NATIONAL NEWS - US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, has warned Pretoria that the new visa restrictions targeting foreign nationals accused of involvement in race-based discrimination, slapped on the country by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are just the beginning to show “America’s firm resolve in this matter.”
Rubio on Tuesday announced new visa restrictions targeting foreign nationals accused of involvement in race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures in South Africa.
Rubio’s policy
The policy, unveiled by Rubio, marks Washington’s sharpest rebuke yet of Pretoria’s handling of minority rights.
It is also the latest action by the Trump administration to target the South African government for allegations that it is mistreating White South Africans- a claim the South African government has denied.
Warning to SA
Bozell said America is fed up with South Africa.
“As has been made absolutely clear, the time for endless “dialogue” has run its course. No more. America has just so much patience. We want strong, and lasting relations with the South African government. It needs to show it wants the same.
“So far it has shown it cares for neither. As a result, the consequences, as I’ve attempted time and again to express, are necessarily going to be severe. This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter,” Bozell said.
Madonsela rebukes Bozell
However, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela rebutted Bozell’s threats.
“With due respect, Your Excellency, I would have hoped that through your engagements since arriving in South Africa you have realised that this is not true.”
Madonsela said, “Crime affects all and disproportionately affects black South Africans, particularly Africans, due to their positioning at the bottom of South Africa’s pyramid-structured economy and social system.”
“You must be aware that right now, eight African women have been murdered by what appears to be a serial killer.
“Black deprivation is not an accident of history or misfortune but a direct outcome of state-orchestrated social engineering through successive colonial and apartheid laws such as land and other property dispossession, job reservation, commercial and property rights denial and legalised under-service that enabled the state to uplift the white minority at the expense of the black majority who were denied the opportunity to thrive,” Madonsela said on X.
“Mathematically, you should know that a deficit cannot fix itself without reparatory action.”
Trump on SA
Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment on several issues since he returned to the White House in January, notably making debunked claims of white Afrikaners being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country.
He ambushed Ramaphosa in the Oval Office earlier last year, playing a video in which he alleged a campaign against white farmers by the post-apartheid government.
‘Kill the Boer’
During the bilateral talks, which played out before the media, Trump showed videos of EFF leader Julius Malema to support his false belief in genocide against whites in the country, asking why Malema has not been arrested.
The videos also showed MK party leader Jacob Zuma singing similar, apparently anti-white, songs from the struggle years.
Crime affects everyone
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola firmly rejected claims that white Afrikaners face systematic persecution or “white genocide” in South Africa.
“We must encourage the South African citizens who participated in this matter, particularly regarding the execution order, to find their place here,” Lamola said during a G20 media briefing.
Lamola’s remarks came after the Trump administration granted controversial refugee status to a group of 49 Afrikaners who departed for the United States on a chartered flight from OR Tambo International Airport.
In response, Lamola asserted that the “white genocide” narrative is entirely non-existent and unsubstantiated.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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