The US has announced visa restrictions on individuals it accuses of discriminating against South Africa’s white minority, in a further escalation of tensions between the two countries.
The Trump administration has criticised South Africa over policies meant to tackle racial inequality, which it says discriminate against Afrikaners, descendants mostly of Dutch and French settlers.
South Africa has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said he noted the move with concern.
The statement from the international relations ministry said the announcement again aligns with the mischaracterisation of South Africa’s domestic policies by fringe groups who wrongly portray themselves as representatives of minorities and Afrikaners in general.
Announcing the measures on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the South African government had not adequately addressed concerns previously raised.
He said the restrictions would apply to those who promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land seizure without compensation in South Africa.
Rubio did not immediately name anyone affected by the restrictions.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since President Donald Trump returned to office early last year, with the US cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering refuge to white South Africans fleeing what it called persecution.
The South African government has repeatedly rejected claims that it is persecuting white people or seizing their land.
It has said claims of white genocide have been widely discredited and lack credible evidence.
South Africa’s latest crime figures do not show that white people face a higher risk of violent crime than other groups.
Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners last year after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the state to expropriate land without compensation in rare cases.
The law allows expropriation in the public interest and provides for instances where compensation may be set at zero. It also requires authorities in most cases to first seek agreement with owners, with disputes able to go to court.
Land ownership remains a sensitive issue in South Africa more than three decades after apartheid ended, under which the black majority was stripped of land and denied basic rights.
The government says land reform is needed to address those historic inequalities and insists the law does not allow arbitrary seizures.
Most private farmland is owned by white South Africans, who make up just over 7% of the population.
In Wednesday’s statement, South Africa’s government said it is its sovereign right to introduce laws that address centuries of racial injustice.
In a separate post on Tuesday, Rubio accused South Africa’s government of pursuing racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority and said those responsible for what he described as injustices have no place in the United States.
He said South Africa had failed to adequately address US concerns about what Washington calls government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minorities.
The United States will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked, he added.
He said the actions targeted by the policy undermine peace, economic stability and the rule of law.
The US embassy in Pretoria said Washington believes dialogue with South Africa has run its course and accused the country of failing to show commitment to strong bilateral relations.
It warned the visa curbs were the start of tougher action, saying the visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve.
South Africa has tried to ease tensions with the US, with Ramaphosa visiting the White House in May last year with a large delegation that included white members of his coalition government and well-known white South African golfers.
But Trump confronted the meeting in the Oval Office with claims that white farmers were being killed and persecuted, citing unsubstantiated evidence that has been widely discredited.
Further efforts by South Africa to repair ties have failed, with Africa’s largest economy hit in August with 30% tariffs on exports to the US – the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.
The latest restrictions are being applied under a provision of US immigration law that lets the secretary of state bar foreign nationals whose entry is seen as potentially harmful to US foreign policy interests.
Leave a comment