South Africa’s US ambassador rejects claims of white genocide

South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, has rejected claims that white Afrikaners are facing genocide, saying the country’s violence has been misrepresented. Meyer, a former Afrikaner and one of the mediators who helped end apartheid, told the BBC that he had never experienced the kind of mass attack described by US President Donald Trump. He said his identity gave him legitimacy to challenge the claim, while stressing that he represented South Africa as a whole rather than only Afrikaners.

Trump has accused South Africa of genocide against white people and established a US refugee pathway for Afrikaners. The source says nearly 13,000 refugees had been admitted under the programme, all but three of them South African. The administration has told Congress that it plans to admit up to 17,500 additional white Afrikaners over the next year.

The White House said Afrikaners were being raped, maimed, killed and driven from their property. South African authorities and political parties, including those representing Afrikaners, have rejected the genocide claim. Some Afrikaners describe serious insecurity.

One woman who moved to Texas said she had feared for her family on a farm despite walls, an electric fence and guard dogs. Another applicant, associated with the Freedom Front Plus, alleged a political drive to kill white farmers. The BBC report says police data shows that most crime victims in South Africa, including on farms, are black.

Farm violence remains an issue, but experts say it represents a smaller share of homicides and does not amount to persecution under refugee law. Critics argue the programme gives priority to white South Africans who may not qualify as refugees while people fleeing war or ethnic cleansing face limited opportunities. Meyer said he wanted to speak directly with Trump about what he described as the reality of the situation.