Afrikaners fear for place in history
As Johannesburg airport prepares to be renamed after one of the heroes of the fight against apartheid, South Africa’s Afrikaner minority fears its place in history is being all too rapidly erased.
The airport, originally named after the Afrikaner premier Jan Smuts before being simply called Johannesburg International, will be rebaptised as OR Tambo airport on Friday in memory of the late African National Congress (ANC) leader.
But while the ANC government is keen to honour one of its own, the move has infuriated members of the Afrikaner community, who claim it breaches a deal agreed after the first multi-racial elections a dozen years ago.
“After 1994, we had discussions with the ANC, we made a decision together that we would not use names of politicians for airports, dams etc... It was a compromise that was acceptable to all,” Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder told AFP.
“Suddenly, they have changed their mind but it seems to be only applying to ANC leaders,” added Mulder, whose party is the main Afrikaner faction in parliament.
Mulder stressed that he was not protesting against the appearance of the names of apartheid leaders on public monuments, but rather a wider phenomenon of the Afrikaner peoples’ slow vanishing from the history books.
The modern-day Afrikaners are the descendents of Dutch traders who landed on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 and set up base in what is now known as Cape Town.
They began to fan out across the vast countryside in the 19th century to escape growing British dominance. The so-called Groot Trek (Great Trek) is one of the iconic episodes in their history along with the 1899-1902 Boer War.
“There is perception from the Afrikaner point view that Afrikaner names are being targeted and that our history is being targeted,” he added.
“I am an African, I am part of this continent. If my heroes are not honoured here, they will not be honoured anywhere,” he added.
According to Max du Preez, a columnist on the Johannesburg-based daily The Star, the airport name change has been carried out in an “arrogant” fashion and without consultation.
“Instead of enriching us as a nation, the changing of names after 1994 has whipped up emotions and contributed to the growing rift between the black majority and the minority groups, especially the Afrikaners,” he wrote.
So far, the most heated debate has centred around a plan to change the name of the administrative capital Pretoria, named after the 19th century leader of the Great Trek Andreis Pretorius, to Tshwane, the name of an old tribal chief.
The name change received the backing of the South African Geographical Names Council back in May 2005, but has still to win approval from the culture ministry which has the final say.
“Pretoria was named after an Afrikaner hero. Surely it is not the ANC hero. Surely Tambo is not my hero ... but that is part of the diversity of this country,” said Mulder.
Truman Kubheka, head of the names council’s secretariat, said certain name changes were vital as they were an obstacle to reconciliation.
“There is an urgency for name changes because it was part of the recommendations of the TRC,” he said in reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee which held hearings into the excesses of apartheid. Read more
The airport, originally named after the Afrikaner premier Jan Smuts before being simply called Johannesburg International, will be rebaptised as OR Tambo airport on Friday in memory of the late African National Congress (ANC) leader.
But while the ANC government is keen to honour one of its own, the move has infuriated members of the Afrikaner community, who claim it breaches a deal agreed after the first multi-racial elections a dozen years ago.
“After 1994, we had discussions with the ANC, we made a decision together that we would not use names of politicians for airports, dams etc... It was a compromise that was acceptable to all,” Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder told AFP.
“Suddenly, they have changed their mind but it seems to be only applying to ANC leaders,” added Mulder, whose party is the main Afrikaner faction in parliament.
Mulder stressed that he was not protesting against the appearance of the names of apartheid leaders on public monuments, but rather a wider phenomenon of the Afrikaner peoples’ slow vanishing from the history books.
The modern-day Afrikaners are the descendents of Dutch traders who landed on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 and set up base in what is now known as Cape Town.
They began to fan out across the vast countryside in the 19th century to escape growing British dominance. The so-called Groot Trek (Great Trek) is one of the iconic episodes in their history along with the 1899-1902 Boer War.
“There is perception from the Afrikaner point view that Afrikaner names are being targeted and that our history is being targeted,” he added.
“I am an African, I am part of this continent. If my heroes are not honoured here, they will not be honoured anywhere,” he added.
According to Max du Preez, a columnist on the Johannesburg-based daily The Star, the airport name change has been carried out in an “arrogant” fashion and without consultation.
“Instead of enriching us as a nation, the changing of names after 1994 has whipped up emotions and contributed to the growing rift between the black majority and the minority groups, especially the Afrikaners,” he wrote.
So far, the most heated debate has centred around a plan to change the name of the administrative capital Pretoria, named after the 19th century leader of the Great Trek Andreis Pretorius, to Tshwane, the name of an old tribal chief.
The name change received the backing of the South African Geographical Names Council back in May 2005, but has still to win approval from the culture ministry which has the final say.
“Pretoria was named after an Afrikaner hero. Surely it is not the ANC hero. Surely Tambo is not my hero ... but that is part of the diversity of this country,” said Mulder.
Truman Kubheka, head of the names council’s secretariat, said certain name changes were vital as they were an obstacle to reconciliation.
“There is an urgency for name changes because it was part of the recommendations of the TRC,” he said in reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee which held hearings into the excesses of apartheid. Read more
posted by Jopie Fourie at 7:11 AM
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