At White House, Trump confronts South African President over white genocide claims

US President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the White House on Wednesday over what he described because the “killing” of white farmers in South Africa, a declare Pretoria has repeatedly rejected as false and deceptive.

What started as a cordial assembly rapidly turned tense when Trump performed a video he stated confirmed “burial sites” of white South African farmers. “These are burial sites right here… over a thousand… they’re all White farmers,” Trump stated, narrating the footage, which confirmed white crosses lined alongside a street.

Ramaphosa, sitting largely expressionless because the video performed, responded that he had not seen the footage earlier than and want to know its origin. Trump then flipped via printed articles and declared, “Death, death,” as he highlighted circumstances of white South Africans allegedly killed in assaults.

The South African president acknowledged the difficulty of crime in his nation, saying, “There is crime in South Africa, and the majority of victims are Black.” Trump interrupted, saying, “The farmers are not Black.”

“These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about,” Ramaphosa replied.

Trump has lengthy accused South Africa of encouraging violence in opposition to white landowners via “hateful rhetoric and government actions,” and has criticised its land reform insurance policies. He has additionally cancelled US support to South Africa, expelled its ambassador, and provided refuge to white Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch settlers, citing alleged racial discrimination.

South Africa, nevertheless, strongly denies the genocide claims. Officials have stated the narrative “fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history” of colonialism and apartheid. They argue that land reform efforts intention to redress longstanding inequalities, not incite violence.

The assembly comes at a essential time for South Africa, because the United States is its second-largest buying and selling accomplice after China. The support cuts have already had penalties, together with a drop in HIV affected person testing.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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