Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
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The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging or AWB, is a political and paramilitary group in South Africa under the leadership of Eugène Terre'Blanche. They are committed to the restoration of an independent Afrikaner republic or "Boerestaat" within South Africa, and wished to drive all English-speakers into the sea. In their heyday they received much publicity both in South Africa and abroad as an extremist white supremacist group.
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[edit] Beginnings
The AWB was formed in 1970 in a garage in Heidelberg, Transvaal, a town southeast of Johannesburg. Eugène Terre'Blanche, a former police officer, became disillusioned by then-Prime Minister B.J. Vorster's "liberal views," as well as what he viewed as Communist influences in South African society. Terre'Blanche decided to form the AWB with six other like-minded individuals, and was elected leader of the organisation, a position he holds to this day.
Their ideology was to establish an independent Boerestaat ("Boer State") for Afrikaner people, existing separately from South Africa, which was considered too left wing by Terre'blanche. The AWB was formed in an attempt to regain the ground lost after the Second Boer War: they intended to re-establish the Boer Republics of the past — the South African Republic (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) and the Republic of the Orange Free State (Oranje Vrystaat) — which they claimed the European and American governments had recognised.
[edit] The AWB logo
The AWB flag is comprised of three sevens in a white circle upon a red background, forming a triskelion, highly similar to the Nazi swastika.
Despite the strong resemblance to the Nazi swastika and the historic admiration for Nazism among the far right in South Africa, Terre'Blanche publicly claims to distance the AWB from this interpretation of the emblem. He claims instead that the sevens, 'the number of JAHWEH', 'stand to oppose the number 666, the number of the anti-Christ'. Red is considered to represent Jesus' blood, while black stands for bravery and courage. The inner white circle symbolizes the "eternal struggle".
The AWB also uses the "Vierkleur" or the original flag of the once independent Transvaal Republic.
[edit] AWB during Apartheid
During the 1970s and 1980s, the AWB grew from the original 7 to several thousand white South Africans. They opposed the reform of Apartheid laws during the 1980s, harassing liberal politicians and holding large (and often quite rowdy) political rallies. Terre'Blanche used his flamboyant oratorical skills and forceful personality to win converts. He railed against the lifting of many so-called "Petty apartheid" laws such as the law banning interracial sex and marriage, as well as the larger and more important steps, such as limited political rights to Indians and Coloureds. During the State of Emergency (1984 to 1986) there were many reports of AWB violence against unarmed non-whites. The AWB was especially in opposition to the then-banned African National Congress which they believed was controlled by the South African Communist Party. The ruling National Party considered the AWB to be little more than a fringe group, so while not officially endorsed, they were able to operate relatively unhindered. However in 1986, white police officers took the unprecedented step of using tear gas against Terre'Blanche and the AWB when they disrupted a National Party rally.
In 1992, the AWB was beset by scandal when Terre'Blanche was found to be having an affair with journalist Jani Allan, with transcripts of their sexual relationship appearing in the South African press.
During the negotiations that led to South Africa's first multiracial elections, the AWB threatened all-out war. During the Battle of Ventersdorp in August 1991, the AWB confronted police in front of the town hall where President F W de Klerk was speaking, and three AWB supporters and one passer-by were killed in the conflict. Later in the negotiations, the AWB stormed the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park where the negotiations were taking place, breaking through the glass front of the building with an armoured car. [1] The police guarding the centre failed to prevent the invasion. The invaders then took over the main conference hall, threatening delegates and painting slogans on the walls, but left again after a short period.
[edit] Bophuthatswana coup
In 1994, before the advent of majority rule, the AWB gained international notoriety in its attempt to defend the dictatorial government of Lucas Mangope in the homeland of Bophuthatswana. The AWB, along with a contingent of about 90 Afrikanervolksfront militiamen entered the capital of Mmabatho on March 10 and March 11. During their entry to the homeland they were all observed indiscriminately shooting civilians and tossing grenades from their vehicles. After the black soldiers and police with Bophuthatswana Defense Force (they and the AWB were out in force to support president Mangope) witnessed these killings, they disappeared from the streets in protest. They later turned on the AWB/Volksfront militiamen at the airport at Mafikeng. One AWB member was shot and killed when the convoy attempted to leave the airport and continue on to Mmabatho. When in Mmabatho, the AWB and the Afrikanervolksfront found themselves under continuous siege from both the Bophuthatswana Defense Force and Mmabatho citizens. When attempting to retreat from Mmabatho on March 15, three AWB members were killed by Defense Force members. The three exchanged fire with Defense Force soldiers and policemen from their Mercedes on reaching an intersection. The wounded survivor Alwyn Wolfaardt waved a pistol but was advised not to start shooting by nearby journalists. The journalists themselves were nearly fired upon by Bophuthatswana soldiers (they were saved by a jammed rifle) and in the fracas Wolfaardt was shot at close range by Ontlametse Bernstein Menyatsoe whose words "What are you doing in my country?" were broadcast around the world by a television news crew. This proved to be a public relations disaster for the AWB and showed the world in stark terms that decades of white supremacy had come to an end. Despite this disaster, Eugène Terre'Blanche proclaimed the failed campaign a victory.
[edit] Post-apartheid
In June 2004, Terre'blanche was released from prison. He was sentenced for the attempted murder of security guard, Paul Motshabi, but Terre'blanche only served three years. Terre'blanche claims that while in prison, he re-discovered God and has dropped some of his more violent and racist policies. He nowadays preaches reconciliation as 'prescribed by God'.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Truth and Reconcilliation application by Ontlametse Menyatsoe who was at the centre of the Bophuthatswana incident
- South African Press Association (1997): AWB EXPRESSES REGRETS OVER BOP KILLINGS, RACISM
[edit] Further reading
The Bang-bang Club: The Making of the New South Africa, Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva, William Heinemann, 2000 ISBN 0-434-00733-1 (details the Bophuthatswana incident)
