SAfrica Pres. Concedes Migration Strain06/08 06:16

   

   CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- South Africa's president promised Sunday to 
act on what he called concerns over illegal migration following a rise in 
anti-immigrant protests and sentiment in Africa's most advanced economy, with 
other nations claiming their citizens have been targeted in xenophobic attacks.

   President Cyril Ramaphosa's comments in a speech on national television 
dedicated to the issue were an acknowledgment of the tensions. Anti-migrant 
protest groups have said they've set a June 30 deadline for foreign nationals 
who are in South Africa illegally to leave and have requested talks with the 
government.

   South Africa has a history of violence sparked by anger over the presence of 
migrants, including in 2008 when more than 60 people were killed in what 
international rights groups called xenophobic attacks on foreigners.

   Groups calling for a new crackdown on immigration have gained attention in 
recent months with a series of protests. They say foreign nationals in South 
Africa illegally are exacerbating its extremely high unemployment and placing 
more pressure on already strained public health and education services.

   "Many South Africans are raising difficult but legitimate questions," 
Ramaphosa said. "These concerns are real. They deserve to be heard, and they 
deserve to be addressed."

   But Ramaphosa also said that authorities would not tolerate anyone taking 
the law into their own hands.

   "Only authorized government officials can act against violations of our 
law," Ramaphosa added, warning that some groups were "inciting" tensions.

   There are no official figures for how many migrants are in South Africa 
illegally, though various estimates have put the number at between 2 million 
and 5 million out of a population of 62 million.

   As the richest country in the region, South Africa has traditionally 
attracted migrants from neighboring countries Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho, 
as well as from others like Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Ethiopia. That has been 
a trend for decades.

   Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique said recently that their citizens have 
faced threats and violence in South Africa because they are foreigners. Ghana 
repatriated around 300 of its citizens from South Africa last month and said 
more will be offered the chance to return home because of what it called 
threats against them.

   Mozambique's government said this week that five of its citizens were killed 
in what it referred to as xenophobic attacks in the town of Mossel Bay on South 
Africa's south coast.

   South Africa's coalition government placed a new focus on the issue of 
immigration after it was formed in 2024 and says it has deported over 100,000 
people in the last two years who were in the country illegally. Ramaphosa said 
Sunday that around 450,000 people trying to enter South Africa without 
documents had been stopped at the border in the last year.

   Ramaphosa said there had been "weaknesses" in the way South Africa 
previously managed migration and the government would take "decisive" action 
now, but he also appealed that people "not turn on each other" over the issue.