africa over the government’s land expropriation policy and resettle white farmers whose land will allegedly be expropriated.
In a late-night Executive Order on Friday, Trump accused South Africa’s government of “egregious actions” without providing any evidence, saying the recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 would seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.
Trump said this Act followed “countless government policies” designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric and government actions fuelling disproportionate violence against “racially disfavoured landowners”.
In addition, he also accused South Africa of having taken aggressive positions towards the US and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide against Palestinians in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.
“The United States cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests,” read the Order.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL
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