JOHANNESBURG, May 23 — An image U.S. President Donald Trump showed as evidence of “white genocide” in South Africa is actually a video screenshot taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, not South Africa.
On Wednesday, Trump confronted visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with conspiracy theories on “white genocide” in South Africa by unexpectedly presenting a video and a stack of printed news articles to prove his allegations, which Ramaphosa firmly denied.
“These are all white farmers that are being buried,” said Trump, presenting a print-out of an article with the picture to Ramaphosa and the press. The screenshot is actually from a video published by Reuters showing humanitarian workers lifting body bags in the Congolese city of Goma following an M23 assault, the news agency said Thursday.
The clip was filmed by Reuters video journalist Djaffar Al Katanty. “In view of all the world, President Trump used my image, used what I filmed in DRC to try to convince President Ramaphosa that in his country, white people are being killed by Black people,” Al Katanty was quoted as saying.
Ramaphosa, who arrived in Washington in hopes of improving trade terms and easing bilateral tensions, rejected Trump’s assertions during the meeting.
He refuted the notion that white South Africans are fleeing the country due to racist policies. He said there was crime in South Africa and the majority of victims were Black.
The clash came at a time of strained relations between the two countries. Since Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law in January, Trump has criticized the land reform law for “discriminating” against the country’s white people.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly criticized South Africa, most notably by canceling the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding and claiming that a “genocide” against white South Africans is underway, an allegation denied by the South African government. (Xinhua)
