AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel says the lobby group's intentions have always been to get involved in discussions with the ANC and other role players on land expropriation.
"We welcome the ANC's call [by Ronald Lamola] that land redistribution is discussed with all relevant role players in a way that is constitutional," Kriel said.
AfriForum had been in discussions with the ANC for many years, he claimed — at Luthuli House and various other ANC groupings.
However, while he found that these meeting led to constructive discussions, no tangible conclusions were reached in the end.
"That is why we are simultaneously going abroad and entering into discussions — because we need to make sure that in these discussions with the ANC, we cannot simply be ignored," he claimed.
Kriel says there should be a level of trust within communities, especially a multicultural society — and within the governing party.
"That does not mean that we will not continue to mobilise support, but we are happy to enter into discussions locally; that has always been our intention," he insisted.
Kriel was responding to Lamola, who sat with HuffPost on Tuesday and urged the Afrikaner rights group, along with their fellow South Africans, to engage and discuss redistributing land constitutionally, rather than seeking foreign input.
"It's not necessary running around... let's engage here and resolve the issue here... It's a constitutional process," Lamola said.
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