A delegation from the Solidarity Movement last weekend at a political conference in the American state of Michigan appealed to politicians, journalists, church leaders and leaders of civil organizations in this state to create greater awareness about events in South Africa and in particular the position of Afrikaners.
Political leaders such as presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Michigan congressman John Moolenaar and several members of the Michigan state senate and house of representatives are on issues such as corruption, the centralization of power, the decay of infrastructure, farm attacks and murders, discrimination against minorities in South Africa and informed the South African government’s growing anti-Western attitude and closer cooperation with China, Russia and Iran.
Jaco Kleynhans, the Solidarity Movement’s head of international liaison, and Werner Human, operations head of the Solidarity Movement, are currently visiting the USA. Last week they met with politicians, political advisers, political pressure groups, journalists and other interested parties in Washington DC. Among other things, information was handed over to members of the senate and house of representatives’ foreign affairs committees to help them better articulate policy on South Africa.
According to Human, it is important for Solidarity to gather support from legislators and policy makers in the US capital, but also in individual states. “Our experience is that there is a greater awareness of events in South Africa among political leaders, but that in the states politicians, political activists and the media have also taken notice of South Africa’s political course in recent times.”
According to Kleynhans, there is still great work to be done to create greater awareness in America. In a radio interview on Monday morning on one of the largest radio stations in Michigan, Kleynhans called on Americans to get involved in activism against issues such as farm killings, new discrimination and South Africa’s anti-Western foreign policy.
“Americans who are aware of what is happening in South Africa have a strong sense of solidarity with Afrikaners. Our experience is that the images of the EFF’s birthday celebration where Malema and his supporters sang ‘Kill the Boer’ were widely distributed in the US and that this dramatically increased the levels of awareness about farm attacks.”
Over the next few days, Solidarity’s delegation will also visit Texas and South Carolina, where members of these states’ legislatures will be addressed about South Africa. According to Kleynhans, the purpose of the visit is to raise awareness about events in South Africa, the Afrikaner’s position and the Solidarity Movement’s projects.
“Furthermore, we ask Americans to respond more strongly to events in South Africa, to increase pressure on the South African government and to become more directly involved in supporting civil society’s projects in the fields of security, education and post-school education, the protection of the rule of law and the strengthening of communities in South Africa.”
