The meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington could have left much to be desired. This was going to be a significant and tumultuous make or break moment for Ramaphosa’s leadership. For the most part he had to steer Trump carefully into agreeing with him (Ramaphosa). Trump was trying to manipulate the direction of this meeting in persuading Ramaphosa to admit to false claims that indigenous South Africans were perpetrating a “white Genocide” in the rural areas. Ramaphosa countered that no such massacre is taking place. That part of the lukewarm Oval Office meeting has left much to be desired.
Murder and armed robbery affect everyone living in South Africa – to say otherwise suggests a worrying ideological agenda. The lie of a ‘genocide’ against white farmers in South Africa took centre stage when presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump met on 21 May. The fact is that there is no ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, so it was shocking to hear the claim made at a formal diplomatic meeting in the White House. on farms. The first was instituted by then police minister Steve Tshwete; the second by the South African Human Rights Commission. Both investigated claims that attacks on farms and smallholdings were part of a political campaign to force white farmers off their land. Neither inquiry – nor other credible police or private investigations since then – have found any evidence to support such allegations.
The threat of a high crime rate is not enough to justify any allegation of “racially inspired genocide”, especially against the white minority. Trump wanted to embarrass Ramaphosa with a video of radical left wing politician Julius Malema singing “Kill the Boer” or “Kill the farmer” after Trump referred to alleged seizures of white owned farms. Trump has allowed himself to be embarrassingly misled and misinformed on the matter of land expropriation which is taking place slowly. Trump’s plan in inviting Ramaphosa to the White House was to humiliate him and have him (Ramaphosa) look like a fool. However, Ramaphosa managed to maintain his cool headedness and remained restrained and stoic. He only responded when necessary. It has now been accepted many of the discriminations against white farmers have been falsified and that the high crime rate in the rural and urban areas is across all boundaries including race.
The final dimension — self-respect — was arguably the most constrained from the outset. In a setting defined by asymmetric power and a hostile undercurrent, it was always going to be difficult for Ramaphosa to be assertive. He would have known that to secure the primary objective, some degree of restraint and discomfort was required. Ramaphosa was subjected to subtle provocation and coded language that many observers noted carried racial undertones. Yet he resisted the impulse to engage emotionally or defensively. He avoided confrontation, maintained composure and stayed focused on the strategic imperative — leaving difficult conversations for outside the public domain. Critics in South Africa were disappointed that he didn’t rebut falsehoods or respond more forcefully to provocations. And the lack of coherent messaging from the South African delegation and failure to use statistics to enhance the counter-argument was a blind spot.
Ramaphosa was subjected to the most excruciating meeting of his life since he led the negotiations that transitioned South Africa from apartheid to democracy in 1994. His patience and perseverance in the face of adversity is admirable. Trump was clearly trying to provoke the worse from Ramaphosa during this meeting. But Ramaphosa proved himself a formidable opponent. He showed Trump he had class. Ramaphosa may not be perfect but he showed he had more experience in the art of political debate and engagement than Trump. Trump and his entourage tried to humiliate the South African delegation but failed due to being misinformed about the so-called “white genocide” in South Africa. If Trump truly cared about the white Afrikaner farmers, he should engage would those who still live in South Africa about what is actually happening on the ground.
However so far the meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa appears to be a success with both agreeing that diplomatic and trade relations between the United States and South Africa need to be reset.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
