AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel says the organisation differs with Donald Trump’s use of the term white genocide. Image credit Supplied
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel says the organisation differs with US President Donald Trump on the term white genocide. In his Kallie Kriel white genocide remarks, he made it clear that AfriForum does not use the phrase in its work.
Kriel spoke on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast with deputy editor Mike Siluma. During the conversation, he said the term can cause problems. In particular, he warned that it may take attention away from the serious crimes that farming communities face.
Kallie Kriel on white genocide and farm attacks
Instead, AfriForum wants government to treat farm murders as a priority crime. Kriel admitted that violent crime affects South Africans of all backgrounds. However, he argued that farming communities are small, so each attack has a bigger impact on them.
Kriel also addressed the US refugee programme for white Afrikaners. He said AfriForum respects people who choose to leave. Still, he stressed that the organisation remains committed to South Africa and plans to stay. According to him, most Afrikaners also want to remain in the country.
On relations with Washington, Kriel said AfriForum does not want to fight the US on every issue. Nevertheless, he said the group engages when American policies could harm South Africa. He described this as a South Africa first approach.
Earlier, AfriForum and trade union Solidarity met Trump administration officials in Washington. According to reports, they pushed for pressure on specific individuals rather than broad sanctions against the country.
Meanwhile, the remarks drew mixed reactions online. Some users questioned whether Kriel had changed his position. On the other hand, others argued that AfriForum has long focused on farm murders without backing the genocide claim.
The comments come in the same week that South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Roelf Meyer, told the BBC that white genocide does not exist. In addition, DIRCO summoned US ambassador Leo Brent Bozell this week after a series of interviews criticising the South African government.
For now, the Kallie Kriel white genocide comments place AfriForum at odds with Washington on one of the most divisive claims in US and South Africa relations.
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