Right-wingers praise attack on prof
2011-07-15 09:57
Cape Town - A member of the Volksraad Selection Committee (VVK) issued a threat to the University of Stellenbosch (US) on Thursday, after one of their members allegedly assaulted Professor Anton van Niekerk, 57, in his office at the faculty of arts.
“Stellenbosch doesn’t have enough security to protect Anton van Niekerk,” was the alleged threat.
The VVK is an organisation which calls on Afrikaners to register on an alternative list of candidates, which will then be used to elect an alternative Afrikaner national council or “volksraad”. The aim of this is to negotiate with the ANC to create an Afrikaner homeland.
Argument
Abel Malan, 48, a businessman from Mbombela and a candidate for the VVK, arranged the meeting with Van Niekerk following an article he wrote entitled Don’t condone apartheid, which appeared in Die Burger and its sister papers on July 5.
In this article, Van Niekerk - a director of the Centre for Applied Ethics at the university - was critical of Afrikaner intellectuals who justified South Africa’s involvement in the Border War. He wrote that “as white people, we sit with enormous guilt regarding the past”.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer November Filander said an argument started during the meeting, and “the suspect became aggressive and overturned the office desk on the professor. He also physically attacked the victim. The US’s protection services arrested the suspect and handed him over to the police.”
Malan is currently being held in the Stellenbosch police cells.
Threatening phone calls
US rector Professor Russel Botman claimed on Thursday that Malan had also “made several threats”.
Botman said at a media conference that Van Niekerk had suffered serious bruises to his face and his glasses were broken. He was taken to see a doctor and a trauma counsellor after the incident.
Botman said a security official was stationed in the office across from Van Niekerk and could act quickly to stop the attack.
When he was asked whether Malan had threatened Van Niekerk before the meeting, Botman said no, but “that doesn’t mean Anton Van Niekerk didn’t receive threatening phone calls”.
Botman said the university would increase its security to “protect our staff against this kind of behaviour and threats”.
“As a university it is our task and role to stimulate debate and constructive discussion. Academic freedom and the freedom of expression and speech go hand in hand and are not negotiable.”
Botman described the alleged assault as a “reprehensible act", saying it "deserves condemnation in the context of our pursuit of a South Africa where the rights of all its people are protected".
'Demand freedom'
Botman said some of Malan’s supporters were waiting for him outside the faculty building. After his arrest, some of them stood outside the Stellenbosch police station.
Ben Geldenhuys from Pretoria, another candidate for the VVK, said they were on a countrywide tour to introduce their candidates. They had a meeting in Stellenbosch in front of about 100 people on Wednesday night.
He explained they were like the Independent Election Commission, and would hold an election in September, where “a national council would be elected with a mandate to represent Afrikaners who wanted to be free and to demand the international right to freedom”.
They wished this right for all the people of South Africa, he added.
He described Malan as a “reasonable man” and said he wanted to put forward his opinion on the matter that Van Niekerk had written about. He suspected that Van Niekerk “started yelling” at Malan.
“Abel is a candidate because he has always found it impossible for the Afrikaner to survive in this country,” said Geldenhuys.
Praise for attack
The Verkenner (Pathfinder) movement, of which Malan was deputy president, praised Malan for his alleged attack. “The movement has understanding for Malan’s behaviour and is proud of the valour shown by its leaders.”
“This behaviour can also be seen as a warning to any other person who wants to ridicule our nation and its struggle for freedom,” claimed a statement by the movement.
It also claimed Van Niekerk’s “patronising and insulting words about the Afrikaner became too much for Abel”.
“Due to provocation by the professor, his desk was overturned and he was told in clear Afrikaans how conservative Afrikaners felt about his statements.”
Malan was expected to appear in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court on Friday on a charge of assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
