US President Donald Trump is being urged to revoke his February 7 executive order which cut funding to South Africa. In an open letter, 100 MPs from across the globe condemned Trump’s decision, calling his allegations of discrimination against Afrikaners a “false pretence”.
MPs say Trump’s order is ‘retaliation’
Trump justified his executive order against South Africa by falsely claiming the country was discriminating against the Afrikaner minority. President Cyril Ramaphosa had recently signed the Expropriation Act.
The MPs who signed the letter defended the act: “The proposed land reform is a necessary response to historic inequality: white South Africans — 8% of the population, control 72% of freehold farmland.”
“In reality, Trump’s order marks a retaliation against South Africa for daring to pursue its self-determination at home and express its solidarities abroad.”
Trump also condemned South Africa for supposedly supporting terrorism in the Middle East. South Africa has taken Israel, an American ally, to the International Court of Justice over its allegedly genocidal attacks on Gaza.
MPs defend SA’s sovereignty against Trump administration
In the letter, the 107 signatories said they want to defend the UN Charter. The document protects the sovereignty of countries and their ability to pursue policies without foreign interference.
The Mail & Guardian reports that there are concerns of US interference with South Africa’s domestic affairs. This follows US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce saying that the Trump government hoped its expulsion of former Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool would lead South Africa to reconsider its policies.
The parliamentarians compared the US’s current stance on South Africa with its support for the Apartheid government. “This order echoes the darkest chapters of US foreign policy, recalling its support for apartheid and its labeling of the African National Congress as a terrorist organisation.”
The signatories come from across the globe. They include British MP Jeremy Corbyn, who was leader of the Labour Party until last year. The letter was coordinated by Progressive International, an umbrella organisation for progressive groups around the world.
Call for ‘international solidarity’ with SA
The parliamentarians also urged their own governments to support South Africa in plugging the shortfall in public health funding caused by the US’s withdrawal. Already, health organisations say the Trump administration’s cuts to HIV/Aids treatment funding will lead to deaths from the disease.
“The struggle for South African democracy did not end with apartheid. This moment demands the renewal of international solidarity with the South African people as they face this assault on their right to self-determination,” say the MPs.
Signatories to the letter also called for increased trade with South Africa. Their call for solidarity follows debates about the state of US-South Africa relations, with some international relations experts urging South Africa to look away from Trumps’ administration and find partners elsewhere in the world.
Will the world stand with South Africa against the Trump administration?
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