AfriForum requests urgent meeting with Ramaphosa

22 October 2020

AfriForum directed an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa today in which the civil rights organisation requests an urgent meeting with the President to discuss farm murders and the future of Afrikaners as a cultural community in South Africa.

The letter aims to inform the President that the current tension surrounding farm murders may only escalate, but that events such as those in Senekal will probably occur again. 

AfriForum wants to see an end to –

The removal and destruction of Afrikaner statues and monuments;

Discrimination against Afrikaners and Afrikaans-speaking people in public educational institutions;

Hate speech and incitement by influential politicians to commit violence against Afrikaners; 

The stereotyping of Afrikaners as “land thieves”; and

The failure to prioritise farm murders.

“The President must realise that the tragic death of Brendin Horner – and of the thousands more who have been murdered in farm attacks – is a symptom of a deeper problem; of a sense of alienation among Afrikaners, who feel that they are being treated by the South African government as second-rate citizens,” says Ernst Roets, AfriForum’s Head of Policy and Action.

“The question of whether the farm murder crisis is being taken seriously cannot be answered by the words of the President or the Minister of Police, but by the actions that stem from these words. AfriForum therefore requests an urgent meeting with the President to discuss the future of the Afrikaner community in this country, as well as to propose practical steps to ensure a future for our community, despite the fact that we are a minority,” Roets concludes.

Issued by Andrea van Wyk, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 22 October 2020