The flag of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging

The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (English: Afrikaner Resistance Movement) or AWB, is a political and paramilitary group in South Africa under the leadership of Eugène Terre'Blanche. The Sharpeville Massacre, also known as the Sharpeville shootings, occurred on March 21, 1960, when South African police began shooting on a crowd The Soweto uprising or Soweto Riots were a series of clashes in Soweto, South Africa on June 16 1976 between black youths and the South African The Treason Trial was a trial in which 156 people (105 Blacks 21 Indians 23 Whites and 7 Coloureds including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress The Church Street bombing was a 1983 attack by the Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, in the South African capital The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of negotiations between 1990 and 1993 and through unilateral steps by the De Klerk government The St James Church massacre was a massacre perpetrated on St James Church in Kenilworth, Cape Town on 25 July 1993 by four cadres The African National Congress (ANC has been South Africa 's governing party supported by its Tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions The Inkatha Freedom Party ( IFP) is a Political party in South Africa. The Black Sash was a non-violent white women's resistance organization founded in 1955 in South Africa by Jean Sinclair The South African Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB was a Covert, Special forces organisation during the apartheid era that operated under the authority The Conservative Party of South Africa ( Konserwatiewe Party van Suid-Afrika in Afrikaans) was a Conservative party formed in 1982 as a breakaway The End Conscription Campaign was an anti- Apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front (UDF and composed of Conscientious objectors and their supporters The Progressive Party was a liberal South African party that opposed the ruling National Party's policies of Apartheid. The Reform Party was a political party that existed for just five months in 1975 The Progressive Federal Party (PFP was a South African Political party formed in 1977. The Herstigte Nasionale Party van Suid-Afrika (Reconstituted National Party of South Africa was formed as a Right wing splinter group of the South African National Party For other uses of Umkhonto see Umkhonto (disambiguation Umkhonto we Sizwe (or MK The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (once known as the Pan Africanist Congress, abbreviated as the PAC was a South African liberation movement that South African Communist Party ( SACP) is a Political party in South Africa. The United Democratic Front ( UDF) was one of the most important anti- Apartheid organisations of the 1980s This page refers to the Afrikaner Broederbond For its later incarnation see Afrikanerbond. The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU is a Trade union The South African Defence Force (SADF were the South African Armed forces from 1957 until 1994 For the post-apartheid police force see South African Police Service. Pieter Willem Botha (12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006 commonly known as "P Joshua Oupa Gqozo (ɔupʼa ɡǃʱɔz̤ɔ ( 10 March 1952 -) was the military ruler of the former Homeland of Ciskei in South Africa Daniel François Malan (22 May 1874 &ndash 7 February 1959 more commonly known as D Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African Cleric and activist who rose to Worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent Frederik Willem de Klerk (born 18 March 1936 was the last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994 Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu ( May 18, 1912 &ndash May 5, 2003) was a South African anti- Apartheid activist and member of the Helen Suzman, born Helen Gavronsky ( 7 November, 1917 in Germiston Gauteng, South Africa) was an anti- Apartheid Harry Heinz Schwarz (born May 13, 1924) is a former South African anti- Apartheid politician diplomat and jurist Andries Petrus Treurnicht ( February 19, 1921, Piketberg, Cape Province – April 22, 1993, Cape Town) was the Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd ( Amsterdam, 8 September 1901 &ndash Cape Town, 6 September 1966 was Prime Minister of South Africa from Oliver Reginald Tambo ( 27 October 1917 - 24 April 1993) was a South African anti- Apartheid politician and a central figure Balthazar Johannes Vorster (13 December 1915 - 10 September 1983 better known as John Vorster ("FOUR-stir" served as the Prime Minister of South Africa Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima ( June 15 1915 - June 15 2003) was a former leader of the then- Bantustan of Transkei in James Thomas "Jimmy" Kruger (1917 — May 9, 1987) was a South African Politician who rose to the position of Minister of Justice Stephen Bantu Biko December 1946 &ndash 12 September 1977 was a noted anti-[[apartheid] activist in South Africa in the 1960s and early Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston KCMG ( June 15, 1913 – April 20, 1998) was an Anglican priest one-time Archbishop A bantustan or more commonly black african homeland or simply homeland, was territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South-West District Six ( Afrikaans Distrik Ses) is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Robben Island ( Afrikaans Robbeneiland) is an Island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of the Cape Town bay South Sophiatown (pronounced with a long stressed i) (also known as Sof'town or Kofifi) is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa South-West Africa (Afrikaans Suidwes-Afrika; German Südwestafrika) was the name of what is today the Republic of Namibia. Soweto is an urban area in the City of Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. Vlakplaas is a farm 20km west of Pretoria that served as the headquarters of the South African Police Counterinsurgency unit C10 (later called C1 working The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies the South The Sullivan Principles are the names of two corporate codes of conduct, developed by the African-American preacher Rev The Kairos Document (KD is a theological statement issued in 1985 by a group of black South African theologians based predominantly in the black Townships of Disinvestment (or divestment from South Africa was first advocated in the 1960s in protest of South Africa's system of Apartheid, but was not implemented on a significant For the post-apartheid police force see South African Police Service. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (born January 31, 1941) is a Boer - Afrikaner who founded the white supremacist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging They are committed to the restoration of an independent Afrikaner republic or "Boerestaat" within South Africa. The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern In their heyday they received much publicity both in South Africa and abroad as an extremist white supremacist group. Heyday was a horse that competed in the sport of Eventing, ridden by American Bruce Davidson. White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups.

Beginnings

The AWB was formed in 7 July 1973 in a garage in Heidelberg, Transvaal, a town southeast of Johannesburg. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. For the Russian theme park see Transvaal Park. The Transvaal (Afrikaans lit Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. 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. Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (born January 31, 1941) is a Boer - Afrikaner who founded the white supremacist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a Police force. Balthazar Johannes Vorster (13 December 1915 - 10 September 1983 better known as John Vorster ("FOUR-stir" served as the Prime Minister of South Africa Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based 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 objective 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 term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern 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 the European and American governments had recognised in the late 1800s. See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: This article is about the former country in Africa For the present-day country see South Africa; for the region where both are located see Southern Africa The Republic of the Orange Free State (Oranje-Vrystaat Dutch: Oranje-Vrijstaat) was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa ^[1]

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. A triskelion or triskele (both from the Greek gr ''τρισκέλιον'' or grc ''τρισκελής'' for "three-legged" is a Symbol Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German The swastika (from Sanskrit: svástika sa स्वस्तिक Hindu IS CORRECT if 'ि' is positioned incorrectly see -->) is

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. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German He claims instead that the sevens, 'the number of JAHWEH', 'stand to oppose the number 666, the number of the anti-Christ'. See also Yahweh Tetragrammaton (from the Greek, meaning ' of four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen Number of the Beast if you were looking for the For other uses see Antichrist (disambiguation In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person office Red is considered to represent Jesus' blood, while black stands for bravery and courage. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The inner white circle symbolizes the "eternal struggle". ^[2]

The AWB also uses the "Vierkleur" or the original flag of the once independent Transvaal Republic. The Flag of Transvaal is the flag of the former Transvaal province of South Africa. This article is about the former country in Africa For the present-day country see South Africa; for the region where both are located see Southern Africa

AWB during apartheid

During the 1970s and 1980s, the AWB grew from the original 7 to several thousand white South Africans. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. 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. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The AWB was especially in opposition to the then-banned African National Congress. The African National Congress (ANC has been South Africa 's governing party supported by its Tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions 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. The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of 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. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) A lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (from lacrima meaning "a tear " in Latin) (commonly referred to as tear gas) is a

Volkshulpskema

An economic crisis in the mid-1980s saw many poorer white South African families fall on hard times. The AWB instituted a programme to help the very poorest Afrikaner families. It was initially called the AWB Voedingskema (feeding scheme) and then the Volkshulpskema (people's help scheme), the programme contributed to the popularity of the AWB in the Afrikaner community. The scheme delivered a meal every day to 14,000 poor Afrikaner children in Pretoria. In the final 3 months of 1986 alone 300 tons of food was donated. In the winter, bedding was donated as well. Sympathetic mine owners and farmers 'arranged' jobs for unemployed Afrikaners on the farms and mines. Certain farmers also donated vegetables on an almost weekly basis to the poorest. Afrikaans singer Bles Bridges held a concert on March 3rd, 1987 in Pretoria and gave the 10,000 Rand raised to the AWB's People's Help Scheme. Bles Bridges ( 22 July 1947 &ndash 24 March 2000) He was born Lawrence John Gabriel Bridges, but became known as Bles Bridges ^[3]

AWB during the end of apartheid

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. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Jani Allan (born 11 September, 1953) is a former South African journalist and radio commentator best known for an alleged affair with right-wing AWB ^[4]

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. The Battle of Ventersdorp on 9 August 1991 was a violent confrontation in the South African town of Ventersdorp between right wing supporters Frederik Willem de Klerk (born 18 March 1936 was the last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994 ^[5] Later in the negotiations, the AWB stormed the Kempton Park World Trade Centre where the negotiations were taking place, breaking through the glass front of the building with an armoured car. The storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre took place in South Africa on June 25, 1993 when approximately three thousand members of the Afrikaner 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. ^[6]

Bophuthatswana coup

Main article: 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. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope is the former leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana. Bophuthatswana (meaning gathering of the Tswana people) was a Bantustan ("homeland" in the northwest of South Africa. The AWB, along with a contingent of about 90 Afrikanervolksfront militiamen entered the capital of Mmabatho on March 10 and March 11. The Afrikaner Volksfront or AVF (Afrikaner People's Front was a separatist umbrella organisation uniting a number of right-wing Afrikaner organisations in South The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary Citizens to provide defense emergency law enforcement or Paramilitary service Mmabatho ( Setswana for "Mother of the People" is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty 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 Defence 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. Mafikeng (previously Mafeking) is the capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. One AWB member was shot and killed when the convoy attempted to leave the airport and continue on to Mmabatho. Mmabatho ( Setswana for "Mother of the People" is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. When in Mmabatho, the AWB and the Afrikaner Volksfront found themselves under continuous siege from both the Bophuthatswana Defence Force and Mmabatho citizens. When attempting to retreat from Mmabatho on March 11, three AWB members were killed by Defence Force members after they had been wounded. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty The three exchanged fire with Defence Force soldiers and policemen from their Mercedes on reaching an intersection. One of the wounded, Andre Woolfaardt, requested an ambulance for an injured member and Menyatso allegedly replied, "Why didn't you bring your own ambulance". The journalists themselves were nearly fired upon by Bophuthatswana soldiers (they were saved by a jammed rifle) and Wolfaardt was killed at close range with an automatic rifle 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 due to the fact that over a hundred Bophutatswana soldiers were killed and only three AWB members were killed. ^[7]

Post-apartheid

On June 17, 1997 Terre'Blanche was sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a petrol station worker, John Ndzima, and the attempted murder of a security guard and former employee, Paul Motshabi. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet Terre'Blanche was released in June 2004 after serving 3 years in Rooigrond Prison near Mafikeng. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Mafikeng (previously Mafeking) is the capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. ^[8] During his time in prison he became a born-again Christian and claims he has moderated many of his more racist views and preaches reconciliation as 'prescribed by God'. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that However, the AWB website still claims these court cases and other scandals involving him were fabricated by the 'Black Government and the left wing media'. ^[9]

There was controversy in April 2007, when AWB posters surfaced at the 13th Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudstshoorn. Several posters made reference to the Bok Van Klerk song 'De la Rey', an Afrikaans hit record about the Boer General as well as to South Africa's former coat of arms. Organisers were quick to remove the posters.

In March 2008, the AWB announced it was re-activating for 'populist' reasons, citing the encouragement of the public. Reasons for the return include the electricity crisis, corruption across government departments and rampant crime. Plans include a demand for land that they claim is legally theirs in terms of the Sand River Convention of 1852 and other historical treaties, through the International Court of Justice in The Hague if necessary, and if that fails, taking up arms. The Sand River Convention was a convention whereby Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the Boers living beyond the Vaal River See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour In April 2008, Terre'Blanche will be the speaker at several AWB rallies in Vryburg, Middelburg and Pretoria. Vryburg (free fort is a large agricultural Town situated in the Bophirima district of the North West Province of South Africa. There are two towns called Middelburg in South Africa for the other Middelburg Eastern Cape or see Middelburg (disambiguation. Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. ^[10]

Membership

Although primarily an Afrikaner movement, with Afrikaans as their sole official language, the AWB also had English-speaking white members. As Terre'Blanche's driver and AWB member, Jan 'J. P' Meyer, once remarked, "We have a large membership, even in parts of the country that we don't see as our the Boervolk homeland". Boer (ˈbuːr in Dutch ˈbʊɚ/ /boʊɚ or /ˈbɔr/ in English is the Dutch word for Farmer which came to denote the descendants of the proto Afrikaans

Their spokesperson, Andre Visagie, recently said that 500 people had attended the meetings in Middelburg and Vryburg, citing an 'All time high' for the party. Since 1994, their membership levels have diminished significantly.

See also

Similar groups

• Afrikaner Volksfront
• Boerestaat Party

Separatism

• Orania
• Volkstaat

Documentary films

• His Big White Self
• The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife

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
• AWB 'De la Rey' posters surface at festival : Independent Online 02 April 2007
• The return of Eugene Terre'Blanche : Independent Online 30 March 2008
• Rising Right : Independent Online 10 May 2008
• 'All time high' for AWB : Independent Online 10 May 2008
• 'AWB leader Terre'Blanche rallies Boers again' : The Telegraph 01 June 2008

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)

References