The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have come out guns blazing after the executive order by US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves around the globe, saying any Afrikaner who accepted the offer should have their citizenship revoked.

In a statement, the party said it observed the frantic and irrational actions by Trump who halted foreign aid and assistance to South Africa and provided humanitarian relief in the form of resettlement for Afrikaners in the US through its Refugee Admissions Program.

“The Executive Order is clearly illogical as it ignores the fact that Trump most recently on February 4, signed an Executive Order freezing the admission of refugees and cutting funding for the very same resettlement program. This is a testament to the erratic nature of policy making that has overtaken US foreign policy which is controlled by emotions and misinformation,” said the EFF.

The party said while Trump cites the reasoning for this Executive Order was due to South Africa’s discriminatory and race-based laws against an ethnic minority referred to as Afrikaners this was not the real reason.

According to the party, Trump cited that South Africa has taken an aggressive position against the US and its allies, particularly in the case by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its genocidal crimes against the people of Palestine.

“This is the real reason why the USA is pursuing any form of cutting aid and is harming diplomatic relations with South Africa, not the baseless misinformation of confiscation of land and the ill-treatment of Afrikaners. South Africa is being punished for supporting Palestinian people and condemning Israel for its genocide,” it said.

The EFF said the US is practicing retribution against South Africa at the behest of Apartheid Israel because it has been at the centre of exposing the murderous Israeli regime, which has killed more than 100,000 Palestinian people, bombed schools, hospitals, and religious sites of worships rendering Gaza as a place of rubble.

“Foreign aid provided by the USA has always been an instrument used for undue influence over the recipients of aid but has now become an aggressive tool to undermine our economic and policy sovereignty. It is for this reason that South Africa must be bold,” the EFF said.

The party has now called for the expulsion of the Israeli Embassy and in light of the aggression by the US against, South Africa, it urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen ties with Russia, China and nations who belong to BRICS to avoid unnecessary confrontations with ‘maniacs such as Donald Trump’.

“The EFF calls for the immediate implementation of he resolution by the 6th National Assembly of South Africa to expel the Israeli Embassy and cut out all diplomatic and economic ties with Israel,” it said.

The party further called for the revoking of citizenship for those who accept Trump’s offer.

“South Africa must revoke the citizenship of any individual who assumes refugee status in the USA on the basis of this Executive Order, as it would be a declaration of the belief that South Africa’s laws which seek to promote equality and social cohesion are not in sync with such individuals values. No one is being persecuted in South Africa, and to flee to the USA under this pretense should result in an immediate revoking of citizenship,” it said.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL