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The South Africa-based think tank and advocacy group, Lex Libertas, has addressed an open letter to South Africa’s newly appointed Ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, urging him to present a full and honest account of South Africa’s political and constitutional crisis to the American government.

In the letter, Lex Libertas expresses concern about Meyer’s appointment, given his role in the constitutional negotiations of the early 1990s and his continued political association with the African National Congress. Lex Libertas argues that South Africa’s ambassador in Washington has a responsibility not merely to defend the official narrative of the South African government, but to represent the realities facing all communities in the country.

The letter specifically urges Meyer to address four key issues honestly in his engagement with the United States government: farm attacks, incitement to violence and hate speech, the erosion of property rights, and South Africa’s growing network of race-based laws.

Dr Ernst Roets, executive director of Lex Libertas, said the purpose of the letter is not merely to criticise Meyer’s appointment, but to call for honesty in South Africa’s diplomatic engagement with the United States.

‘South Africa’s ambassador to the United States should not act as a spokesperson for the ruling party. He has a duty to provide an honest account of the country’s crisis, including the realities faced by minority communities whose safety, property rights and future prospects are under increasing pressure,’ Roets said.

According to Lex Libertas, South Africa’s crisis cannot be reduced to poor implementation or individual policy failures. The organisation argues that farm attacks, race laws, threats to property rights and political incitement are symptoms of a deeper structural problem rooted in a highly centralised political system that fails to accommodate South Africa’s diverse communities.

Lex Libertas says it will continue to raise these issues with the United States government, members of Congress and other international partners, including through its White Cross Project later this year.

Issued by Lex Libertas