The episode between the Donald Trump and its president South Africa, Siril Ramafa, is another one of the most tense moments in the Oval Office after the Trump -Zelenski fight last February, when the US president attacked his Ukrainian counterpart by persecuting him from the White House.
The president of South Africa Ramafa, however, maintained his temper while his epic attack on Trump is also doing his own. “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you” A sharp reference to Qatar’s much -talked -about aircraft – to Trump.
Siril Ramafa is a fairly important personality of the African political scene and proved that neither chew his words, nor is he afraid of Trump.
A president with mild reason and difficult missions, an international influence businessman and a leader who is not afraid to respond, even if he has the US president when the image of South Africa is at stake.
The only sure thing is that his speech has managed to hear beyond Africa’s borders.
From activism to power
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa was born in Johannesburg on November 17, 1952. In his difficult years Apartheidfound the first lines of the struggle for freedom and social justice.
As a founding member of the National Miners Trade Union (NUM), he highlighted the power of the labor movement and became one of the most respected forms in the human rights.
In the early 1990s, he actively participated in negotiations for the country’s transition to the Republic and was the lead author of the new South African Constitution. Many considered him a natural successor to Nelson Mandela. But when his party chose another leader, Ramafaza turned to business.
Ramafoza created a strong business portfolioinvesting in areas such as telecommunications, fast food (shares in McDonald’s N. Africa), extraction and retail.
Was one of the few former trade unionists worldwide who managed to get into the list of Forbes With the richest people of Africa.
In 2014 she returned to politics as Vice President of South Africa, under the Jacob Zoom. Zuma’s presidency was stigmatized by corruption scandals, and when he resigned under pressure in 2018, Ramafa was elected president, taking responsibility to restore confidence in institutions.
The episode with Trump at the Oval Office – “Turn off the lights and just put this”
Trump has been claiming the claim that Africans – descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who ruled South Africa during the racial apartheid – are being prosecuted.
The South African government consistently rejects the claim, noting that crime rates are high throughout the country and that the majority of victims are black citizens.
The meeting began in a friendly atmosphere, with light jokes about golf, before taking a dramatic turn when Ramafa told Trump that there was no genocide against white farmers in his country.
Trump reacted by saying: “We have thousands of stories talking about it” and then ordered his staff: “Erase the lights and just put it on.”
Sitting next to Trump, in front of the fireplace, Ramafa was forced to watch a video on a big TV, under his eyes Mask – South African of Billionaire and Trump’s ally – of Jay Di Vanceof the Minister of Defense Pitt Hegshethas well as diplomats and journalists from both countries.
The video was presented by former South African president Jacob Zuma, and opposition leader Julius Malema, singing the racing slogan “Kill the Boer” of the Apartheid era, while supporters danced around them.
Ramafa, with a calm but steady tone, noted that the Views expressed in the video do not reflect official government policy.
The material also included shots that, according to Trump, showed graves of more than a thousand white farmers, with white crosses as signs.
Ramafa, who maintained an inexplicable attitude and spent on the screen from time to time, said that he had not seen these shots before and expressed interest in finding out what their location was.
Trump continued, presenting a series of newspaper articles, which – as he said – were published in recent days and documented murders in South Africa. Reading titles, he commented: “Death, death, death, horrible death”.
Ramafa acknowledged the existence of crime in his country, stressing that most victims are black. Trump interrupted him by saying: “Farmers are not black.”
The theory of ‘White Genocide’ He has been adopted for years by far -right circles and has recently been reinforced by personalities such as Elon Musk and presenter Tucker Carlson, the Guardian.
Trump repeatedly returned to the subject during the meeting. “Now I’ll say, apartheid: Terrible. This was the biggest threat. This was constantly mentioned. This is somewhat the opposite of apartheid. What is happening now is never mentioned. No one knows it. All we know is that we are flooded with people, white farmers from South Africa, and it’s a big problem. “
He continued: “They are white farmers and leave South Africa, and it is very sad to see it. But I hope we can have an explanation for it, because I know you don’t want that. “
Ramafa kept the temper and replied: “Nelson Mandela taught us that every time there are problems, people have to sit around the table and discuss them. And that’s exactly what we would like to discuss. “
The meeting took place a few days after about 50 Africans arrived in the US to accept Trump asylum offer – despite the fact that Washington has limited refugees from other parts of the world.
Far from the cameras, Trump and Ramafa continued their conversations during a meal, where Elon Musk also participated. Later, at a press conference in Washington, Ramafa spoke of a successful visit to trade and investment, rejecting Trump’s comparisons with apartheid.
“There is no genocide in South Africa and of course it is a matter of how one sees it,” he said.
“As they say, sometimes the shape of the mountain depends on the point or direction you look at it. In this case, we cannot equate what is supposed to be genocide with what we went through in the race because people were killed because of the oppression that took place in our country. “
However, it was implied that Trump may not be fully convinced: “When asked by one of you – and thank God who asked one of you – if he was convinced that there was genocide, he said he was still not convinced.
No matter how much the video and all these types of scraps got, in the end I believe there is doubt and mistrust of his head about all this. “