Trump vs. South Africa: Aid Cut, Refugee Plan and Land Law Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa.

The decision comes in the wake of tensions over South Africa’s controversial new land reform law, which Trump claims violates citizens’ rights, reports BBC.

As part of the executive order, the U.S. will also develop plans to offer humanitarian relief by resettling Afrikaner farmers, primarily white South Africans of Dutch and French descent, as refugees in the U.S.

However, groups representing South Africa’s white minority rejected President Trump’s plan to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the U.S., AP News reports.

Trump’s administration expressed disapproval of South Africa’s position on a case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

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South Africa’s new law, which permits land seizures without compensation under specific conditions, has ignited controversy.

While the South African government insists the policy aims to address land inequalities from the apartheid era, Trump and his supporters argue that it is an unjust violation of property rights, BBC adds.

Trump further emphasized his objections by accusing South Africa of mistreating certain groups, although no specific evidence has been provided for these claims.

South Africa condemned the U.S. action as “misinformation” and a distortion of the country’s complex history, rooted in colonialism and apartheid.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the land policy, stressing that it targets land not being used productively, and was designed to ensure fairer access to land, BBC adds.

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