Washington, May 21, (dpa/GNA) – During the visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House, US President Donald Trump publicly embarrassed his counterpart.

In a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump unexpectedly showed video footage to support his “genocide” accusations against South Africa. The images showed graves at the side of a road, said the Republican. “It’s a terrible sight. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Experts dispute Trump’s portrayal of an alleged genocide of the white farmers in South Africa. In doing so, he is tapping into a conspiracy theory circulated in far-right circles about a so-called “white genocide.”

Ramaphosa responded regarding the alleged graves: “Have they told you where that is, Mr President? I’d like to know where that is because I’ve never seen this.” Ramaphosa promised to look into it.

Trump also held up printed articles about alleged violence against white farmers and handed his counterpart a stack of papers.

Ramaphosa repeatedly tried to ease the situation and emphasized that if there were problems, they should be discussed among partners. He said he was ready to talk about anything – without the presence of reporters.

The South African president also made several attempts to flatter Trump and appease him with political offers – such as access to South African raw materials.

Trump’s accusations against South Africa

Trump accuses South Africa, among other things, of committing “genocide” against white farmers. The US president complains of discrimination against white minorities in South Africa, particularly the so-called Afrikaners, who are descendants of Dutch settlers.

Trump is particularly troubled by a law that allows land expropriations in the public interest to address inequalities from the apartheid era when the minority whites discrimminated against the black population. The majority of agricultural land in South Africa remains in the hands of members of the small white minority.

At the beginning of February, Trump froze aid to South Africa. In March, the United States also expelled the country’s ambassador.

Recently, the US accepted a first group of white South Africans and granted them refugee status – even though Trump’s administration has largely halted the intake of refugees from war and crisis zones.

Shortly before the arrival of the Afrikaners, Trump spoke of a “genocide” against white farmers in South Africa. The South African government strongly rejects the accusations and sharply criticizes the resettlement.

Ramaphosa travelled to Washington to reduce tensions between the two countries.

GNA

PDC