US President Donald Trump on Friday clarified why America did not participate in the recent G20 summit held in South Africa. He also announced that when America presides over the G20 next year, invitation will not be sent to South Africa. This statement has created a stir in international politics. In a long post, Trump made serious allegations against the South African government.
He wrote that human rights violations are being committed against Afrikaners and settlers of Dutch, French and German origin. Trump claimed, ‘To put it plainly, they are killing white people and taking away their land.’ This is the same old allegation which Trump has repeated many times before, although the South African government and many leaders of the white community have rejected it earlier also.
Why did America not go to the G20 summit?
The G20 summit was held in Johannesburg last week, in which many global leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi were present. America had already indicated that it would not participate in the summit this time. Now Trump said that South Africa is silent on the atrocities happening on the ground, that is why America kept distance.
Why won’t Trump invite South Africa?
Donald Trump has also said in his post that he is not going to invite South Africa to the G20 to be held in America. Giving the reason for this, he said that South Africa had not formally handed over the chairmanship. He wrote in the post, ‘At the conclusion of the G-20, South Africa refused to hand over the presidency of the G-20 to a senior representative of our US Embassy, who was present at the closing ceremony. Therefore, on my instructions, South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 G-20, which will be held in Miami, Florida next year.
Why did South Africa not hand over the presidency?
The President of South Africa did not hand over the presidency to America. South Africa had also given the reason for this. South Africa had said that the President cannot give presidency to anyone. It is not possible that America will send any official and the President will preside over him. America should have sent a leader of his own level and not an embassy official. South Africa had said that an official of their Foreign Ministry would soon go to the embassy and preside over.
What did South Africa say on Trump’s decision?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that this decision is disappointing. He said that his government has always been trying to improve relations with America. South Africa’s Foreign Ministry also refuted Trump’s claim and said that since no US representative was present at the summit, the G20 presidency symbol (gavel) was later handed over to the representative of the US Embassy at the headquarters of his ministry.
Are white farmers under attack in South Africa?
This claim of Trump is not new. He has said many times that the white minority in South Africa is the victim of ‘oppression and attacks’. But these claims have been described as baseless by the South African government, independent organizations and many representatives of white farmers. Local studies have found that the pattern of violence is widespread and affects the entire population, rather than being targeted at any one group.
