Afrikaners' Nazi salute at Terreblanche funeral
Supporters of white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche, outside the church in Ventersdorp, South Africa, yesterday, before his funeral
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Thousands of white South Africans waved the flag of the apartheid era state and gave the Nazi salute at the funeral yesterday of the Afrikaner supremacist Eugene Terreblanche.
The murdered leader of the far-Right Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) was buried after an emotional service that ended with members of the congregation singing the apartheid-era national anthem 'Die Stem'.
A huge police security operation was ordered around the Afrikaans Protestant church in Ventersdorp, a small town two hours from Johannesburg.
A black cameraman for a South African television station trying to film the funeral was punched in the face.
Mourners came from across the country, some carrying apartheid-era South African flags and the AWB banner, which is a three-pointed swastika.
"He was a good leader, he was Afrikaner, he was a white man and he had a good ideology," said Sybrand van Dyk (46), a farmer from Limpopo province.
Obscurity
"He died a hero and will remain a hero. We just want to show no matter what, the Afrikaner volk will rise up again. We are not going to let ourselves be murdered any more. We are going to make the playground level."
Once an unflinching opponent of black rule, Mr Terreblanche (69) had languished in obscurity after serving a term in jail for attempted murder.
He was killed by two of his farm labourers last weekend, allegedly over a wage dispute. His death came at a time when a national debate over race had descended into acrimony.
Julius Malema, the leader of the youth wing of the ruling African National Congress, provoked the row by singing of a song including the words "shoot the Boer", the Afrikaans for farmer.
Kobus Rothmann, a Ventersdorp clergyman, said Mr Malema was spreading hatred, and criticised ANC leaders.
"They just hate us, Malema hates us," Mr Rothmann said as he waited for the funeral service to begin. (© The Daily Telegraph)
- Sebastien Berger in Ventersdorp
Irish Independent
