Renaming sparks heated debate

2005-05-25 16:20

Pretoria - For South Africa's black majority, a proposal to rebaptise the capital from Pretoria to the African Tshwane means the end of a name associated with oppression but Afrikaners are fighting to preserve the name as part of their heritage.

The South African Geographical Name Change Council (SAGNC) is expected to decide on Thursday to remove the name "Pretoria" from the maps. Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan will make the ultimate decision on the name change.

The decision was taken by the metropolitan council in March to mark a definite break with the apartheid regime, which ended in 1994.

"We are confirming the demise of oppression and the advent of freedom. We are underlining the death of apartheid and the birth of democracy," said mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, after a vote on the name change was won by the council, dominated by the ruling African National Congress.

New name already in use

Black residents of the capital claim that for many years they habitually referred to Pretoria as Tshwane, who was an ancient chief and which also means "we are the same".

The name is being used in the South African media and the public broadcaster SABC.

But this has not stopped some Afrikaners, who still see the city as their bastion which was founded by their ancestors, from resisting change and staging a protest on Saturday.

Afrikaners proud of their history

Pretoria was named after Andries Pretorius, who led the Voortrekkers — settler descendants of Dutch ancestry — to victory against a Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River in 1838, named after the blood of 3 000 Zulu warriors who perished in the war.

The Voortrekkers, who left the Cape to escape the yoke of British domination, eventually settled in northern South Africa and founded modern-day Pretoria.

"Afrikaners are also part of this country," said Kallie Kriel, spokesperson for Pretoria Civil Action (PCA), the organisation spearheading the movement against the name change.

"The Boers were the first freedom fighters against British colonialism," Kriel said on behalf of PCA, which includes the Federation of the Afrikaans Culture, white union Solidarity, the official opposition Democratic Alliance and the right-wing Freedom Front Plus.

"To remove Pretoria as the name of the capital is an insult to the heritage of a large number of residents," said Kriel.

"In 2000, after the local government elections were held, a decision was taken by all parties to say the metropolitan area was going to be called Tshwane and no one said 'no' against that, even those who are making noise now," said William Baloyi, the mayor's spokesperson.The March vote in council was simply a move to have the new name registered with the SAGNC.

Baloyi maintained the name Pretoria would now only refer to the city centre. The Afrikaners say in 2000 they agreed to a name for a new metropolitan area and this never meant renaming Pretoria.

- AFP