Lamola Labels US Afrikaner Refugee Programme 'Apartheid 2.0' Amid SA-US Tensions
- International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola publicly condemned the US refugee programme for Afrikaners using pointed language
- The Trump administration resettled more than 13,000 Afrikaners in the US since the first group arrived in May 2025
- Washington announced visa restrictions targeting South Africans linked to policies it says promote race-based discrimination
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UNITED STATES — International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola has levelled a sharp rebuke at the United States' refugee resettlement programme for Afrikaners, calling it "Apartheid 2.0" as diplomatic relations between Pretoria and Washington continue to deteriorate.
The minister is on a working visit ahead of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.
Lamola rejects persecution claims
Lamola has dismissed the justification underpinning the programme, stating that South Africa has no organised campaign directed at Afrikaners. The South African government has consistently pushed back against narratives of "white genocide", arguing that violent crime in the country cuts across racial lines and does not constitute a targeted campaign.
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The minister characterised Washington's approach as racially preferential and drew a direct comparison to the discriminatory policies that defined South Africa's apartheid era. He also affirmed that South Africa retains the sovereign right to legislate in ways that address the inequalities entrenched under that system.
SA and US relations under strain
The Afrikaner resettlement programme is among several flashpoints complicating the bilateral relationship. Washington has additionally criticised South Africa's land reform agenda and Black Economic Empowerment policies, framing them as racially discriminatory against white citizens.
The Trump administration went further by announcing visa restrictions targeting South Africans it holds responsible for promoting race-based discrimination, inciting violence, or facilitating land confiscation without compensation.
Pretoria has rejected all of these characterisations, maintaining that its domestic policies are designed to correct the structural inequalities left by apartheid rather than to disadvantage any racial group. Lamola has been consistent in that position, defending South Africa's legislative agenda as a matter of national sovereignty.
Afrikaner still prioritised in UR refugee program
Briefly News also reported that more than 13,000 Afrikaners have been resettled in the US since the first group arrived in May 2025. The United States government reaffirmed its commitment to the Afrikaner refugee resettlement programme, even as millions of people displaced by war, political violence and humanitarian crises face increasingly restricted access to American shores.
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Source: Briefly News
