Johannesburg, Nov 9 (PTI) The South African government and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday reacted angrily to US President Donald Trump's decision to boycott the G20 Summit scheduled to take place in a fortnight in Johannesburg.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula lashed out at both Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who repeated the allegations made by Trump.

Mbalula called the statements by the two US leaders “false”, labelling them as “imperialist interference.” Trump announced on Friday that no US official would participate in the Summit, which is being hosted by South Africa as it prepares to hand over the annual Presidency to the US.

Trump cited the alleged persecution of white Afrikaner farmers in South Africa as the reason for his decision. This allegation has been denied and disproved repeatedly by both the South African government and leaders within the white community itself.

“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners are being killed and slaughtered and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No US government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue,” Trump said in a strongly worded statement on his Truth Social platform.

Rubio, adding his support for Trump’s decision, said in a statement on X: “Afrikaners have been continuously subjected to violent racial discrimination by the South African government. I applaud (Trump’s) decision to not waste taxpayer dollars sending our diplomats to the G20 while this heinous violence continues.” “This is a blatant lie. There is no racial discrimination happening in South Africa. South Africa’s laws seek to redress imbalances created by apartheid, which was declared by the UN as a crime against humanity, particularly against black people. We don’t take kindly to imperialist flirtations,” Mbalula said in an interview on TV network ENCA on Sunday.

Mbalula reaffirmed that the Summit would continue despite the US not participating.

“We will host a successful G20 Summit with or without the US. We are a constitutional and democratic state that believes in fair trade relations, not in the dominance of superpowers,” said Mbalula.

“Our country must go ahead, and the G20 will take place without (the US). It’s unfortunate that they’ve stirred up things which, in our view as the ANC, borders on imperialism. We are an anti-imperialist organisation,” he said.

Mbalula said Trump was undermining South Africa’s sovereignty and misrepresenting its democratic principles.

“We reject Donald Trump’s assertions and fabrications. Trump’s administration has got no regard for our sovereignty. They think that we are a sub-country of the US, which is very unfortunate on their part,” Mbalula intimated.

South African Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Ronald Lamola said the US claims were “baseless and politically motivated.” “Claims of a ‘white genocide’ or its euphemism, Afrikaner persecution, are imagined and used for political expediency,” Lamola was quoted as saying by News24 as he cited police data showing that crime on farms affects both black and white South Africans.

“From April 2020 to March 2024, 225 people were victims of crime on farms in South Africa. Many of the victims, 101 (of which) were current or former farmworkers who are mostly black. Fifty-three of the victims were farmers, mostly white,” Lamola said.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation also issued a statement in which it called Trump’s assertions an “ahistorical” characterisation of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group.

“The claim that this community faces persecution is not substantiated by fact. Our position on this matter remains consistent with our previous statements,” the statement said.

Analysts said the tensions between South Africa and the US, one of its largest trading partners, have consistently deteriorated after Trump offered political refugee asylum to some white farmers from South Africa. The President also imposed huge tariffs on South African goods, severely impacting the local economy.

With just two weeks before the Summit, which is to be attended by global leaders, there are concerns in some quarters that some states aligned to Trump might also withdraw in the coming days. PTI FH RD RD RD