JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Canada’s decision to grant  refugee status to a South African who said he was persecuted  because he is white drew accusations of racism from the  country’s ruling ANC yesterday.

Race is a highly sensitive issue in South Africa, still  scarred by decades of apartheid, which ended in 1994.

Whites still dominate Africa’s biggest economy. But some  say they face reverse discrimination, and are deprived of jobs  by a black economic empowerment program.

A Canadian immigration board ruled that South African  Brandon Huntley could stay in Canada.

Canada’s Ottawa Sun newspaper quoted the panel’s chairman,  William Davis, as saying Huntley would stand out like a “sore  thumb” due to his color in any part of South Africa.

“The African National Congress (ANC) views the granting by  Canada of a refugee status to South African citizen Brandon  Huntley on the grounds that Africans would ‘persecute’ him, as  racist,” the party said in a statement.

“We find the claim by Huntley to have been attacked seven  times by Africans due his skin color without any police  intervention sensational and alarming. Canada’s reasoning for  granting Huntley a refugee status can only serve to perpetuate  racism.”

A spokesman for the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of  Canada said he could not comment on individual cases.
“The IRB is an independent tribunal that operates at arms’  length from the Canadian government. Its decision-makers are  not subject to outside influence, and make decisions solely on  the basis of evidence presented at the refugee hearing. Each  case is decided on own merits,” said IRB spokesman Stephane  Malepart.

Huntley’s story, carried in several local newspapers and on  radio stations, could spark intense public debate on race in  South Africa, where millions of poor blacks still live in grim  townships, glaring reminders of institutionalized racism.