A white farmer has accused the South African government of genocide in a petition submitted to the United Nations.

The man, who has remained anonymous for fear of reprisals, blamed the African National Congress' (ANC) policies for a wave of murders and criminal attacks against the white community, what he called the "Afrikaner Boer."

At least 3,000 white farmers have been killed in South Africa since the end of apartheid.

The petition was sent to the U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Francis Deng, in a move that the South African government has dismissed as "ludicrous."

"There is no wholesale attempt to commit murder against Afrikaner farmers. This is ludicrous in the extreme," government spokesman Themba Maseko told the country's The Times newspaper.

The petition cites the Anglo-Boer war as the first act of genocide against the Afrikaner people, and says that "a second act" is being committed by the ANC government.

The document acknowledges the "crime of apartheid" but says that the perpetrators have now become the victims of those they oppressed.

"This Afrikaner genocide, now in commission and committed against the Afrikaner nation, is undoubtedly the result of the apartheid past and the racial and ethnic hatred of whites by black South Africans," the petition says.

The man's lawyer, Fanie Van de Walt, said the document had been sent to the U.N. to try to force an investigation of crimes against white farmers in South Africa.

Official figures suggest around 3,020 white farmers have been murdered since 1990, but the petition claims the true figure is 36,500.

The ANC is accused of colluding with criminals to eradicate the white minority in South Africa.

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