South Africa has expressed its “concern” to the United States following reports that the US will begin resettling white Afrikaners this week, according to the South African foreign ministry on Friday.
US media outlets reported on Thursday that the Trump administration intends to welcome the first group of white South Africans as early as Monday.
This follows accusations from the former president that Pretoria is engaging in “racial discrimination” against them.
The South African government stated that it has “expressed concerns with the information conveyed that the United States has commenced with processing alleged refugees from South Africa.”
The foreign ministry asserted in a statement, “We reiterate that allegations of discrimination are unfounded.”
It further argued, “Moreover, even if there are allegations of discrimination, it is our view that these do not meet the threshold of persecution required under domestic and international refugee law.”
South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alvin Botes reportedly raised these concerns directly with his US counterpart, Christopher Landau.
Relations between South Africa and the United States have significantly deteriorated this year due to various domestic and foreign policy disagreements, culminating in Washington’s expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador in March.
The South African foreign ministry stated, “It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy.”
