The FW de Klerk Foundation denounces Donald Trump's Afrikaner claims, saying, South Africans must unite'
South Africa is preparing to become the first African nation to assume the G20 presidency in November 2025.
Image: Supplied
In response to recent allegations made by US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, that Afrikaners are being "killed and slaughtered" and that their land and farms are being "illegally confiscated," the FW de Klerk Foundation has urged South Africans to band together.
In a statement, the foundation’s Executive Director, Christo van der Rheede, said it was now very important for all South Africans to come together and reject such statements.
“It is now very important for all South African citizens to unite and refute the statements by President Donald Trump, his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and others, that Afrikaners are being killed and slaughtered and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. This is simply not true!”
Van der Rheede said rejecting the claims does not mean that South Africans accept the country’s current challenges.
“It will not mean that South Africans accept the current state of affairs in the country. In fact, all South Africans across racial lines must unite and raise their discontent with the high levels of corruption, violence, lack of service delivery, slow economic growth and many other challenges we face as a nation. And exercise their constitutional right to elect credible and caring representatives to take up public office at local government level during the up and coming elections.”
He said that while the ANC, as the sole governing party before the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), must be held accountable, it was wrong to suggest that white people or Afrikaners were being persecuted.
“Yes, the ANC as the sole governing party before the formation of the GNU must be exposed and held accountable. However, it is simply not true that there are persecutions of white people in general and Afrikaners in particular," he added.
Van der Rheede warned that the United States risked harming its own interests by maintaining its boycott of the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg.
“South Africans must point out the risks that the United States faces should it not reconsider its position to boycott the G20 in South Africa. The role of the G20 as a key driver of uniting the world is critical, and it will be very negative for the US and its business interests in South Africa should it continue to premise its reasons for staying away on falsehoods.”
FW de Klerk Foundation Executive Director Christo van der Rheede has called on South Africans to unite in refuting claims by US President Donald Trump that Afrikaners are being killed and their land seized.
Image: Supplied
He also urged the GNU to remain united and focused on the values enshrined in the Constitution.
“Importantly though, is the call to the GNU to stay united and focused on ensuring that South Africa remains committed to realising the aspirations embedded in the constitution and its role in advancing democracy in South Africa. Creating a safe, prosperous and peaceful country for all who live in it and creating a conducive environment for economic growth based on constitutional principles of non-racialism, non-sexism, dignity, equality and human rights should be the blueprint on taking South Africa forward.”
Van der Rheede said those responsible for looting the state should not be allowed to define the character of the nation.
“Those who have been responsible for looting our country and destroying critical state capacity can never be regarded as the sum total of the face and voice of South Africa. Hence, punishing South Africa as a whole can never be justified. The people of South Africa, despite the oppression, crude discrimination and land dispossession they endured under the apartheid system, are forgiving, peace-loving, considerate people and remain loyal to the constitutional democracy that was founded three decades ago. The formation of the GNU consisting of ten political parties attest to it.”
He cautioned that the falsehoods being spread internationally could have lasting damage.
“The falsehoods of persecution and discrimination may destroy that goodwill because of mistrust, polarisation and hostility caused by it. This, neither the US nor South Africa can afford.”
On Saturday, IOL reported that Trump has announced that no US government officials will attend the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg, accusing South Africa of “human rights abuses” and repeating his claims that Afrikaners are being “killed and slaughtered”.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners, people who are descended from Dutch, and also French, and German settlers, are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No US government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida!”
The remarks, which have drawn global attention, follow months of tension between Washington and Pretoria over the US government’s Afrikaner resettlement programme — a scheme the South African government has previously described as baseless and misinformed.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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