While South African lawmakers are grappling with the land expropriation without compensation issue, US president Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his concern.
His tweet followed a Fox News broadcast in which host Tucker Carlson accused president Cyril Ramaphosa of heading a ‘racist’ government.
Carlson said, “The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has begun-and you may have seen this in the press- seizing land from its own citizens without compensation because they are the wrong skin colour.”
The conservative Fox News commentator continued to lambast Trump’s critics who he called ‘our current bureaucratic elite’, saying that they claim to dislike racism, but were paying no attention to the situation in South Africa.
Carlson took a swipe at former US president Barack Obama who, just a few weeks ago, called president Ramaphosa, ‘One of Barack Obama’s favourite leaders in the world’.
He said, “In fact, in a speech just a few weeks ago, Obama praised him. He praised the racist government of South Africa and Ramaphosa by name for ‘inspiring hope throughout the country’.”
According to Carson, he contacted the US State Department for comment on the matter and their response was: “We are aware of these reports and have been following this issue very closely for some time. South Africa is a strong democracy with resilient institutions including a free press and an independent judiciary.
“South Africans are grappling with the difficult issue of land reform through an open process including public hearings, broad-based consultations, and active civil society engagement. President Ramaphosa has pledged that the land reform process will follow the rule of law and its implementation will not adversely affect economic growth, agricultural production, or food security.”
Carlson conducted a live interview with Humanpress.org editor and senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Marian Tupy, who said, “In a free and civilised society, we don’t take people’s stuff.”
Trump responded in a tweet:
I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018
These latest developments follow president Ramaphosa’s address to emerging farmers in Kempton Park on Monday. He said, “Some are getting terrified‚ some are even sending false messages abroad … It [land expropriation without compensation] has ignited a vigorous and welcomed debate.”
“It has required that we confront the injustices of the past. Even those people who have land are now beginning to realise the injustices of the past.”
Trump’s latest move is bound to have the Twitter-sphere abuzz as South Africans at home and abroad weigh in on the contentious issue of land distribution in the country.
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