The South African government has criticized the United States following emerging reports that Washington could begin granting refugee status to white Afrikaners as early as next week.
This reaction comes months after over 60,000 white South Africans reportedly expressed interest in relocating to the U.S., following an offer by former President Donald Trump to resettle members of the Afrikaner community.
The government in a statement published its foreign ministry on Friday, described the purported move as “politically motivated” and designed to undermine South Africa’s “constitutional democracy”.
The South African authorities said they would not block the departures of those chosen for resettlement, but said they had sought assurances from the US that those selected had been fully vetted and did not have pending criminal charges.
The statement added that allegations of discrimination against the country’s white minority were unfounded, and that crime statistics did not indicate that any racial group had been targeted in violent crimes on farms.
Some groups representing the rights of white farmers have said they are being deliberately killed because of their race.
In February Trump described Afrikaners as victims of “racial discrimination” in an executive order, opening up the prospect for them to resettle in the US.
The Trump administration has also accused South Africa of seizing land from white farmers without compensation, something Pretoria has repeatedly denied.
A spokesperson for the US state department told newsmen that they were interviewing individuals interested in resettling in the US, and prioritising “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination”, but would not confirm when the resettlement would begin.
A document seen by the journalists describes the potential resettlement as a “priority” for President Donald Trump’s government, however the timing has not been publicly confirmed by the White House.
