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Sisulu welcomes Australia`s retraction of visas for farmers comment

Source: News 24, 02/04/2018

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu has
welcomed the retraction of a statement made by an Australian minister
last month about granting visas to white South African farmers.
Australian Minister of Home Affairs Peter Dutton controversially said
white South African farmers `deserve special attention` and he would
prioritise visas.
`I think these people deserve special attention and we`re certainly
applying that special attention now,` he said.
Duttonâ€™s comments caused a diplomatic spat between the two countries
which saw Sisulu issuing a diplomatic demarche â€` or course of action â€`
to the Australian High Commissioner in South Africa, Adam McCarthy, to
demand a retraction of the comments by Dutton.
Australia`s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie
Bishop has since retracted the comments made by Dutton.
In a statement, Sisulu said South Africaâ€™s diplomatic channels remained
open to those who wished to seek clarity on South Africaâ€™s policy
positions.
`We welcome the assurance by the Australian government as reported in
the media that the comments made by their home affairs minister are not
in line with Australian immigration policy,` Sisulu said.
`We also welcome Australia`s condemnation of the unfortunate comments
by South African and other international organisations and leaders.`
`We must emphasise, as we have stated before, that no one is being
persecuted in South Africa, including white farmers. We call upon all
non-governmental organisations to desist from spreading untruths and
misleading information,` she said.

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