AFRIKANER groups have asked the White House to help “end discrimination against Afrikaners” in South Africa.
In a surprise meeting with US government officials on Tuesday, leaders of AfriForum and Solidarity handed over a memorandum, listing a set of recommendations to “fight for Afrikaner interests and South Africa”.
In a statement on the AfriForum website, they added “there will also be meetings with other prominent decision makers and opinion makers in the coming days”.
The delegation was led by Solidarity Movement chairperson Flip Buys and Head of International Liaison Jaco Kleynhans, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel as well as Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann.
This comes on the heels of President Cyril Ramaphosa signing the Expropriation of Land Act into law last month, which saw US counterpart Donald Trump cut aid to SA and offer Afrikaners refugee status.
During the handover of “the Washington Memorandum”, the Trump administration was requested to intensify pressure on ANC leaders.
In the five-page document, they called for the “revising the anti-Afrikaans Bela law and racial legislation”.
After invoking the 1994 agreement between the ANC and Afrikaners, they demanded revising the Expropriation Act.
They also called for humanitarian assistance offered to Afrikaners by the US to include assistance for Afrikaners who want to stay in South Africa.
They add “that ordinary South Africans should not be punished by stopping the [US’ African Growth and Opportunities Act] AGOA and other aid to ordinary people” but to focus “on political leaders who are responsible for reckless policies”.
They delegation also say that “if the USA were to continue to stop South Africa’s participation in AGOA, that direct bilateral agreements are entered into with, for example, agricultural organisations and non-state actors in other sectors to try to limit the negative impact on ordinary citizens of the country”.
They also asked for help on entering into a cultural agreement for Afrikaners that will provide cultural space for them including the existence of African educational institutions.
With regards to the BELA Act, the group said they want to repeal legislation that does not allow Afrikaans schools to have their own “language and admission policies”.
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