Since the alleged murder of the former member of the white supremacist Herstigte Nasionale Party, Eugene Terre’Blanche, on 3rd April, 2010, racial tensions in South Africa have reportedly been mounting up with fears that it could lead to civil war.
With the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup just round the corner, it is no surprise that political leaders are scrambling to assure the world that South Africa is a safe venue for the tournament. While it has been rumoured that an attempt at sodomizing one of the killers, by Terreblanche, had triggered his murder, political parties have been quick to blame the ANC Youth leader Julius Malema for stirring up racial tension by singing an anti-apartheid struggle song "Shoot the Boer" (Boer is an Afrikaans word for farmer, which has become a derogatory term for white South Africans).
Eugene Terreblanche (January 31, 1941 – April 3, 2010): © Pan-African News Wire
The mounting pressure culminated yesterday with the ANC indicating that it would take disciplinary action against Malema. Could this be the ANC using Malema as a scapegoat in their eagerness to make someone accountable for the recent events? Several reports indicate that the mounting racial tension, though dramatized by Malema in his behaviour, is mostly down to growing discontent with the ANC.
“The scourge of racism from the farm fields to the boardrooms is galvanising anti-ANC sentiment within the black community. The people are beginning to ask: What has the ANC actually done for black people?” wrote columnist Andile Mngxitama
"Julius Malema speaks for a large consistency of people who feel disappointed by the progress that has been made in improving equality and access to the economy for black people since 1994." Said Nic Dawes, editor of South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper
Questions and Facebook
As the pressure mounts so also the questions grow: was Terre’Blanche’s murder racially motivated? Will racial tensions lead to civil war? What does the future hold for the ANC?
For Malema, the murder of Terre’Blanche is isolated from his anti-apartheid chants:
"The death of Terre'Blanche has got nothing to do with the song. We know who Terre'Blanche was, his character and how he related with his workers. So the police must investigate and look out for the person who killed him." He told the Guardian
For many though the growing unrest and anxiety sees them turning their backs on the youth leader once branded by president Zuma as a possible future president. Groups like “1000000 against Julius Malema”, “official petition: remove Julius Malema as president of the ancyl”, “Julius Malema has to go!!” have sprung up on the social networking site, facebook.
Though a majority of the members of these groups are white South Africans, a visit to the group gives you an inkling as to how much racial hatred is really brewing in the country as many of it’s members leave racial comments and tell stories of racial attacks in the country.
On the group “Julius Malema has to go!!” for example, members leave comments on a picture of a dog with Malema’s face. Members write:
“This is wat u shud expect from zulus just like the ndebele they loud mouth, stupid and very blood thirsty”.
“Malema is more ugly than a baboon lol!!”
“Wow here is a witty and funny picture, 4 all to have a lekker laugh, at Malema expense 4 a change ,after a terrible couple of weeks, and guess what, u people have to start up all the ugliness and bullshit about e.t. an racism, can’t u be nice. Enjoy this picture.”
“I joined this GRUP looking forward for constructive inputs over the damage that Malema is causing to our nation. But tough s**t, most of the wall posts are racial, insults, swearing,.etc...
So ppl times and days to fighting fire with fire are gone bcos you wouldnt c who caused it.
Trusting that you all genius or at least above Malema IQ, please 'LET HIM GO' by saying things that will attract more ppl to this group whether white, black, red, pink, brown etc......”
y must he go while the media is the one that is Sensationalising all the issues that Malema raises... last week white people shoot people who were travelling with a taxi nothing was said about it even worse to mention the Vissige issue...
The growing discontent is clear, and the ANC is moving fast to distance itself from it.
Corrections
"Since the alleged murder of the former member of the white supremacist Herstigte Nasionale Party, Eugene Terre’Blanche, on 3rd April, 2010, racial tensions in South Africa have reportedly been mounting up with fears that it could lead to civil war"
Good piece, but I have to add the following corrections:
1)Eugene Terre'Blanche was not a member of the Herstigte Nasionale Party.
2)He was not a White Supremacist.
3) There is no "alleged Murder", he was Murdered. Meaning that he is dead and not "presumed" dead.
4) Racial tensions did not start when he was murdered, they escalated, the racial tensions began when members of the ANC and ANC Youth League sang songs that polarised a certain part of the population, namely the Boers / Afrikaners, in that they sang the song "Kill the Boer / Kill the Farmer", not long after this song was sung in South Africa and in Zimbabwe, Eugene was murdered on his farm, conveniently while Malema (the instigator of the song) was in Zimbabwe where he admired Mugabe's land reform project (where thousands of white owned farms were taken by black war veterans, some farmers were killed, other left, but took nothing)
Eugene has always been a member of the AWB (Afrikaner Weerstands Beweging) since the 70's, and has stood against the apartheid government regularly in that he wanted separate land for his people, away from apartheid and away from Multiculturism. He was not a supremacist or racist, but a nationalist. That which he wanted for his people (separate land) he also wanted for Black people and every other race that wanted it. If you are racist, you discriminate against other races, Eugene on the other hand, helped lots of black people by providing them with work, food etc. Ask any of his workers that worked on his farm, and they will tell you that he was a good man that looked after his workers. He even helped one of his workers to bury his mother, where he provided financial aid.
All he fought for was separate land in order for his people to develop themselves via their heritage, culture, language and history. From the 70's he fought for this, but the Apartheid government never gave him any, the same Government that allocated land for black people knows as INDEPENDENT TERRITORIES where these black people will not live under Apartheid, but live via their own means, culture and heritage.
Thanks