Tshwane - Representatives of civil rights group AfriForum are currently in Australia as part of the organisation’s "international campaign" to draw attention to farm murders in South Africa.
"They are relating the stories of victims of farm attacks and farm murders. AfriForum has already met with Minister Andrew Hastie, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and has participated in a discussion on Sky News Australia’s programme Outsiders.
“The South African government and especially President Cyril Ramaphosa’s blatant denial of farm murders is viewed here by most mainstream role-players as a disgrace. We are now relating the stories of people whose lives have been and are still being destroyed by a government who has turned its back on these victims,” said Ian Cameron, AfriForum's head of community safety.
Cameron said the Australia mission did not focus on statistics, but rather on victims’ stories.
“There is absolute shock here about the brutality of farm attacks and farm murders in South Africa: Robert Lynn, who was burnt with a blow torch; Nicci Simpson, whose feet were drilled through; and John Eckardt, whose nails left marks on the carpets of his house while he was being tortured – these stories speak volumes on the reality of these South African tragedies,” said Cameron.
Last month, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) led by Kenneth Meshoe said it was deeply disappointed with Ramaphosa's statement during an interview at the United Nations in New York in response to US President Donald Trump's controversial tweet in August regarding killings of farmers in South Africa.
Meshoe called on Ramaphosa to apologise to the farming community for his alleged "no killings" statement, saying it was "a national disgrace".
"President Cyril Ramaphosa has disappointed most of us who trusted him by denying that land grabs are taking place in SA [South Africa] and denying that farmers are being killed," said Meshoe at the time.
Just met with Andrew Hastie in Perth, Australia as an @afriforum delegation about #FarmMurders& gave him a #KillTheBoerBook. Andrew is the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and Federal MP for Canning. pic.twitter.com/7hpREAiHZO
— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) October 12, 2018
"How can we trust a man who blatantly lies to the international community under our watch? This is a national disgrace. We call on him to apologise to the farming community."