Julius the Untouchable, and Racial Polarisation
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The Aftermath of the Terre’Blanche Murder
At the funeral of murdered right-wing white leader Eugene Terre’Blanche (see our previous article: Julius Malema calls for the Killing of Whites), emotions ran high. Thousands of Afrikaner mourners streamed to the town of Ventersdorp. The atmosphere was palpably tense, and many Afrikaners expressed their fears of what is happening to the white population in SA. One white woman shouted, “That black group from Julius [Malema], it doesn’t matter to them who you are, if your skin is white they are going to kill you.” Another white woman said, “It is scary. I feel as if the world is coming to an end. It makes my heart beat faster from fear.”
The secretary general of Terre’Blanche’s AWB movement, Andre Visagie, told foreign journalists that the AWB would enter into negotiations with the SA government for a separate Afrikaner homeland. “We want protection for our farmers first and foremost,” he said. “More than 3000 [white] farmers have been killed by blacks in the past 14 years. We have had enough. We want to govern ourselves. We have our own culture and our own language. We are not going to take this any longer. We will first enter into peaceful negotiations with the government. If we don’t get joy in our negotiations we will then return to our nation and get a decision. Violence is the very last resort.”
Racial Tensions Have Increased
The South African Institute of Race Relations released a statement on the 6th April 2010, on the ramifications of the brutal murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche. In it, the SAIRR made the following comments:
“Racial tensions in the country appear to have increased significantly in recent weeks. This appears to be chiefly as a result of incitement by the ruling African National Congress to ‘shoot and kill’ the Afrikaner ethnic minority in the country. The anxiety around this incitement may well have influenced opinions across the broader white community.”
“In order to shore up support in the black community the ANC increasingly appears to be seeking to shift the blame for its delivery failures onto the small white ethnic minority, which today comprises well under 10% of the total population of South Africa.”
“The resurgence of a new political consciousness among minorities could… draw its strength chiefly from a hardening attitude in the white community but perhaps also in the Indian and coloured communities.”
“Should the ANC, however, find itself facing increased political resistance it will in many respects have a tiger by the tail. Firstly, the ANC depends greatly on the tax income paid by white South Africans to balance South Africa’s books. Secondly, it depends entirely on the food produced by a small number of white farmers to feed the country. Thirdly, white South Africans still dominate the skills base of the country. Finally, and most importantly, much white opinion since the early 1990s has been moderate. White South Africa has been willing and often eager to cooperate with the Government in building an open, non-racial, and prosperous South Africa. Losing that cooperation will to an extent put an end to any serious chance that the ANC has of leading South Africa to become a successful and prosperous democracy. While the ANC will be inclined to blame whites for this, and may even take drastic action to confiscate white commercial interests as they are currently doing in agriculture, these actions will be ruinous for the economy.”
It did not take long for possible evidence of an extremist white right-wing backlash to become evident. In early May, seven white South Africans believed to have ties to radical far-right organisations appeared in the Phalaborwa Magistrate’s Court on charges of high treason, the illegal possession of explosives, and the possession of unlicenced firearms. One man was believed to have been manufacturing weapons and ammunition on his farm, and according to Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa, he was also planning to “plant explosives in black townships.” The charges against two of the men were later dropped due to a lack of evidence.
It is too early to tell what will come of their trial, but indications are that in the wake of the Terre’Blanche murder, certain radical elements are beginning to plan to retaliate.
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