Gay fest upsets Afrikaner youth

2009-08-18 22:08

Johannesburg - A Voortrekker youth movement has voiced strong objection to a gay music festival held at the Voortrekker Monument over the past weekend.

The Pretoria Verkenners Jeug (PVJ) said in a statement "the bastion of Afrikaner nationalism" was no place for such a "pink" event.

PVJ spokesperson Ruan Combrink said part of the income of the festival was also donated to a campus body "UP and OUT", which promotes gay rights at Pretoria University.

Letter sent to monument's CEO

The event was billed as the "Pink Jacaranda Festival".

The PVJ raised its objection in a letter to the Voortrekker Monument CEO Gert Opperman, Combrink said.

He said the PVJ saw the event as a shame on the name of the Voortrekker Monument's management.

"It's time the management accepts its responsibility towards the Afrikaner people, [and] protects and builds Christianity and the Afrikaner culture," said Combrink.

'Denounce homosexuality publically'

According to him, Opperman responded by saying the management of the monument could not prescribe to tenants of outsourced facilities what events they could organise.

Opperman said the Amphitheatre had been booked for a public concert, and paid for.

Management could not stop the event at a late stage, he said.

The PVJ challenged Opperman to declare in public that he disapproved of homosexuality.

He should also apologise to the Afrikaner people for the weekend's event, the PVJ said.
 

- SAPA