Terre'Blanche 'loved or hated'
2010-04-06 12:47
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Gert van der Westhuizen, Beeld
Pretoria - To write about the life of Eugène Terre’Blanche is definitely not an easy thing to do. He was either hated by his opponents or loved by his supporters.Others regarded him as a political clown with green underpants full of holes and a paper tiger who fell from his horse.You are therefore bound to satisfy no-one with a retrospective of his public career.The Afrikaner also has an inherent respect for death, which often forces people to say only pleasant things about the deceased. But you can never forget who Eugène Terre’Blanche was and what he stood for.AttentionHe drew attention for the first time when he and a few friends tarred and feathered Professor Floors van Jaarsveld in 1979 when they disliked the historian's view on the Day of the Covenant.During the 1980s, Terre’Blanche and his AWB increasingly drew more attention with incendiary speeches and public shows of power.One paramilitary unit after another was founded by the AWB: Aquila, the Stormvalke (Storm hawks – a motorbike corps), the Wenkommando (Winning commando), the Goue Arende (Golden Eagles – an air wing) and the Ystergarde (Iron guard), to name but a few.Towards the end of the decade, Terre’Blanche almost single-handedly destroyed his movement after news broke of his extra-marital affair with columnist Jani Allan, and stories about his alcohol abuse came to light.He alienated several of his supporters who then again founded their own movements.Although similar rumours dogged the AWB leader for the rest of the 20th century, his movement got a second wind after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990.New South AfricaAs the new South Africa emerged, the units increased and the rhetoric became more violent (there was later even a unit with the ominous name: Retribution unit).The AWB and Terre’Blanche declared war almost every week.The war talk and threats made at the time, make ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema look like a bumbling amateur.For instance, in 1993, after the murder of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani, he ignored calls for calm."All I can say, is that a murderer was murdered," declared Terre’Blanche. "If he had continued and the communists had continued with the war to overthrow the state authority and take my country, then I might have had to shoot him myself!"In this political climate, several AWB members committed acts of violence.Incidents like the "Battle of Ventersdorp" in 1991, in which three right-wing members died and more than 50 people were injured when the AWB wanted to prevent former president FW de Klerk from making a speech, were unavoidable.Embarrassment After Hani's murder, Terre’Blanche's position as the true leader of the right wing was threatened again when several retired generals went into politics and founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF).Terre’Blanche initially did not want to become part of the greater organisation, but later agreed to join in when it appeared that the AWB was becoming increasingly irrelevant.From the start, he was an embarrassment to the AVF, which was led by General Constand Viljoen.AWB members, for instance, with the "Battle of the World Trade Centre" ignored AVF orders and caused great embarrassment to Viljoen with their disorderly behaviour.Nevertheless, the AWB remained part of the right-wing opposition against the new South Africa and its leader continued to huff and puff. Some supporters did not only huff and puff. There were for instance, the roadblock murders late in 1993, when four people were murdered on the road between Krugersdorp and Ventersdorp. The ear of one of the victims was even cut off.Bophuthatswana 'invasion'In March 1993, the AWB also "invaded" the former homeland of Bophuthatswana, despite clear calls from Viljoen and the homeland leader Lucas Mangope, to stay away.AWB members arrived in bakkies and cars to keep Mangope's regime going. They angered local residents by shooting wildly at people and shouting racist slogans.Their right-wing friends at the AVF also wanted nothing to do with these bullies and the AWB had to leave with its tail between the legs.Five right-wingers died in Bophuthatswana, among them three AWB members who were executed in front of media cameras after their fellow invaders left them behind.But it didn't stop Terre’Blanche from claiming a "shining victory".He said five AWB members died and six were injured but that the "other side" had 50 dead and 285 wounded.The "other side" were innocent civilians, not one soldier or policeman had been killed by the right-wingers.More than anything else, the AWB had helped to bring Mangope's reign to an end.A commission of inquiry held the AWB responsible for the deaths of five people and recommended that Terre’Blanche and other prominent leaders of the AWB were criminally charged. This never happened.No political heritageThe Bophuthatswana fiasco was the end of the AWB as a factor in South African politics.A splinter group caused death and devastation through bomb attacks shortly before the election in 1994, but very few people would again take the AWB or Terre’Blanche seriously.History could almost be seen to have left him and his movement behind.Terre’Blanche didn't really leave a political heritage, he was an embarrassment, even to his own right-wing friends.For victims of the AWB, he was nothing more than a racist promoter of violence. He had largely been forgotten until he was murdered this weekend.No-one deserves to be murdered with a panga and a knobkerrie. You could only concur with Nathi Mthethwa, the minister of police's statement in Ventersdorp on Monday: A human being is dead; a human being has been murdered.- Van der Westhuizen is a senior journalist from Beeld who reported extensively about Terre’Blanche and the AWB.
- Beeld
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Read more on: awb eugene terre'blanche
Galleries · User Galleries · News in Pictures Send us your pictures · Send us your stories
Related Links
AWB graffiti defaces road signs
AWB claims 3 000 new members
Terre'Blanche family 'devastated'
'My son killed Terre'Blanche'
Terre'Blanche: Malema denies blame
AWB rules out revenge
AWB to appoint new leader 'soon'
Terre'Blanche to be buried on farm
Zuma on Terre'Blanche murder
Gert van der Westhuizen, Beeld
Pretoria - To write about the life of Eugène Terre’Blanche is definitely not an easy thing to do. He was either hated by his opponents or loved by his supporters.Others regarded him as a political clown with green underpants full of holes and a paper tiger who fell from his horse.You are therefore bound to satisfy no-one with a retrospective of his public career.The Afrikaner also has an inherent respect for death, which often forces people to say only pleasant things about the deceased. But you can never forget who Eugène Terre’Blanche was and what he stood for.AttentionHe drew attention for the first time when he and a few friends tarred and feathered Professor Floors van Jaarsveld in 1979 when they disliked the historian's view on the Day of the Covenant.During the 1980s, Terre’Blanche and his AWB increasingly drew more attention with incendiary speeches and public shows of power.One paramilitary unit after another was founded by the AWB: Aquila, the Stormvalke (Storm hawks – a motorbike corps), the Wenkommando (Winning commando), the Goue Arende (Golden Eagles – an air wing) and the Ystergarde (Iron guard), to name but a few.Towards the end of the decade, Terre’Blanche almost single-handedly destroyed his movement after news broke of his extra-marital affair with columnist Jani Allan, and stories about his alcohol abuse came to light.He alienated several of his supporters who then again founded their own movements.Although similar rumours dogged the AWB leader for the rest of the 20th century, his movement got a second wind after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990.New South AfricaAs the new South Africa emerged, the units increased and the rhetoric became more violent (there was later even a unit with the ominous name: Retribution unit).The AWB and Terre’Blanche declared war almost every week.The war talk and threats made at the time, make ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema look like a bumbling amateur.For instance, in 1993, after the murder of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani, he ignored calls for calm."All I can say, is that a murderer was murdered," declared Terre’Blanche. "If he had continued and the communists had continued with the war to overthrow the state authority and take my country, then I might have had to shoot him myself!"In this political climate, several AWB members committed acts of violence.Incidents like the "Battle of Ventersdorp" in 1991, in which three right-wing members died and more than 50 people were injured when the AWB wanted to prevent former president FW de Klerk from making a speech, were unavoidable.Embarrassment After Hani's murder, Terre’Blanche's position as the true leader of the right wing was threatened again when several retired generals went into politics and founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF).Terre’Blanche initially did not want to become part of the greater organisation, but later agreed to join in when it appeared that the AWB was becoming increasingly irrelevant.From the start, he was an embarrassment to the AVF, which was led by General Constand Viljoen.AWB members, for instance, with the "Battle of the World Trade Centre" ignored AVF orders and caused great embarrassment to Viljoen with their disorderly behaviour.Nevertheless, the AWB remained part of the right-wing opposition against the new South Africa and its leader continued to huff and puff. Some supporters did not only huff and puff. There were for instance, the roadblock murders late in 1993, when four people were murdered on the road between Krugersdorp and Ventersdorp. The ear of one of the victims was even cut off.Bophuthatswana 'invasion'In March 1993, the AWB also "invaded" the former homeland of Bophuthatswana, despite clear calls from Viljoen and the homeland leader Lucas Mangope, to stay away.AWB members arrived in bakkies and cars to keep Mangope's regime going. They angered local residents by shooting wildly at people and shouting racist slogans.Their right-wing friends at the AVF also wanted nothing to do with these bullies and the AWB had to leave with its tail between the legs.Five right-wingers died in Bophuthatswana, among them three AWB members who were executed in front of media cameras after their fellow invaders left them behind.But it didn't stop Terre’Blanche from claiming a "shining victory".He said five AWB members died and six were injured but that the "other side" had 50 dead and 285 wounded.The "other side" were innocent civilians, not one soldier or policeman had been killed by the right-wingers.More than anything else, the AWB had helped to bring Mangope's reign to an end.A commission of inquiry held the AWB responsible for the deaths of five people and recommended that Terre’Blanche and other prominent leaders of the AWB were criminally charged. This never happened.No political heritageThe Bophuthatswana fiasco was the end of the AWB as a factor in South African politics.A splinter group caused death and devastation through bomb attacks shortly before the election in 1994, but very few people would again take the AWB or Terre’Blanche seriously.History could almost be seen to have left him and his movement behind.Terre’Blanche didn't really leave a political heritage, he was an embarrassment, even to his own right-wing friends.For victims of the AWB, he was nothing more than a racist promoter of violence. He had largely been forgotten until he was murdered this weekend.No-one deserves to be murdered with a panga and a knobkerrie. You could only concur with Nathi Mthethwa, the minister of police's statement in Ventersdorp on Monday: A human being is dead; a human being has been murdered.- Van der Westhuizen is a senior journalist from Beeld who reported extensively about Terre’Blanche and the AWB.
- Beeld
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