Small storm, not a Small War
The BBC's latest comment:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8602512.stm
Quote:
South African President Jacob Zuma has called for calm after white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche was killed. Mr Zuma told the nation he was shocked by the news and urged unity. He sent condolences to the Terreblanche family. Police have arrested two farm workers who they say beat Mr Terreblanche to death in a dispute over wages. Mr Terreblanche's far-right movement is urging its members to be calm. It says his murder has political overtones, a claim the governing ANC rejects.
A wider BBC obituary:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3797797.stmwhich ends with this:
Quote:
...he was still as much a master of the grand gesture as he had been throughout his ineffectual political career.
There maybe angry Afrikaner farmers and some sympathy amongst the fringes of the now inactive political right, but is this a "spark" for trouble? I doubt it, partly due to the long history of the political right, their inability to make inroads amongst the mainly urban white population and revenge aside what do they offer.
The government would be wiser to look again at the number of farmers being murdered, although I'm not sure if the murders continue at the pace of a few years ago. Long time since I have looked at these issues in depth.
A man who thinks Mugabe can teach South Africa
A dour, pessimistic article on Julius Malema, an ANC "youth" leader, who has just been in Zimbabwe visiting President Mugabe:
Quote:
If you ask me, Malema is the point-man for a powerful ANC faction whose motive is greed and whose chosen weapon is racial demagoguery of the most primitive kind.
The trouble is that this card trumps all others. Our underclass is huge, poorly educated and desperately poor. They know what happened in Zimbabwe, but even so, the prospect of loot is irresistible, and that's Malema's bait. Mandela gave them free houses. Mbeki gave them welfare grants, leading to a situation where five million taxpayers support 13 million indigents, with the total rising far more rapidly than our ability to pay. Now Malema and the faceless vultures behind him are offering them the rest. They are playing the death card, the Ace of Spades.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...eath-card.html
Temperature rises - watch & wait
The other day there was a report:
Quote:
South African police have foiled an attempt by right-wing extremists to bomb black townships ahead of the World Cup, according to the co[/URL]untry's police minister.
Link:[URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/southafrica/7686944/South-African-police-foil-extremist-attempt-to-bomb-black-townships.html"]
Today this:
Quote:
Dozens of people have been injured in South Africa's coastal city of Durban on Sunday after an explosion in a train carriage, police said.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...explosion.html
Waiting for developments and hoping the two are stories are not linked.
SANDF Combat Readiness - Some grave concerns
A raw Op-Ed on the state of some South African units.
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.ph...nce&Itemid=112
The author has served in various positions with the SANDF for 24 years
http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/peter-dovey-24751
13 South African soldiers killed in CAR
In what is clearly a terrible mess, with yet another violent coup d'etat in the Central African Republic (CAR), with a small SANDF training mission being attacked for nine hours:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21923624
Quote:
...officials are now hard-pressed to explain the role the South African soldiers were expected to play in the event of an attack.
There are still many unanswered questions but some have accused the government of poor judgement, saying the incident has not only caused embarrassment for the army, but for South Africa as a key player in peace missions in Africa.
No reports that the French contingent had such problems.