Storming of Kempton Park World Trade Centre

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The storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre took place in South Africa on June 25, 1993 when several thousand members of the Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF), Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) and other paramilitary right-wing Afrikaner groups stormed the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.

The World Trade Centre was the venue for multi-party negotiations to end the apartheid system through the country's first multi-racial elections. These negotiations were strongly opposed by right-wing white groups in South Africa. The invasion came after other clashes between police and right-wingers, such as the Battle of Ventersdorp, and much belligerent rhetoric from right-wing leaders such as Eugene Terre'Blanche of the AWB.

[edit] Storming of the negotiation venue

A protest led the AVF was scheduled for June 25 outside the negotiation venue. At 8 a.m. protesters began arriving, and began harassing delegates to the negotiations.

A 'Viper' armoured vehicle was used to crash through the glass windows of the WTC allowing supporters, carrying firearms and chanting "AWB", to invade the premises. Police attempted to form a cordon to prevent the invasion but were ineffective. A police captain who tried to prevent the vehicle from breaking through was assaulted and suffered internal bleeding.^[1]

Once inside, the right-wingers were effectively left in control of the building while the multi-party negoiation delegates took cover by hiding in meeting rooms. The protesters painted slogans on the walls, urinated over furniture, harassed delegates. Damage was estimated at more than 700,000 Rand.^[1]

Incongruously, the protesters also held a prayer meeting in the main negotiating chamber.

Before leaving, negotiations with the police were held in which it was agreed that no members would be arrested that day. The departure was peaceful compared to the entrance.

General Constand Viljoen, a conservative Afrikaner leader who was participating in the negotiations, later denied that the invasion was planned by the Afrikaner Volksfront as part of their protest, and criticised the AWB members who had "got out of hand".^[2]

[edit] Goldstone Commission

The Goldstone Commission, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, was tasked with investigating the protest. The commission found that the South African Police protecting the negotiations had been completely ineffective, that the protesters had broken the law and breached agreed conditions for their protest, and welcomed the arrest and charging of 60 persons. It found that the AWB members had acted as hooligans, and recommended that assurances from the AWB regarding the conduct of its members should not be relied on in future. It also made recommendations to further restrict public carrying of weapons, paramilitary uniforms and face covering during demonstrations.^[1]

[edit] References