Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Boers

2009-10-20T05:26:50Z

Ronp5:

The '''Boers''' are an [[Afrikaans]]-speaking people whose ancestors are mainly [[Dutch]], Huguenots and [[German]] [[Reformed Churches|Reformed]] [[Protestants]]. Boers are also commonly called "Boervolk", "Afrikaner-Boers", "Boere-Afrikaners" or sometimes merely "Covenant Afrikaners". They should not be confused with the larger Afrikaans-speaking ethnic group in South Africa, commonly called the [[Afrikaner]]s. The Boers number approximately 400,000 people today.

== History ==
=== The Great Trek ===

The origin of the Boer people began among the nomadic pastoralists known as Trekboers who trekked inland during the late 1600s & throughout the 1700s but became renown during a series of mass migrations later called the [[Great Trek of the Boers|Great Trek]] (1835-1845), which was the northern migration of 12,000–14,000 Boer settlers from Cape Colony in South Africa when the British arrived and took control of the government. They sought freedom and [[self-determination]] in their own homeland. The leaders of the "Trek" was Andries Pretorius, Piet Retief, Piet Uys, Hendrik Potgieter and Gerrit Maritz. The Boers migrated northward into what became known as the [[Orange Free State]] and later into the Transvaal ([[South African Republic]]). Although the Boers found no indigenous people at the time of settlement in these areas, Retief chose to settle in Natal, where he came into conflict with the [[Zulus]]. After various battles in Natal in 1838, help from the other [[Voorttrekker]] leaders arrived in December. Some 438 Trekkers made a [[Covenant]] with God, that they would give the glory of the victory to Him. Charl Cilliers was the author of the Covenant. On 16 December 1838, the Trekkers defeated nearly 12,000 Zulus during the [[Battle of Blood River]]. Various Boer Republics were founded after the "Trek": in 1838, the Republic of Natalia was founded, but it was short-lived, it ceased to exist in 1843. The South African Republic and the Orange Free State gained independence from [[Great Britain]] in 1852 and 1854, respectively.<ref>
http://www.groottrek.za.cx/</ref>

=== The Anglo-Boer Wars ===
Two Anglo-Boer wars were fought during the latter part of the 18th century, both the result of British [[Imperialism]]. The first was won by the South African Republic in 1881, the second, spanning from 1899 to 1902, was eventually won by the [[British]]. On May 31, 1902, both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State conceded their independence to Great Britain. Over 27,000 Boer woman and children died in British concentration camps during the war.<ref>http://www.anglo-boer.co.za/</ref>

=== The Maritz Rebellion ===
After the Union of South Africa was formed by the British colonies of the Cape, Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal in 1910, a few thousand Boers participated in a rebellion, under leadership of Manie Maritz, against the government in 1914, after the government declared war against Germany. The aim of the Rebellion was to found a new Boer Republic. The rebels were suppressed by the government forces, however, and many received jail sentences.<ref>http://www.123exp-history.com/t/03764450045/</ref>

=== 20th Century ===
After the formation of the Union, there was a deliberate attempt to assimilate the Boers with the Cape-based Afrikaners. Although this had some success in the 20th century, recently it became increasingly clear that the Boers and Afrikaners have remained distinct cultural groups. Many Boers were represented in the National Party that ruled the country from 1924 to 1934 and again from 1948 to 1994. It was the influence of Boer Nationalism that led to the formation of the independent Republic of [[South Africa]] on May 31, 1961 under leadership of Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. In the late 1980s, most Boers left the National Party and joined the [[Conservative Party of South Africa]] and some already joined the [[Re-constituted National Party]] some 15-20 years earlier.<ref>http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/za}kp.html</ref> In the 1992 referendum, virtually all Boers voted against the transformation of South Africa into a multiracial state.

== The Boers today ==
=== Politics ===

Some organizations were created in the early 21st century to promote Boer Nationalism and strive towards achieving independence along religious lines, since Boers believe that they are completely dependent on the will of God for their existence and seek to glorify Him, should they receive self-determination. Here is a list of some of the groups promoting the ideals on the Boer people:

* [[Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB)]]
* [[Boere-Afrikaner Freedom Inisiative]]
* [[Boer state Party]]
* [[Boerevolk Vryheidstigting]]
* [[Federation for Afrikaner simbols]]
* [[Federation of Covenant Comitees]]
* [[Freedom Front Plus]]
* [[Orde-Boerevolk]]
* [[Praag]]
* [[Re-constituted National Party]]
* [[Sekretariaat vir Volksbou]]
* [[Transvaal Agricultural Union]]

=== Education ===
The [[BCVO]] ('Movement for Christian-National Education') is a federation of 47 Calvinist private schools, primarily located in the Free State and the Transvaal, committed to educating Boer children from grade 0 through to 12.<ref>www.bcvo.co.za</ref>

=== Media ===
Some local Radio stations promote the ideals of the Boere-Afrikaner people, like [[Radio Rosestad]] (in Bloemfontein) and [[Radio Pretoria]].

=== Territories ===
Two territorial areas are being developed as settlement exclusively for Boere-Afrikaners, [[Orania]] in the Northern Cape and [[Kleinfontein]] near [[Pretoria]].

== Characteristics ==
=== Nationalism ===
''See also: [[Boer Nationalism]]''

[[Nationalism]] is one of the main distinctions of the Boers. The Boers originated from a northward migration in the 19th century, in order to escape British Imperialism, and since then they have had a continuous struggle for self-determination in their own homeland. Boer nationalism also supports a [[Republican]] form of government and strongly oppose [[Communism]] in favour of [[Capitalism]].<ref>http://www.boerevolk.com/boerevolk/index.htm</ref> Boers still celebrate the Covenant made at Blood River on December 16th, 1838, annually. This is often regarded as their biggest distinction as a separate culture group.

=== Calvinism ===
''See also: [[Boer Calvinism]]''

The Boers are mainly descended from Dutch, German and French [[Calvinists]], who left Europe between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. The Boers had a distinct Calvinist influence throughout their history, however it has varied from time to time. During the second half of the century, the [[Dutch Reformed (Hervormde) Church]] was the state church of the Transvaal and Calvinism was also the national religion of the Orange Free State. Note the "Orange" in Orange Free State: it is named after the Protestant [[House of Orange]] in the Netherlands. Most Boers today are members of [[Reformed Churches]] and they represent approximately 80% of the members of the [[Afrikaans Protestant Church]]. Boer Nationalists also often stress the importance of Calvinism in Boer culture.<ref>http://www.kletskerk.co.za/viewtopic.php?p=78085#78085</ref> In recent times, however, many Boers joined the [[Christian Identity]] movement. A very small number is also members of [[Baptist]] and [[Pentecostal]] Churches.

Unlike most [[Afrikaner]]s, Boers use the 1953-translation of the Afrikaans [[Bible]].

[[Category:Africa]]
[[Category:South Africa]]
[[Category:Ethnicities]]

Apartheid

2009-10-04T02:35:25Z

Ronp5: Apartheid was the Afrikaans term for the segregation which existed & was legislated by British Colonial regimes but Grand Apartheid of Separate Development was the term used for the post 1949 laws.

'''Apartheid''' (meaning ''separateness'' in [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]]), was a social and political policy of racial [[segregation]] which was enforced by white minority governments in [[South Africa]] from the time the state of South Africa was created in 1909 (with the South Africa Act) until June 17 1991 when the final Apartheid laws were abolished in Parliament.

==Verwoerd and the Bantustans==
Laws passed in 1950 forced a separation of non-whites from whites in South African society. The first, the ''Population Registration Act'', which had people register with a racial classification board to determine "officially" if they belonged to one of four racial groups: white, African, colored, or Indian. The second, the Group Areas Act, was the enforced relocation of non-whites to the outskirts of various cities; to compel these people into the new "townships", which were in essence little more than shanty towns, the government ordered the bulldozing of once-vibrant mixed-race communities; the non-white inhabitants, especially the Africans, were ordered to carry passbooks to go from place to place in white areas. [http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/unit.php?id=5&page=2] Likewise, whites were ordered to relocate from the areas which they settled, that historically belonged to blacks.

Dr. [[Hendrik F. Verwoerd]], Prime Minister of South Africa from 1957 until 1966, designed a system that expanded the scope and impact of apartheid. Blacks were given a limited education which guaranteed them menial job opportunities as opposed to whites [http://www.stanford.edu/~jbaugh/saw/Chloe_Bantu_Education.html]. The ''Reservation of Separate Amenities Act'', passed in 1953, ordered the segregation of blacks at all public facilities, including post offices, public transportation, beaches, sports venues, parks, toilets, and even cemeteries. [http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/unit.php?id=5&page=2]

:''"There is no place for him [the African] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labor. Within his own community, however, all doors are open. For that reason it is to no avail for him to receive a training which has as its aim absorption in the European community, where he cannot be absorbed."'' Hendrik F. Verwoerd (1954) [http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/unit.php?id=5]

Verwoerd had also insisted, and succeeded in getting, limited self-administration in the black reservations (called "homelands") of the Transkei, Ciskei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, Ganzankulu, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, [[Lebowa]], and QwaQwa, which meant they were semi-autonomous. This had also meant that the homelands were now responsible for their own societal and economic problems; it also had the benefit for the white-controlled South African government that a huge majority of blacks in the country were no longer citizens, and therefore ineligible to vote, however, all blacks gained full voting rights in the bantustans. [http://www.suedafrika.net/history/eh_apart2.htm]

==Independence of four Bantustans==
Four of the Bantustans, Transkei (1976), Ciskei (1981), Bophuthatswana (1977), and Venda (1979), were eventually declared independent nations by South Africa, albeit without any international recognition other than from each other.

During their period of independence, these four nations were often derided by critics claiming they were [[puppet government]]s of South Africa, but the Transkei government had a rocky relationship with South Africa, breaking diplomatic relations between 1978 and 1980 over territorial disputes, and then undergoing a military [[coup d'etat]] in 1987 after which Transkei became an ally of, and safe haven for, the [[African National Congress]].

In Bophuthatswana on the other hand, an attempted coup in 1988 was suppressed by South Africa, who restored president Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope. The Sun City [[casino]] was located in Bophuthatswana, where [[gambling]] was legal (it was illegal in South Africa). Ciskei and Venda both underwent military coups in 1990, which South Africa did not suppress.

All four countries were re-incorporated into South Africa in April 1994 following the end of Apartheid and the adoption of a new South African constitution, but Bophuthatswana and Ciskei at first declared their refusal to re-integrate and their intention to remain independent nations. Both standoffs ended after mutinies and coup d'etats deposed their respective leaders within two weeks of each other in March 1994.

==1983 Whites-only referendum==
In 1983 President PW Botha put the question of allowing Colored and Indian representation to the White electorate. 66% of whites voted to allow Coloreds and Indians their own houses of parliament (called the House of Representatives and the House of Delegates respectively).

Although many ultra-nationalistic and conservative whites attacked the move as it was power-sharing (which they feared would result in Black rule, and indeed it did some 11 years later).

==The Troubles==
The followers of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (Zulu King) and his Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) were staunchly pro-separation and even entered into a short-lived non-aggression pact with the [[Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging|AWB]] in 1993.

However the African National Congress, who drew members from most other Black tribes, were pro-integration and, as such, Zulu workers who had migrated to White South Africa were frequently involved in clashes with ANC supporters in the townships (Black areas adjoining many White towns and cities).

Between 1986 and 1994 some 10,000 IFP members were murdered by ANC supporters, many in a brutal fashion, the practice of "necklacing" was very popular amongst ANC members. Necklacing entailed placing a petrol-filled tire around the neck of a victim and then setting it alight.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*''Apartheid: A History'' by Brian Lapping

[[Category:Apartheid]]
[[Category:South Africa]]

Talk:Boers

2009-10-04T02:22:58Z

Ronp5:

Hi Adi, appreciate the edits on Afrikanerdom, but I'm not 100% sure that you can really split Boer and Afrikaner into 2 separate groups. "Boer" essentially means farmer and these days most Afrikaans-speaking people would classify themselves as Afrikaans, not Boer. If anything, the only people who would apply the handle "boer" to themselves would be far right wing groupings like the Afrikaanse Weerstandsbeweeging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), but that's more a political thing, than an actual demographic. Just my 2c worth from a local. :) [[User:Welshman|Welshman]] 15:43, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

== Boers and Afrikaners ==

Welshman, to me as a Boer, it is very clear that Boers and Afrikaners are two distinct cultural groups. There is a big difference in culture between the two. The term is used by some far-rightists, but there are clear anthropological distinctions between the two. I could possibly write an article on the differences, if that would help. {{ unsigned| Adi }}

I agree with Adi as the Boers are a distinct cultural group from the Afrikaners & have historically been so as the term Afrikaner is artificial & was promoted & applied to all White Afrikaans speakers in a political context particularly from the 1930s on - but most White Afrikaans speakers are not of Boer descent as they are from the Cape Dutch cultural group. Therefore the artificial term Afrikaner actually makes the Boers a minority within the designation.

Furthermore it should be noted that most Boers were propagandized into also viewing themselves as Afrikaners on the part of the politicians & the fact that the Boers had become a particularly impoverished people whose organizations were supplanted by Afrikaner ones. Therefore it is not that the Afrikaners & the Boers are the same but rather the Boers had their identity marginalized by the ascending Afrikaners.

The term Boer transcends political movements because it was & is still just the cultural term used to describe those Afrikaans speaking folks of Trekboer descent as the term was adopted by the folks who developed on the Cape frontier during the 1700s whom adopted an anti-colonial & independence outlook while those Afrikaans speakers who developed in the Western Cape did not & were often pro Colonial & did not subscribe to the Boers' independence outlook. Historians have classified the dialect of the Boers as Eastern Border Afrikaans named after the region where their dialect was created. The term Boer has been gaining prominence among those of Boer descent for decades now as many are realizing that the term Afrikaner made them part of another cultural group which does not even share their outlook as the Cape Dutch descended Afrikaners do not see the Great Trek / the Voortrekker Monument & other elements of Boer history as having anything to do with them - which of course is right. [[User:Ronp5|Ronp5]] 21:47, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

== The Boers Began as a People Long Before The Great Trek. ==

This article states rather erroneously that the origin of the Boer people began with the Great Trek but this is incorrect as the Boers were established as a people on the Cape frontier by the time of the Grensboere of the 1700s & as far back as the original Trekboers who began to trek inland away from the Western Cape & the harsh VOC rule starting during the late 1600s & all throughout the first half of the 1700s. There are maps which demonstrate the expanding migrating pattern of the Trekboers who trekked inland - a pattern which did not stop until the late 1700s when the Boers came up against the first Bantu group on the frontier. The Boer people are from this group of nomadic pastoralists who developed on the Cape frontier while most of the macro later named Afrikaner group [ which encompassed all White Afrikaans speakers but only in a political context just as Canadians are Americans too ( meaning part of the North American continent ) but not Americans in the USA sense ] are not.

Therefore the Afrikaner designation encompasses a macro Afrikaans speaking group most of whom do not have Boer heritage. The Boer people consist of about 37 % to 40 % of the total White Afrikaans speaking population hence the error of presuming that they are part of the bulk of the Afrikaners. A term which just means African as all established people in Africa are. While critics will often observe that there has been some "intermarriage" among the two groups: the fact of the matter is that not to the point of having eroded or negated the existence of the distinct groups. Furthermore assimilation into one or the other will often favour the group whom one is being assimilated into & not tend to create a hybrid new group.

While distinctions were often tapered over or played down officially for political reasons during the 20th cent the Boer people still do in fact exist as a distinct group despite the fact that many are still conditioned to view themselves as Afrikaners as well. Due to the fact that the Afrikaner designation is controlled by the Cape Dutch descendents: the Boer people were [ & are still ] dominated by them as their numbers & votes scuppers Boer aspirations as was most notable all throughout the 20th cent particularly when the Boers tried to regain their Boer Republics during the 1940s before the Afrikaner establishment organized & broke it down to nothing.

[[User:Ronp5|Ronp5]] 22:19, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Boers

2009-10-04T02:19:46Z

Ronp5:

Hi Adi, appreciate the edits on Afrikanerdom, but I'm not 100% sure that you can really split Boer and Afrikaner into 2 separate groups. "Boer" essentially means farmer and these days most Afrikaans-speaking people would classify themselves as Afrikaans, not Boer. If anything, the only people who would apply the handle "boer" to themselves would be far right wing groupings like the Afrikaanse Weerstandsbeweeging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), but that's more a political thing, than an actual demographic. Just my 2c worth from a local. :) [[User:Welshman|Welshman]] 15:43, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

== Boers and Afrikaners ==

Welshman, to me as a Boer, it is very clear that Boers and Afrikaners are two distinct cultural groups. There is a big difference in culture between the two. The term is used by some far-rightists, but there are clear anthropological distinctions between the two. I could possibly write an article on the differences, if that would help. {{ unsigned| Adi }}

I agree with Adi as the Boers are a distinct cultural group from the Afrikaners & have historically been so as the term Afrikaner is artificial & was promoted & applied to all White Afrikaans speakers in a political context particularly from the 1930s on - but most White Afrikaans speakers are not of Boer descent as they are from the Cape Dutch cultural group. Therefore the artificial term Afrikaner actually makes the Boers a minority within the designation.

Furthermore it should be noted that most Boers were propagandized into also viewing themselves as Afrikaners on the part of the politicians & the fact that the Boers had become a particularly impoverished people whose organizations were supplanted by Afrikaner ones. Therefore it is not that the Afrikaners & the Boers are the same but rather the Boers had their identity marginalized by the ascending Afrikaners.

The term Boer transcends political movements because it was & is still just the cultural term used to describe those Afrikaans speaking folks of Trekboer descent as the term was adopted by the folks who developed on the Cape frontier during the 1700s whom adopted an anti-colonial & independence outlook while those Afrikaans speakers who developed in the Western Cape did not & were often pro Colonial & did not subscribe to the Boers' independence outlook. Historians have classified the dialect of the Boers as Eastern Border Afrikaans named after the region where their dialect was created. The term Boer has been gaining prominence among those of Boer descent for decades now as many are realizing that the term Afrikaner made them part of another cultural group which does not even share their outlook as the Cape Dutch descended Afrikaners do not see the Great Trek / the Voortrekker Monument & other elements of Boer history as having anything to do with them - which of course is right. [[User:Ronp5|Ronp5]] 21:47, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

== The Boers Began as a People Long Before The Great Trek. ==

This article states rather erroneously that the origin of the Boer people began with the Great Trek but this is incorrect as the Boers were established as a people on the Cape frontier by the time of the Grensboere of the 1700s & as far back as the original Trekboers who began to trek inland away from the Western Cape & the harsh VOC rule starting during the late 1600s & all throughout the first half of the 1700s. There are maps which demonstrate the expanding migrating pattern of the Trekboers who trekked inland - a pattern which did not stop until the late 1700s when the Boers came up against the first Bantu group on the frontier. The Boer people are from this group of nomadic pastoralists who developed on the Cape frontier while most of the macro later named Afrikaner group [ which encompassed all White Afrikaans speakers but only in a political context just as Canadians are Americans too ( meaning part of the North American continent ) but not Americans in the USA sense ] are not.

Therefore the Afrikaner designation encompasses a macro Afrikaans speaking group most of whom do not have Boer heritage. The Boer people consist of about 37 % to 40 % of the total White Afrikaans speaking population hence the error of presuming that they are part of the bulk of the Afrikaners. A term which just means African as all established people in Africa are. While critics will often observe that there has been some "intermarriage" among the two groups: the fact of the matter is that not to the point of having eroded or negated the existence of the distinct groups. Furthermore assimilation into one or the other will often favour the group whom one is being assimilated into & not tend to create a hybrid new group.

While distinctions were often tapered over or played down officially for political reasons during the 20th cent the Boer people still do in fact exist as a distinct group despite the fact that many are still conditioned to view themselves as Afrikaners as well. Due to the fact that the Afrikaner designation is controlled by the Cape Dutch descendents: the Boer people were [ & are still ] dominated by them as their numbers & votes scuppers Boer aspirations as was most notable all throughout the 2oth cent particularly when the Boers tried to regain their Boer Republics during the 1940s before the Afrikaner establishment organized & broke it down to nothing. [[User:Ronp5|Ronp5]] 22:19, 3 October 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Boers

2009-10-04T01:47:49Z

Ronp5:

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging

2009-09-12T03:59:19Z

Ronp5: The genocide was documented by Genocide Watch.

[[Image:Arend.gif|right|300px|thumb|Nazi-like symbol of the AWB]]
[[Image:AWB flag.png|right|200px|thumb|AWB flag]]
The '''Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging''' (Afrikaans: ''Afrikaner Resistance Movement'') is a White separatist movement founded in 1973 by seven conservative Afrikaners. Since its inception, the AWB has attracted criticism from both the National Party (who ruled [[South Africa]] under [[Apartheid]]), as well as liberal anti-Apartheid activists.

The AWB’s founding members were [[Eugene Terre'Blanche]] (who subsequently occupied the post of leader and has remained leader to the present day), Jan Groenewald, JJ Jordaan, DJ Jordaan, Renier Oosthuizen and Piet Preller. All 7 men founded the group in the garage of Eugene Terre’Blanche’s home in Heidelberg in July 1973.

The AWB’s origins lie in an earlier right-wing party, the Herstigte Nasionale Party (Re-constituted National Party), which vehemently opposed the reforms of the Apartheid government from 1966 onwards. The HNP, by the May 1981 general election attracted moderate support from within the White electorate, winning approximately one third of the Afrikaner vote (but only 16% of the overall White vote).

==Early years==
Until 1978 the AWB existed in a nominal way, with no membership lists or cards (as part of an effort to avoid detection by the infamous secret service of the Apartheid government). However in 1979 a wealthy AWB member, Albert Hertzog, began to fund the rent of an office in [[Pretoria]] which began to serve as an AWB headquarters. The early 1980s witnessed tremendous growth amongst the right-wing of White South Africa, as President [[P.W. Botha]] warned that Afrikaners must “adapt or die”, which effectively signaled the commencement of a series of reforms which lead to the dismantling of Apartheid in 1990. The AWB grew rapidly and soon had an active membership in the thousands{fact}.

==Early Militancy==
In 1977 35 AWB members, under the leadership of Eugene Terre'Blanche, tore up petitions being circulated by a group of liberal White actors at a shopping mall in Pretoria. The actors were petitioning for the Breyten Theatre, a state-owned theatre in Pretoria, to be opened to non-Whites.

==Militant Action==
In the mid 1980s the AWB developed a tradition of disrupting National Party meetings held in the Transvaal and Orange Free State (the two most conservative provinces of South Africa). As early as 1979 the AWB had heckled National Party speakers at meetings, including future Conservative Party leader Dr. Andries Treurnicht (who became sufficiently disillusioned with the reforms of the National Party that, in 1982, he and 18 other MPs formed the Conservative Party).
On March 28th 1979 a group of 40 AWB members, including AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, bluffed their way into a lecture at the University of South Africa. The lecture was being given by Professor Floors Van Jaarsveld, a noted liberal who the AWB claimed had insulted an Afrikaner Christian celebration (the Day of the Vow). Van Jaarsveld was made an example by the AWB, who publicly tarred and feathered him.

By 1988 the AWB enjoyed a large support base and membership, with estimates ranging from 5000 members to 70000{fact}. However, despite the efforts of the AWB, and other like-minded South Africans, in 1989 the newly inaugurated President De Klerk announced that Apartheid (a system of segregating South Africans by race; for example, non-Whites had severely restricted voting rights) was to end.

==Paramilitaries==
Throughout its history the AWB had a series of paramilitary wings, with their origins in a motorcycle gang called the "Stormvalke" (Afrikaans for Storm Falcons).

In 1990 the Aquila Guard was replaced by the Wenkommando (Victorious Commandos), named after a Boer commando which defeated the Zulu army during the Great Trek (1835-1840). The Wenkommando, according to a South African government report issued in 1992, numbered some 15,000 men, divided into 250 units across South Africa{fact}.

The Wenkommando was comprised of six different "wings" or "sections", including the Brandwagte (Sentinels) who were in charge of communicating any information on ANC or communist guerillas entering South Africa back to the AWB, as well as the Ystergarde (Iron Guard) who were tasked with defending senior AWB members at meetings and rallies.

The Wenkommando also included the Boerejeug (Boer Youth), the AWB's youth movement.

==The BVP==
In October 1979 the AWB registered a political party (intended, initially, to contest seats in parliament during elections) with the Department of the Interior. The party was called the '''Blanke Volkstaat Party''' (BVP) which, translates in English as, the White People's State party.

The BVP had four express purposes:{fact}
#To guarantee freedom (as the AWB saw it)
#To establish a ''Volkstaat'' (People's State, exclusively for Whites)
#Never to be "activated" against any other right-wing party
#To provide a legal front from which the AWB could raise fund

In the 1989 general election (the last Whites-only election) the BVP was intending to contest elections, and Eugene Terre'Blanche addressed meetings across the [[Transvaal]] and [[Orange Free State]] in his capacity as BVP party leader. However the BVP never did participate in any elections.

==Terrorist activities==
''Namibia''. In 1989 the territory of South West Africa (renamed [[Namibia]] in 1990) was still under South African occupation. It had been given to the Union of South Africa under a League of Nations mandate after the First World War, it had previously been a German colony. In 1989 the South African government agreed to hold multi-racial elections there. The AWB had offices in the Namibian capital city, Windhoek, and a large following amongst the White population of Namibia.

In the run-up to the elections the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) had established stations there to govern the territory during the period of transition from White rule to SWAPO (South West African People's Organisation) rule. Five AWB members, under the leadership of the AWB's Johannesburg leader, Leonard Veenendaal, attacked an UNTAG base in Outjo, northern Namibia. Phosphorus grenades were thrown and it was riddled with machine gun fire. One UNTAG guard, Michael Hoaseb, was killed in the attack.

The men were apprehended and sent, on December 4th, to Outjo district court to stand trial. En route they escaped, and in the processes killed one of the policemen escorting them, Constable Van Wyck (who was shot in the stomach by Veenendaal). The men escaped to South Africa and, in 1997, before the South African government could deport them to stand trial in Namibia had fled to Britain. The Namibian government, with the assistance of [[Interpol]], are still trying to have the two men, who are in Britain, extradited to stand trial.

''Goedgevonden Farm''. On May 11th 1991 some 2000 White farmers clashed with a contingent of the South African Police at a state-owned farm, named Goedgevonden, situated some 11 miles from Ventersdorp. The farm was nestled between a number of privately owned White farms, in 1991 (as part of the government's reform program for Apartheid) the Land Acts were repealed. The Land Acts had previously given Whites exclusive rights to buy land in farming areas.

Due to the repeal a number of Blacks moved onto Goedgevonden farm. In the months following this White farmers nearby began to experience stock thefts{fact}, they asked the government to help, but the government didn't respond.

The AWB threatened, in late April 1991, that unless the government evicted the Blacks the AWB would do it. The government said the Blacks would be protected against the AWB. On the evening of May 10th some 2000 White farmers went to Goedgevonden to remove the Blacks. The police had established cordons around the perimeter of the camp. Even so, at 1.45 am on May 11th 1991 some 25 AWB men, on horseback, charged into the camp and began tearing down the makeshift houses.

Commercial vehicles were then used by the White farmers to punch a hole through the police cordon. At 3.30 am the farmers poured into the camp and destroyed what was left of it after the attack at 1.45 am. They were then routed by the police. At this point the police unexpectedly opened fire on the White farmers, injuring 4 (two of them sustained serious injuries){fact}.

''Ventersdorp''. Terre'Blanche and 2000 AWB supporters led a march on a National Party meeting being addresed by President DeK lerk on August 9 1991 in Ventersdorp. In an ensuing gunfight 7 policemen were shot, 43 AWB supporters wounded (3 killed) and 15 innocent bystanders injured.

Terre'Blanche and 6 other AWB members were arrested and fined for commiting public violence. One AWB supporter was forensically linked to a bullet fired at the police and was jailed for 5 years. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission later granted Eugene Terre'Blanche and then AWB Deputy Leader Piet Rudolph amnesty for their actions at Ventersdorp.

''Bophuthatswana''. In 1994 the AWB were the heavily criticized in the international media hate campaign after they propped up the regime of [[Apartheid|Bantustan]] leader Lucas Mangope. It was alleged that the 750 AWB paramilitary members who went into Bophuthatswana shot and killed 5 or more innocent Black civilians.{fact}

==1990-1994==
AWB membership plummeted following De Klerk’s announcement that Apartheid would end, falling continuously until 1994 when it constituted only a few hundred members. However splinter groups of the AWB, namely the Orde Boerevolk (Order of the Boer Nation), were involved in the execution of large scale bombing campaigns against left-wing targets (with Black trade union offices and National Party offices being favourite targets).

In 1991 De Klerk, against the advice of senior policemen, held a meeting in the right-wing stronghold of Ventersdorp (where the AWB had its headquarters from 1989 onwards). In the ensuing chaos, as AWB members attempted to hand a petition to DeKlerk, 3 AWB members were killed and some 43 injured as the police and AWB exchanged gunfire.

In the days leading up to the democratic South African elections of 1994, dozens of explosions rocked numerous locations across South Africa (including Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg). A total of 21 people were killed and 176 injured in the AWB’s pre-election bombing campaign.

==Assasination of Chris Hani==
On April 10, 1993 Christopher Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party and [[Umkhonto We Sizwe]] leader (Umkhonto We Sizwe was the ANC's armed wing) was gunned down in the driveway of his Boksburg, Transvaal, home. The gunman was [[Polish]] anti-communist zealot and AWB member Janusz Walus. Walus had been provided with a list of names and addresses of leading liberals (including Hani, [[Nelson Mandela|Mandela]] and President FW De Klerk) and was preparing to kill them.

Walus pulled up outside Hani's home and called his name, Hani turned around, Waluz shot him once before walking to his body and shooting him again. Hani's neighbour, Retha Harmse, noted down what she thought was the killer's license plate (it was wrong by one character). Police on patrol in Boksburg city centre noticed Walus's car fitted the description, they pulled him over and found a pistol and silencer in the vehicle.

Initially Walus denied that he was the killer and said he didn't know how the pistol or silencer came to be in his possession. He made a confidential confession to a policeman he assumed was sympathetic, but the officer told the investigating officer that Walus had confessed.

Waluz implicated one man, Clive Derby-Lewis, a Conservative Party councillor. Derby-Lewis had arranged for the silencer to be fitted to a gun and then given it to Waluz, as well as obtaining Hani's address. Derby-Lewis' wife gave him Hani's address, she had obtained it from Arthur Kemp [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Politics&set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=vn20080410054544212C223121](who authored a book on the AWB) who was at that time a journalist for The Citizen newspaper. However Kemp was a former Sergeant in the Security Branch of the police and allegedly used this priveledge to obtain the list of addresses.

Waluz and Derby-Lewis were jailed for life (they may be paroled in 2010), while Arthur Kemp denied knowledge of helping to organise the murder, claiming that he had given the list of addresses to Clive Derby-Lewis' wife without knowledge of why she wanted them. The murder of Hani, arguably the second most popular Black South African politician, sparked mass riots.

==In the New South Africa==

Until recently the AWB had largely collapsed following the advent of democratic rule in South Africa, with a dwindling membership and with 30 AWB members jailed for organising and executing the pre-election bombing campaign. In 1997 AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche was tried for allegedly assaulting a gas station attendant in 1996 and for allegedly pistol whipping a disobedient employee of his farm. The AWB has dismissed the allegations as part of a left-wing conspiracy against the AWB. However in 2000 Eugene Terre’Blanche was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for one count of assault and one count of attempted murder. Terre’Blanche was paroled on June 11th 2004.

However in light of the genocide of White farmers [http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=2265] in South Africa [http://www.stopboergenocide.com] the AWB has re-activated and is now holding meetings the across South Africa (with two meetings attracting 500 visitors).[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/2059457/South-Africa-AWB-leader-Terre'Blanche-rallys-Boers-again.html]

==Volkstaat Concept==
Initially the AWB regarded the entirety of South Africa (except for the Bantustans which were designated Black countries) as belonging to "the White man". However as it became apparent that some concessions would need to be made to appease the international community and non-Whites in South Africa, the AWB favoured a 'Volkstaat' (People's State) solution.

The AWB proposed that the lands occupied by the Boer people, which were the Transvaal, Orange Free State and Northern Natal, be made into a Volkstaat, with an AWB government. The AWB agreed to concede the Cape province to the 4 million or so Cape Coloureds (descendants of slaves imported into South Africa by Dutch settlers). The AWB later reduced its "proposal" to an AWB state consisting only of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.

However the plan was flawed on several levels. Firstly the National Party government refused to hold a referendum on the issue of a Volkstaat; more importantly, there were some 18 million Blacks in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The AWB did not intend to consult the Black people living in the Orange Free State or Transvaal.

==Boer claims to Transvaal and Orange Free State==
The AWB claims to represent the "Boer nation", and also claims that the Boers have historical rights to the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The basis for this claim is the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Queen Victoria of Britain acquiesced to Boer demands and agreed that they should be allowed to rule the Transvaal as a republic. Queen Victoria also agreed to allow the Boers run the Orange Free State under the terms of the Orange River Convention (also known as the Bloemfontein Convention), signed in 1854.

==Flag controversy==
The AWB’s flag is a Triple Sevens with a red and white background, the 3 sevens represent the 777 of God (in direct conflict with the 666 of Satan), the white represents the supposed purity of the AWB’s ideals and the red represents the blood of Jesus Christ.
Some journalists have described the AWB as “neo-nazi”, although the AWB claims to no longer be anti-semitic (as of the revised Program of Principles, released in 1988). The AWB has only three requirements for membership (as laid out in its first Program of Principles), that members must be White, Christian and proficient in [[Afrikaans]]. The early AWB flag was simply a four pointed star (opposing the five pointed star of Zionism and the five pointed star of communism, both of whom the AWB were decided enemies).

==Popular Culture==

The AWB were used as antagonists in the novel "[[The Guns of the South]]" by [[Harry Turtledove]].

== Sources ==

*Victory or Violence:Story of the AWB of South Africa by Arthur Kemp (2nd edition. March 2008)
*[http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/1999/990615259p1001.htm]-Amnesty application (1998)
*[http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/media/1996/9611/s961119g.htm]
*[http://www.namibian.com.na/Netstories/2000/June/News/00892E6FC4.html]
*[http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=Leonard_Veenendaal]

[[Category:South Africa]] [[category:International Political Organizations]]

User:Ronp5

2009-09-12T03:53:55Z

Ronp5: Created page with 'Canadian with extensive knowledge of Boer history based on reading numerous books & articles on the topic.'

Canadian with extensive knowledge of Boer history based on reading numerous books & articles on the topic.