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News & Current Events Apr 15, 2026 at 7:09 PM

South Africa names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US

Posted by maporita

Roelf Meyer: South Africa names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
www.bbc.com
Roelf Meyer: South Africa names apartheid-era politician as new ambassador to the US
Roelf Meyer played a key role as a negotiator during talks to end white-minority rule in South Africa.
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AtomicBlastCandy Apr 15, 2026 +95
This guy became lifelong friends with Nelson Mandela and is considered a traitor by Afrikaners for working with Mandela.
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AK_Panda Apr 15, 2026 +68
Yeah the headline seems to be doing a bit of a disservice to the guy. His wiki reads as someone who helped negotiate the end of apartheid and who worked closely with and has been trusted by the ANC. Seems like he'd a good choice for this role. He spent his whole career wrangling racists, current US is probably the best place to apply that skillset right now.
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All_Hail_Hynotoad Apr 15, 2026 +28
Yeah the headline makes it sounds like he might have been pro-apartheid
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h-land Apr 16, 2026 +5
...Though honestly, that might be appealing to the current administration.
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All_Hail_Hynotoad Apr 16, 2026 +3
That was my thought as well
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Vio_ Apr 15, 2026 +16
It's suspicious af that this is the headline the BBC used.
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intricate_strands Apr 15, 2026 +2
Not to mention all the Afrikaners who've come over and will definitely be trying to lead the charge on US government interactions with South Africa. He's basically going to be doing the exact same job he did before, only the psychos live in the USA now.
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SilverStalker1 Apr 15, 2026 +5
Traitor by Afrikaaners is too broad a term - many Afrikaaners are happy to be in a democratic state, despite its many failures and ills
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livy-aurelia Apr 15, 2026 -10
and what do they consider those failures and ills? too many indigenous people acting like they belong?
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SilverStalker1 Apr 16, 2026 +12
Sure! So systemic corruption leading to municipal failure including collapsing water and power infrastructure, understaffed and under equipped hospitals leading to unnecessary death and suffering , especially of children. The assassination of whistleblowers. The creation of a tenderpreneuer class hijacking empowerment mechanisms meant for the majority. Extended periods of rolling blackouts, rampant youth unemployment… I can go on. The ANC has slowly been killing South Africa for awhile now.
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KhajiitWithCoin Apr 16, 2026 +4
>and what do they consider those failures and ills? too many indigenous people acting like they belong? Gross mismanagement of the country from top to bottom. To put it simply, which is a real shame since we were led to believe a far better future awaited all South Africans. Crime so rampant that we lose 70 citizens per day to murder that's 2100 homicides a month. South Africans by and large want the country to succeed no matter who is governing, we just want them to do a good job, it's really not too much to ask. But it seems either we get a racist authoritarian government or an inept and self serving one. South Africa has never had a government that truly serves South African citizens. The vast majority of South Africans that have left has been due to crime and/or employment. In my case it was crime. I didn't enjoy being tied up with zipties with a gun pointed in my face.
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SilverStalker1 Apr 16, 2026 +3
It’s really quite sad. My wife and I earn quite well, and she is in medicine. But I just can’t do Johannesburg anymore and the Cape is saturated - so we are looking offshore
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livy-aurelia Apr 16, 2026 +2
saturated with what?
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SilverStalker1 Apr 16, 2026 +3
Semigrants moving to the WC - too many people for too few opportunities.
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alwayssunnyinskyrim Apr 18, 2026 +1
“Racist authoritarian vs inept” are pretty much the only government options in a lot of other countries too
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CheesyPotatoSack Apr 15, 2026 +18
Meyer, 78, played a key role as one of the chief mediators, alongside Ramaphosa, during the talks to end the racist system of white-minority rule known as apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s. He was the chief representative of the National Party, which introduced apartheid, while Ramaphosa represented the African National Congress (ANC) led by Nelson Mandela. During that period, the two enjoyed a fishing trip together and went on to form a lifelong friendship.
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woodpaulusgnome Apr 15, 2026 +11
Another disingenuous headline from the BBC.
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IWillKeepMakingAccs9 Apr 15, 2026 +4
>"While the ANC's Fikile Mbalula welcomed it, Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters party said it was "politically tone deaf" and a "deliberate insult to our democratic struggle"." >"The most stinging criticism came from right-wing Afrikaner groups, AfriForum and Solidarity Movement."
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KhajiitWithCoin Apr 18, 2026 +1
No surprise that Julius Malema was against it. He's a full on racist and xenophobe. He would have South Africa become an African ethnostate after he's achieved that he would then homogenise the country via tribal lines. For him there is always an enemy to get rid of. Same story as other post-colonial African nations. Think Idi Amin with Uganda, expelled Uganda's Indian population and then went and invaded Tanzania.
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Top_Lime1820 Apr 19, 2026 +1
Malema is racist against Whites, but he is not a xenophobe or tribalist. His party is one of the most pro-immigrant there is. He is a Pan-Africanist who believes in One Africa. He is quite progressive on most social issues, which is what makes his racist and vitriolic rhetoric against Whites that much worse.
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KhajiitWithCoin Apr 19, 2026 +1
He pretends to be a pan-Africanist but black South Africans by and large are not. They don't want a South Africa for all Africans. They want a South Africa for South Africans and if Malema somehow became leader of the country he would learn that very quickly as South Africans would not take kindly to his pan-Africanist ideology that would divide the pie to crumbs for South Africans.
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Top_Lime1820 Apr 19, 2026 +1
You said that he is a xenophobe. Now you are saying something very different. You are saying he would be forced to be xenophobic by South African voters. If South African voters are so xenophobic, then what does he gain when he "pretends to be a pan-Africanist". Why would he do that if it is not going to get him anything? You're not making sense. The facts are simple. Malema is far left. He is a Pan-Africanist and anti-Imperialist. He is not xenophobix. But he is racist against Whites. That last one should be enought to condemn him. You don't have to twist yourself into pretzels to make one of the most vocal pan-Africanists on the continent into a secret xenophobe.
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KhajiitWithCoin Apr 19, 2026 +1
I do see him as a xenophobe because it goes hand and in hand with being a racist. His modus operandi is to have a group he can attack. When he no longer has whites and indians to attack who do you think he will go for next? History already tells us exactly who that would be.
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konacoffie Apr 15, 2026 +5
Wouldn’t any politician active in South Africa up through 1994 be an apartheid era politician?
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thebarkbarkwoof Apr 16, 2026 +2
They needed someone who "speaks the language". Who better to talk to trump than someone who was around during Apartheid?
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44Stryker44 Apr 15, 2026 +1
Let’s see them replace their energy company management 
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Ancient_Sound_5347 Apr 16, 2026 +1
They were. New management ended national power cuts in 2024.
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44Stryker44 Apr 16, 2026 +2
Ah I hadn’t heard that. I’ll have to look again how they’re doing increasing electrical production
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bestestopinion Apr 16, 2026 +1
Apt
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houinator Apr 15, 2026 -3
This isn't because South African government is bringing back Apartheid or something equally dumb. Its because they have correctly sussed out that the Trump admin is packed top to bottom with gutter racists, and know that they are more likely to listen to a white politician, especially one with ties to the apartheid era government.
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TheKanten Apr 15, 2026 +20
Saying this man, who played a major role in ending Apartheid, is assigned only to appease "gutter racists" is also equally dumb.
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DarkIllusionsMasks Apr 15, 2026 -4
Diplomatic immunity! It's just been revoked.
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darthy_parker Apr 15, 2026 -4
Still being punished for apartheid. Nice!
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ponylicious Apr 15, 2026 -12
how fitting
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arcanehornet_ Apr 15, 2026 -10
Didn’t they shed blood, sweat, and tears just to get rid of that system?
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godisanelectricolive Apr 15, 2026 +17
This guy played a pivotal role to end Apartheid after working for the regime that perpetuated it. He was the chief negotiator for the government with the ANC and other opposition groups to end Apartheid and hold multiparty elections. The African National Congress negotiator was Cyril Ramphaphosa who is the current president of South Africa. He served in the government of the last two Apartheid presidents and for Mandela as the Minister of Constitutional Development. He played a key role to ratify the post-Apartheid constitution. He became quite close to Mandela and became a voice against racism and for diversity after Apartheid. He’s also an international expert of peace processes and consulted to help resolve conflicts in Rwanda, Kosovo and Northern Ireland. Basically he was someone from the old regime who “saw the light” and changed. Maybe Ramphaphosa thought someone like Meyer might help some Americans have similar epiphanies. It’s a long shot but you might as well try it.
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TheKanten Apr 15, 2026 +8
Yes, and this guy was one of the major contributors to getting rid of it.
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