South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, has rejected the claim that white Afrikaners in the country are facing genocide, saying the alleged phenomenon does not exist.
Meyer challenged an assertion made by Donald Trump concerning the treatment of white Afrikaners in South Africa. He said his own background as a white Afrikaner gave him particular legitimacy to dispute the claim.
The ambassador’s comments place him directly at odds with the description of events advanced by the US president. His position is that the circumstances in South Africa do not amount to a genocide against white people.
Meyer’s intervention comes in his new role as South Africa’s representative in the United States. The supplied account does not provide further details about any diplomatic response, policy measures or subsequent developments.
The latest known position is therefore that Meyer has publicly rejected the genocide claim and intends to challenge it on the basis of his experience and identity as a white Afrikaner.
