Eugène Terre'Blanche
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Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (born January 31, 1941) is a Boer-Afrikaner who founded the white supremacist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era in South Africa.
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[edit] Ancestry
The progenitor of the Terre'Blanche name ('white land' in French) in the region was a French Huguenot refugee named Estienne Terreblanche from Toulon (Provence), France, who arrived at the Cape in 1704.[1] The Terreblanche name has generally retained its original spelling though other spellings include Terre'Blanche, Terre Blanche, Terblanche and Terblans.[2]
Eugene Terre'Blanche's grandfather fought for the Boer cause as a Cape Rebel in the Second Boer War, and his father was a lieutenant colonel in the South African Defence Force. Born in Ventersdorp, Terre'Blanche later became an officer in the South African Police, even being a Warrant Officer in the Special Guard Unit, who were assigned to members of the Cabinet.
[edit] Opposition to government policies
During the late 1960s, Terre'Blanche increasingly opposed what he called the "liberal policies" of B. J. Vorster, then Prime Minister of South Africa. In 1970, Terre'Blanche, with six other Afrikaners, founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, commonly known as the AWB. His oratorical skills earned him much support among the white right wing in South Africa; the AWB claimed 70,000 members at its height.[3]
Terre'Blanche viewed the end of apartheid as a surrender to communism, and threatened full scale civil war if President FW de Klerk handed power to Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. When De Klerk addressed a meeting in Terre'Blanche's hometown of Ventersdorp in 1991, Terre'Blanche led a protest, and the Battle of Ventersdorp ensued between the AWB and the police, with a number of people killed.[4]
In 1993, Terre'Blanche led an armed invasion of the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park while negotiations were in progress.[5]
The AWB was defeated while invading Bophuthatswana to prop up the autocratic leader of the bantustan in 1994 and, subsequently, Terre'Blanche did not follow up on his earlier threats of war.[6]
[edit] Media image
Terre'Blanche and the AWB were seldom out of the media during the 1980s and first half of the 1990s. Terre'blanche's powerful oratory and apocalyptic images of race war often featured, with the image of heavily armed AWB members parading in uniform, sometimes hooded. However, this image of the rise of the far right was not the only image projected by the media, which increasingly ridiculed Terre'Blanche and his supporters.
Terre'Blanche was lampooned in the 1991 documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife, directed by British filmmaker Nick Broomfield. A sequel by Broomfield, His Big White Self, was first broadcast in February 2006.
In 1992, the AWB was beset by scandal when claims of an affair with journalist Jani Allan surfaced , with transcripts of their sexual relationship appearing in the South African press.[7] The media also had a field day after filming him falling off his horse during a parade in Pretoria.[8]
[edit] Amnesty
Following the end of apartheid, Terre'Blanche and his supporters sought amnesty for the storming of the World Trade Centre, the 'Battle of Ventersdorp', and other acts.[9][10] Amnesty was granted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[4]
[edit] Conviction and prison sentence
On June 17, 1997 Terre'Blanche was sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a petrol station worker and the attempted murder of a farm worker. One of only three whites in the Rooigrond prison near Mafikeng, during his time in prison he became a born-again Christian and claims he has moderated many of his more racist views.[11] 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'.[3] Terre'Blanche was released on June 11, 2004.[12]
[edit] Today
In March 2008, the AWB announced the re-activation of the political party, for 'populist' reasons, citing the encouragement of the public. Reasons for the return are largely attributed to the electricity crisis, corruption across government departments and rampant crime. Throughout April 2008, Terre'Blanche will be the speaker at several AWB rallies, encompassing Vryburg, Middelburg, Mpumalanga and Pretoria. [13]
[edit] References
- ^ Bernard Lugan (January 1996). Ces Francais Qui Ont Fait L'Afrique Du Sud (The French People Who Made South Africa) (in French). ISBN 2841000869.
- ^ Viljoen, H.C.. The Contribution of The Huguenots in South Africa. The Huguenot Society of South Africa.
- ^ a b AWB Leader: Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche. AWB. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ a b Amnesty decision. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ Goldstone Commission : Events at the World Trade Centre June 1993. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
- ^ Tebbutt Commission. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
- ^ Sweeney, John. "Brief encounters", The Observer, December 19, 1999.
- ^ Jameson, Ethan. "South Africa releases neo-Nazi chief", Associated Press, June 12, 2004.
- ^ Amnesty Hearing. Truth and Reconciliation Commission (May 10, 1999). Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Terre'Blanche calls for De Klerk to answer at his amnesty hearing", South African Press Association, May 10, 1999. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Terre'Blanche tells of prison, his love for God and plans for AWB's future", Dispatch, 27 August 2005.
- ^ Carroll, Rory. "Terre'Blanche returns to a new world", The Guardian, June 10, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.
- ^ The return of Eugene Terre'Blanche. IOL (March 30th, 2008).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Speech by Terre'Blanche at a rally of the Afrikaner weerstands beweging. The speech is part of a scene taken from the documentary My beloved country on DocsOnline:search title, type 'beloved'.
- AWB apologises for not fighting racism enough - appearance before the TRC
