TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 5

Chapter 6

Subsection 3

Links with international right-wing groups

13. Amnesty applications also confirm that right-wing groups had links with other i n t e rnational right-wing groups. However, deeply held suspicions regarding an i n t e rnational right-wing conspiracy in respect of the murder of Mr Chris Hani were not confirmed in the amnesty process, due to a number of factors.

Attacks on individuals

14. In their evidence, amnesty applicants confirmed that they had targeted and attacked those they regarded as the enemy. The attack by Mr Eugene Te r re’Blanche and his supporters on Professor Floors van Jaarsveld^{8 1} is an example of such an attack. His children testified in the amnesty hearing that this attack had contributed to the humiliation of their father and his loss of standing in his community. While the expressed motive for the attack was that that they re g a rded the new direction that Van Jaarsveld had given to Afrikaner history as contrary to the then South African Constitution, which recognised God as the highest authority, it became quite clear during the hearing that the real motivation for the attack was his willingness to accommodate change.

Attacks on black people

15. The right wing carried out a number of racist attacks⁸². One of the worst of these was carried out by Mr Barend Strydom, a member of the Wit Wolwe (‘White Wolves’). The attack was carried out indiscriminately against black people, eight of whom were killed. Strydom filed an amnesty application for this attack but later withdrew the application.

16. Members of the Orde Boerevolk attacked a bus full of black commuters in Durban in which seven people were killed. The motivation they expressed for the attack was an earlier Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) incident. In another incident, Mr George Mkomane was killed because he was in a so-called ‘white’ area at night without permission.⁸³ What is sickening is the random indiscriminate nature of the attacks on people simply because they were black. Despite attempts by amnesty applicants to justify the political nature of these attacks, their testimony reveal that, in most instances, their motives had been purely racist. One of the worst attacks was carried out by the AWB on innocent civilians outside Ventersdorp, which led to the killing of four people, including two children.

Possession of arms, explosives and ammunition.

17. The Commission received thirty-one amnesty applications for the illegal possession of arms, explosives and ammunition – stolen, in a number of instances, from military bases.

Sabotage of the transitional process

18. The Commission received thirty-five applications for a range of violations involving attempts to sabotage the negotiations process. These consisted of attacks on individuals and included assassinations. A number of innocent individuals were killed for no apparent reason. The killing of Mr Chris Hani by Messrs Clive Derby Lewis and Janusz Walus threatened the stability of the country in the period leading up to the elections. The constraint shown in the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the African National Congress (ANC) and the vast majority of the country in dealing with the killing is testament to how deeply people were committed to making peace work.

Bombings

19. The AWB, the Boereweerstandsbeweging (BWB) and the Afrikaner Volks f ront ( AVF) all engaged in bombing activities during the pre-election period. Much of the bombing was designed to sow terror and to destabilise the country in the period leading up to the elections. A number of offices belonging to the ANC, schools that admitted children of different race groups, and magistrates’ courts were attacked. Businesses belonging to Indians were also targeted. The office s of the Independent Electoral Commission in a number of areas, as well as other institutions and offices associated with the election, were targeted and bombed, as were railway lines and power installations.

CONCLUSION

20. The evidence that emerged from the amnesty applications and hearings confirms the original findings made by the Commission in respect of right-wing group s . The testimonies of the applicants were tantamount to confessions that the right wing embarked on a campaign of terror and violence designed to destabilise the country at an extremely sensitive time. Right-wing groups were responsible for committing gross human rights violations as defined by international human rights law. In most instances, the victims were innocent civilians whose only ‘sin’ was the fact that they were black. The motive for these violations was that members of the various right-wing groups were opposed to majority rule and to a change in their way of life. There was no nobility or morality to their cause, despite their attempts to justify their actions.

21. Having considered the amnesty applications and hearings on the right-wing, the Commission has no reason to change the findings it made in its Final Report . .. go to page 726Back to Contents Page