South Africa rages at Australia visa plan for ‘persecuted’ white farmers
The foreign ministry demands a retraction
South Africa summoned Australia’s envoy to Pretoria Thursday to explain comments by a Canberra minister who suggested "persecuted" white farmers in the country should be offered fast-tracked humanitarian visas. Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who has drawn criticism for cracking down on asylum seekers from Asia and the Middle East, said white farmers could be admitted as refugees. Dutton made the offer in response to Pretoria’s vow to enact land "expropriation without compensation" to redress land confiscation of the colonial and apartheid era. According to police, 74 farmers were murdered between 2016 and 2017 in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest crime rates. "It was communicated to the High Commissioner that the South African Government is offended by the statements," said foreign ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya in a statement that demanded Dutton retract the comments. The African Farmers Association of South Africa said it was "offensive for th...
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