Secretary of State Marco Rubio lies to US senators: 'Farms in South Africa being taken on racial basis'

Hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation meet United States President Donald Trump in the White House, authorities in Washington continue to peddle the narrative of persecution of white people in South Africa.

Rubio, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, clashed with Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia. The senator put it to Rubio that the group of Afrikaners who landed in the US as refugees were prioritised because they are white.

Kaine rubbished the persecution of Afrikaners claim as "completely specious", adding that South Africa is under a Government of National Unity, and the Democratic Alliance "widely representing Afrikaners" is part of the governing coalition.

He also stated that the leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen was appointed to the influential Agriculture Minister position in the GNU.

IOL has previously reported that Steenhuisen is currently part of President Ramaphosa's delegation in the United States. 

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Kaine also pointed out that there are different groups in several parts of the world who have not been offered the same deal by the Washington government.

“Right now, the US refugee program allows a special program for Afrikaner farmers, the first group of whom arrived at Dulles airport in Virginia not long ago, while shutting off the refugee programme for everyone else.

“Do you think Afrikaner farmers are the most persecuted group in the world?" asked Kaine, who was a candidate for vice-president alongside Hillary Clinton in her unsuccessful 2016 presidential election campaign against Trump.

In his response, Rubio said the 49 South Africans have come from a country where land is being seized on racial basis.

“I think those 49 people that came strongly felt they were persecuted, and they’ve passed every, every sort of check mark that had to be checked off in terms of meeting their requirements for that. They live in a country where farms are taken, the land is taken, on a racial basis," he said.

Kaine asked Rubio if he thinks Afrikaners are "more persecuted" than groups of people across the world, including political dissidents in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Afghans under the Taliban.

Rubio said the problem was the volume of people who need assistance.

“The problem we face there is the volume problem, okay? If you look at all the persecuted people of the world, it’s millions of people. They can’t all come here.”

Kaine interjected: "So why prioritise Afrikaner farmers?"

Rubio explained that the Afrikaners are small group of people and their issue had been identified by Trump.

Kaine also pointed out that the United States never ran a special programme to assist black South Africans who were at the receiving end during the apartheid era.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Monday insisted that the group of 49 Afrikaners who left South Africa, heading to the United States under President Donald Trump’s offer, are not refugees.

A week ago, IOL reported that a chartered plane carrying 49 South African Afrikaners departed for the United States under Trump’s offer for the “discriminated” South African individuals and families to relocate.

The first batch of Afrikaner refugees left OR Tambo International Airport on a flight operated by the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based charter company Omni Air International.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News