More behind farm attacks
2003-06-11 21:09
Pretoria - Robbery could not be the primary motive for farm attacks and replacing commandos with reservists was "unacceptable".
So say agricultural organisations, who reacted on Wednesday to remarks by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula in parliament on Tuesday that "the desire to rob" was the motive for farm attacks.
AgriSA vice-president Lourie Bosman said there were "definitely" other motives.
"It's not necessarily a political campaign, but intimidation, racism and revenge play a role. Too many people are cruelly murdered without anything being stolen," he said.
Boela Niemann of the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) said slogans such as "Kill the boer, kill the farmer", which are still in use, "definitely contribute to farm murders".
TAU's priority committee on rural security found former farmworkers were increasingly involved in attacks.
Niemann said TAU "would still decide" if it supported the new system replacing commandos.
"If the new system is a political ploy, we're not interested. If it improves security, we'll support it."