AWB recruitment drive turns heads

Feb 20, 2011 1:35 AM | By BONGANI MDAKANE
A small group of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) members caused a stir in Johannesburg yesterday when they set up a roadside camp as part of a recruitment drive.

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A young boy holds up the AWB flag outside the Ventersdorp Magistrates Court where two men appeared on murder charges for the killing of right wing leader Eugene Terre Blanche. The right wing faction says it will enter into negotiations with the government for self governance.
Photograph by: .


Residents of the western suburb of Montgomery Park said they were not happy with the right-wing movement's presence in the suburb yesterday.

"Why are these people here? It poses a threat to us as residents," said one resident.

But Pieter Hanekom, who described himself as a leader of the AWB, said they were not doing anything illegal.

"All we are doing is to recruit our people to join the movement," he said.

"We want to involve the public to be proud of being AWB members, and our aim is to grow the number of members in our movement."

Hanekom said the AWB was not racist, but when asked if a black person would be allowed to sign up, he replied: "On that one, I will need to consult with the head office."

Another woman, who like Hanekom was clad in the AWB's khaki uniform, said: "We want to teach our children our history, as it is no longer being taught in schools. The old AWB is gone, and the new one is not racist any more."

Yet the woman, who would not identify herself, said she would "personally chase blacks away".

"Blacks have their own culture, and they are not welcome to be part of us. As for us, we have our own culture and we respect it," she said.

A man in his early 40s who joined the gathering, wearing a Johannesburg Metro Police Department uniform, warned the Sunday Times not to take his picture.

"I don't want my pictures or my car to be photographed. I hope you can see that I am an officer, so make sure that I don't appear in your story," he said.

Times Live

Comments by Sonny

The past belongs to the past.

Focus on a brighter future!!