By Johnathan Paoli
The African National Congress has strongly condemned what it describes as continued interference by the United States in South African affairs, calling it an attack on the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri urged South Africans to stand united against “neo-imperialist” actions and efforts to undermine the country’s democratically elected government.
“Our painful history of colonialism and apartheid has taught us that any form of supremacy or foreign domination must be unequivocally condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Bhengu-Motsiri said on Sunday.
The ANC’s statement follows recent international engagements by AfriForum, among others, who have taken their concerns about South Africa’s land reform policies to the United States government.
Trump issued an order to stop funding to South Africa over what he believes is race-based politics, especially concerning the new land expropriation law.
According to the ANC, AfriForum and other “counter-revolutionary forces” are engaging in divisive tactics that seek to derail efforts to build an equitable society.
The party accuses the group of spreading misinformation about land reform, likening its rhetoric to that of the apartheid regime, which misrepresented South Africa’s realities to the world.
“AfriForum’s false narrative is unpatriotic and bordering on treason as they invite external forces to undermine our sovereignty,” she said, calling on South Africans to hold the organisation accountable for tarnishing the country’s global reputation.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to democracy, economic reform and land redistribution to correct historical injustices.
Bhengu-Motsiri called on all citizens, regardless of race, to reject attempts to sow division and to defend South Africa’s national unity.
Afrikaner organisations in the country responded to the recent executive directive of US President Donald Trump of cutting aid and offering asylum, with pleas for assistance in self-determination over refugee status.
Despite the offer of refuge, Orania Movement CEO Joost Strydom is the latest among white Afrikaner lobby groups who have called on the US to support them as a distinct ethnic group in South Africa.
“Our plea can be summarised in three words: help us here. Our highest ambition is not to be resettled or relocated. Our highest ambition is freedom. We ask the White House to recognise this and we also extend that wish to all other nations,” he said.
“That is the pursuit of Afrikaner self-determination in an autonomous region. Recognising us as an ethnic people leads to the conclusion that the only sustainable option for Afrikaners is an autonomous area,” Strydom said.
Civil rights group AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel blamed the ANC for the cut in the funding, .
“The executive order is a direct result of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government’s irresponsible actions and policies such as the Expropriation Act that threatens property rights, the Bela Act that is aimed at destroying Afrikaans schools and the SA government’s anti-western foreign policy,” Kriel said.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has called for the legislation to be immediately subjected to constitutional oversight.
“The FF Plus will use the opportunity offered by this international pressure to ensure that the Government of National Unity amends the Expropriation Act and restores policy certainty,” FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald said.
He called on the international community to support the Afrikaner’s quest for self-determination.
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