AfriForum's recent meeting with the Trump administration sparks outrage in South Africa, with calls for treason against the lobby group.
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AfriForum's CEO, Kallie Kriel, has responded to President Cyril Ramaphosa's accusation that lobby groups, including Solidarity, are sowing division by visiting the Trump administration in the United States.
"What they are doing has spawned divisions in our nation. This is not a nation-building process of running around the world to have your problems solved, that's sowing division," said Ramaphosa speaking on Thursday during an education summit in Gauteng.
Responding to the remarks, Kriel said their visit at the White House stemmed from frustrations with the South African government's refusal to address their concerns.
He blamed Ramaphosa and African National Congress (ANC) leaders for causing division through the implementation of the Bela Act and Land expropriation without compensation.
“It is Ramaphosa who signed the anti-Afrikaans Bela Act – an act that threatens the cultural existence of Afrikaans-speaking cultural communities. It is also Ramaphosa who signed the Expropriation Act. It is he who refuses to condemn slogans such as ‘Kill the Boer’ and it is the same president who denies the existence of farm murders,” said Kriel.
Kriel added that the lobby groups, including Solidarity and the Solidarity Movement, sent letters to Ramaphosa regarding the Bela Act, the Expropriation Act and the current tension with the US, but these letters were ignored.
“We will not be deterred. We will simply continue to fight for the interests of the country, and we will also fight unashamedly for the interests of Afrikaners. These statements only motivate us more to get our message out loud and clear. We are not going to be silenced by the so-called ‘cancel culture’ and we look forward to the future," he said.
Meanwhile, the delegation is still in the US where it is continuing discussions with the Trump administration.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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