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Rasool accused US President Donald Trump of 'white supremacy' when he addressed the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
South Africa’s now expelled ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, speaks during an event in this undated image. Picture: AFP/File
South Africa’s ambassador to the United States (US), Ebrahim Rasool, has been given 72 hours to leave the country.
The move comes after Rasool criticised US President Donald Trump’s leadership and accused him of leading “a white supremacist movement” on Friday.
According to AFP, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, confirmed that Rasool has been given less than three days to leave the US.
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SA’s ambassador to US Ebrahim Rasool given marching orders
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Rasool an “undesirable person” in the US. He described him as a “race-baiting” politician and an enemy of the American people and the Trump administration.
Reports suggest that Rasool struggled to get an audience with officials of the Trump administration as South Africa’s representative to the US.
However, groups such as AfriForum, Solidarity and the DA had managed to obtain an audience with officials close to Trump.
For weeks, the Trump administration has given the South African government a cold shoulder.
This comes after Trump recently accusing the ANC-led government of doing “horrible” things to minority groups in South Africa, seizing land and promoting race-based laws that target white people.
A diplomatic nightmare for SA
Trump also halted US foreign aid to South Africa and threatened to exclude South Africa from the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa).
President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa would be sending envoys to the US to try and salvage the relationship between Pretoria and Washington.
However, there are fears that Ramaphosa – who labelled the latest incident “regrettable”, may not be welcome in the US considering the stance Trump has taken against the ANC.
DA calls for urgent intervention
Meanwhile, the DA has called for an urgent intervention into the escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
The party had been to the US recently meeting with government officials to help them understand the South African land scape.
However, the DA said it is also against a number of laws that discriminate based on race.
Despite being in the GNU, the party has been critical of the ANC foreign policy and some laws, such as the Expropriation Act and the Basic Education Amendment Laws Act (Bela).
Some analysts believe the tensions between the US and South Africa have much to do with Pretoria’s stance against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the Gaza War.
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