Trump’s SA tweet gets irate response from government – The Wall Street Journal

DUBLIN – US President Donald Trump's early morning tweet, inspired by an inaccurate report from Fox News, was all over the news on Thursday. Despite the fact that no reliable or verified data supports the idea that white farmers are being targeted for violence – the vast majority of crimes in South Africa are perpetrated against poor, black South Africans and even lobbying group Agri SA admits that the number of people killed on farms has fallen over the last 20 years – Trump claimed he plans to investigate "the large scale killing of farmers." Trump also tasked his Secretary of State with investigating "land and farm seizures and expropriations." Doubtless certain South Africans are pleased at Trump's attention to the matter of EWC, but the net effect of the tweet was to send the rand temporarily slumping after a four-day recovery. The effect, however, quickly wore off. Perhaps the markets are assuming that Trump's interest in this matter, as with so many other international issues, will be fleeting. – Felicity Duncan.Trump Tweet on South African Land Overhaul Draws Government's Ire.By Gabriele Steinhauser.(The Wall Street Journal) JOHANNESBURG—South Africa's government on Thursday denounced a tweet by President Donald Trump in which he referred to "large scale killing of farmers" in the country, Africa's most-developed economy..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Mr. Trump's overnight tweet referenced a report by Fox News host Tucker Carlson attacking South African plans to redistribute more land from white to black citizens and suggesting that the U.S. government should take a more critical stance. In the tweet, Mr. Trump asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to study the issue..The ruling African National Congress has said it plans to change the constitution to explicitly allow the expropriation of land without compensation in an effort to overcome deep inequalities in land ownership the country, which shed white-minority rule in 1994. White South Africans, who make up around 8% of the country's population, still own 73% of agricultural land, according to estimates from farmers association Agri SA..Right-wing commentators have alleged a government-supported campaign to attack and persecute white farmers in South Africa. The government denies that. Meanwhile, killings of farmers have fallen..An Agri SA report released in June, citing police crime statistics, said the number of people killed on farms has declined over the past 20 years, reaching a low of 47 people in 2017/18 of around 19,000 people killed in violent crimes throughout the country. The statistics don't record race..The number of attacks on farms—including crimes such as rape, robbery and causing bodily harm—has increased over the past two years to 561 in 2017/18. But that is down from a 2001/02 high of 1,069 attacks..South Africa's government pushed back against Mr. Trump's tweet on its own Twitter account.."South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past," it said. It added that "South Africa will speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation.".South African Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said she instructed her department to seek clarification from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria on Mr. Trump's "unfortunate comments" based on "false information." A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy confirmed the request for clarification but declined to comment further..Until now, agrarian reform in South Africa has been led by voluntary sales by white farmers and other property owners to the government at market prices under a policy known as "willing seller, willing buyer." But these efforts have moved just 8% of agricultural property from white into black ownership, far short of the 30% target the ANC had set for the first five years of democracy..Under decades of apartheid laws, black South Africans weren't allowed to own property and had to live in so called Homelands, which comprised just 15% of the country's land. Those wanting to move outside the Homelands or a few other designated areas had to carry officially designated "pass books.".The ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa argue that land redistribution needs to speed up to grant black South Africans the equality and freedom they were promised when Nelson Mandela was elected president a quarter century ago. Mr. Ramaphosa has said that the government will expropriate land and take other measures to speed up land reform while taking care to avoid eroding property rights, food security and agricultural production..Under South African law, land owners also have the right to challenge any government action to seize their property in court. White farmers and Afrikaner interest groups have slammed the planned policy change as racially-targeted. Many analysts warn that it risks undermining investor confidence in South Africa..South Africa's rand fell 1.3% against the dollar after Mr. Trump's tweet before partly recovering..The U.S. has had a warm relationship with South Africa, which embraced liberal democracy and free-market policies after the end of apartheid. Last month, former President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at celebrations of what would have been the 100th birthday of Mr. Mandela, who died in 2013..The government in Pretoria has complained about U.S. tariffs on South African steel and aluminum introduced as part of Trump administration efforts to revive manufacturing at home..Answering questions on land-reform efforts in Parliament Wednesday, Mr. Ramaphosa criticized South African interest groups who he said "are going around spreading lies and rumors."."Running overseas and saying the ANC is out for land grabs. There is no such thing," he told lawmakers. "The ANC wants to ensure that there is land reform that is going to lead to the growth of our economy and agricultural growth and if we embrace this approach we are going to restore the dignity of our people.".U.S.-based Jewish civil-rights group Anti-Defamation League says that white supremacists have for several years tried to promote a narrative of a "white genocide" allegedly happening in South Africa.."It is extremely disturbing that the president of the United States echoed a longstanding and false white supremacist claim that South Africa's white farmers are targets of large-scale, racially-motivated killings by South Africa's black majority," it said Thursday..Fox News's owner, 21st Century Fox Inc., and The Wall Street Journal's parent, News Corp, share common ownership..—Thandi Ntobela contributed to this article.

Trump’s SA tweet gets irate response from government – The Wall Street Journal

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