Volkstaat

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Volkstaat/Boerestaat
Volksstaat (Dutch)
Volkstaat (Afrikaans)
The Apartheid flag was used as the National flag of South Africa until 1994 and the Vryheidsvlag is used for Volkstaat.
"Vryheidsvlag" or "Freedom flag", the most common proposed flag for the Afrikaner homeland
The motto is "Ex Unitate Vires" as on the old South African Coat of Arms
Coat of arms
Motto: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin)
("From Unity, Strength")
Anthem: Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (originally the anthem of South Africa from 1938–1994)[1]
(English: "The Call of South Africa")
Volkstaat as proposed by the Freedom Front Plus and the Volkstaat Council
Volkstaat as proposed by the Freedom Front Plus and the Volkstaat Council
StatusProposed
Capital
Largest cityKimberley
Ethnic groups
Religion
Dutch Reformed
Demonym(s)Volkstaater
GovernmentHerrenvolk Democracy
Volkstaat / Republic
1960s–1990s
• Establishment of Orania, Northern Cape
6 April 1991
23 April 1994
• Establishment of the Volkstaat Council
16 June 1994
• Proposed by the Volkstaat Council
31 March 1999
Population
• 2017 estimate
1,500,000 Boer/Afrikaners
CurrencySouth African rand (ZAR)
Today part ofSouth Africa

A Volkstaat (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fɔlkstɑːt], "People's State"[2]), also called a Boerestaat, is a proposed white ethnostate intended to serve as a Afrikaner homeland within the borders of South Africa, most commonly proposed as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner nation.[3][4][5] The proposed ethnostate would bar Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds but accept South Africans of English ancestry and other White South Africans, if they accept Afrikaner culture and customs.[6]

Following the Great Trek of the 1830s and 1840s, Boer colonists established several Boer republics over the rest of the 19th century. The end of apartheid and the establishment of universal suffrage in South Africa in 1994 left some Afrikaners feeling disillusioned and marginalised by the political changes, which resulted in a proposal for an independent Volkstaat.

Several different methods have been proposed for the establishment of a Volkstaat. The geographic dispersal of minority Afrikaner communities throughout South Africa presents a significant obstacle to the establishment of a Volkstaat, because Afrikaners do not form a majority in any separate geographic area that could be sustainable independently. Supporters of the proposal have established several land cooperatives in Orania in the Northern Cape province and Kleinfontein in Gauteng as practical implementations of the idea. Initiatives in Balmoral and Morgenzon, both in Mpumalanga, failed to develop beyond their initial phase.

Map of proposed Volkstaat and neighbouring countries.

History[edit]

Historically, Boers have exhibited a drive for independence which resulted in the establishment of different republics in what is now the modern Republic of South Africa. The Voortrekkers proclaimed separate independent republics, most notably Natalia Republic, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (the Transvaal). However, after the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), British rule led to the dissolution of the last two remaining Boer states (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic).

Under apartheid, the South African government promoted Afrikaner culture; though both Afrikaans and English were the official languages, the majority of the politicians running the country were Afrikaners. The underlying principle of apartheid was racial separatism, and the means by which this was implemented, such as the homeland system of bantustans, were biased against the non-European majority as they excluded them from exercising their rights in the broader South Africa.

In the 1980s, a group of Afrikaners, led by HF Verwoerd's son-in-law, formed a group called the Oranjewerkers. They also planned a community based on "Afrikaner self-determination", and attempted to create a neo-"boerstaat" (literally: "Boer State," a reference to an idiomatic term for an Afrikaner-only state) in the remote Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) community of Morgenzon.[7]

In 1988, Professor Carel Boshoff (1927-2011) founded the Afrikaner-Vryheidstigting (Afrikaner Freedom Foundation), or Avstig. Avstig proposed a Volkstaat in the Northern Cape province, in a largely rural and minimally developed region. Avstig bought the town of Orania in 1991, and turned it into a model Volkstaat. Boshoff continued to be a representative of the Freedom Front, a political party advocating the Volkstaat concept.[8] Orania lies at the far eastern apex of the original Volkstaat state, near where the boundaries of the three provinces Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Free State meet.

Support and opposition[edit]

Freedom Front in the 1994 general election[edit]

During the 1994 general election, Afrikaners were asked by the Freedom Front (FF) to vote for the party if they wished to form an independent state or Volkstaat for Afrikaners. The results of the election showed that the Freedom Front had the support of 424,555 voters, the fourth highest in the country.[9] The FF did not however gain a majority in any of South Africa's voting districts, their closest being 4,692 votes in Phalaborwa, representing 30.38% of that district.[9]

Public opinion surveys of white South Africans[edit]

Two surveys were conducted among white South Africans, in 1993 and 1996, asking the question "How do you feel about demarcating an area for Afrikaners and other "European" South Africans in which they may enjoy self determination? Do you support the idea of a Volkstaat?" The 1993 survey found that 29% supported the idea, and a further 18% would consider moving to a Volkstaat. The 1996 survey found that this had decreased to 22% supporting the idea, and only 9% wanting to move to a Volkstaat. In the second survey, the proportion of white South Africans opposed to the idea had increased from 34% to 66%.[10]

The 1996 survey found that "those who in 1996 said that they would consider moving to a Volkstaat are mainly Afrikaans speaking males, who are supporters of the Conservative Party or Afrikaner Freedom Front, hold racist views (24%; slightly racist: 6%, non racist: 0%), call themselves Afrikaners and are not content with the new democratic South Africa."[10] The study used the Duckitt scale of subtle racism to measure racist views.[10][11]

A 1999 pre-election survey suggested that the 26.9% of Afrikaners wanting to emigrate, but unable to, represented a desire for a solution such as a Volkstaat.[12]

In January 2010, Beeld, an Afrikaans newspaper, held an online survey. Out of 11,019 respondents, 56% (6,178) said that they would move to a Volkstaat if one were created, a further 17% (1,908) would consider it while only 27% (2,933) would not consider it as a viable option.[13] The newspaper's analysis of this was that the idea of a Volkstaat was doodgebore (stillborn) and that its advocates had been doing nothing but tread water for the past two decades, although it did suggest that the poll was a measure of dissatisfaction among Afrikaners. Hermann Giliomee later cited the Beeld poll in saying that over half of "northern Afrikaners" would prefer to live in a homeland.[14]

Borders[edit]

Proportion of white South Africans in the population. The inequal distribution of whites hampers the formation of a territorial connected Volkstaat.
Predominant language of white South Africans. English is spoken in the Eastern Cape and the cities, while Afrikaans is spoken in rural areas.

Penuell Maduna, one of the leading ANC negotiators during the transition era, noted that Afrikaner organizations could not agree on the borders of the new Volkstaat.[15]

The Conservative Party wanted a boerestaat in one part of the country, the Afrikaner Volksunie in another, and Carel Boshoff in Orania.[15] The proposal to create a state out of the white neighborhoods of Pretoria, which would then stretch to the Atlantic Ocean, was also seen as unacceptable by the ANC.[15]

Issues creating support[edit]

Dissatisfaction with life in post-apartheid South Africa is often cited as an indication of support for the idea of a Volkstaat among Afrikaners.[16][17] A poll carried out by the Volkstaat Council among white people in Pretoria identified crime, economic problems, personal security, affirmative action, educational standards, population growth, health services, language and cultural rights, and housing as reasons to support the creation of Volkstaat.[16]

In an interview with Global Politician, Volkstaat Council Chair Johann Wingard cited what he described as rising unemployment, reduced political representation for whites Afrikaners, and dangers to white Afrikaner cultural heritage as motivations for the creation of a Volkstaat.[8] However, white people in South Africa have the lowest unemployment rate of all racial groups in South Africa.[18]

Movements for the Volkstaat[edit]

The Freedom Front has been the major political driving force for the formation of a Volkstaat. This Afrikaner-focused political party has representation in the national Parliament as well as several Provincial legislatures in South Africa. Support for this party has however decreased to just under 140,000 votes, being less than 1% of the total votes cast (approximately 20% among registered Afrikaner voters) by the 2004 national elections. The Freedom Front advocates following the Belgium, Canada and Spain models of granting territorial autonomy to linguistic minorities, believing it the only way to protect the rights of Afrikaner people. Under this policy, it proposes the creation of an Afrikaner homeland, comprising the area that lies in the North Western Cape between the West Coast and the Orange River.[19]

The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging made headlines in March 2008 for their re-activation and plans of establishing an independent Boer state. Plans include a demand for land, such as Stellaland and Goshen, that they claim is legally theirs in terms of the Sand River Convention of 1852 and other historical treaties, through the International Court of Justice in The Hague if necessary.[20]

Die Boeremag (The Farmer-Might) was a violent Boer separatist organisation. Most of its members were arrested in 2003, and are facing charges of treason.[8] Similar violent methods towards Volkstaat were employed by the Orde van die Dood in the 1980s.[21]

The Front National has called for the re-establishment of Stellaland as possible Volkstaat.

Orania[edit]

One Volkstaat attempt is the small town of Orania in the Northern Cape province. The land on which Orania is built is privately owned, and Afrikaners have been encouraged by promoters of the Volkstaat concept to move to Orania, although only a small number has responded, resulting in a population of 519 in 2001, 10 years after being established. Support for Orania recently seems to be growing somewhat with their recent economic "boom". Today, Orania is home to about 3,000 Afrikaners but has approximately 7,000 'uitwoners' or 'outhabitants' who are part of the Orania Movement.[22][23][failed verification] Orania is currently petitioning the government to become a separate municipality and in the meantime their (transitional) representative council will remain in place indefinitely with all its powers, rights and duties.[24]

Kleinfontein[edit]

Another attempt is the settlement of Kleinfontein outside Pretoria (in the Tshwane metropolitan area). Kleinfontein falls within the metropolitan area of Tshwane. In 2013 Tshwane recognized Kleinfontein as cultural community.[25] Members of the African National Congress and Democratic Alliance have denounced the settlement and the continued existence of white-only settlements in post-apartheid South Africa.

Legal basis[edit]

Section 235 of the South African Constitution allows for the right to self-determination of a community, within the framework of "the right of the South African people as a whole to self-determination", and pursuant to national legislation.[26] This section of the constitution was one of the negotiated settlements during the handing over of political power in 1994. The Freedom Front was instrumental in including this section in the constitution. No national legislation in this regard has yet been enacted for any ethnic group, however.

International law presents a possible recourse for the establishment of a Volkstaat over and above than what the South African Constitution offers. This is available to all minorities who wish to obtain self-determination in the form of independence. The requirements set by international law are explained by Prof C. Lloyd Brown-John of the University of Windsor (Canada), as follows: "A minority who are geographically separate and who are distinct ethnically and culturally and who have been placed in a position of subordination may have a right to secede. That right, however, could only be exercised if there is a clear denial of political, linguistic, cultural and religious rights."[27] However, Afrikaner nationalists who have brought cases to the UN claiming indigenous status were rejected in 1996 and 2005 on the grounds that Afrikaners were neither marginalised or discriminated against.[28] The rights awarded to minorities were formally asserted by the United Nations General Assembly when it adopted resolution 47/135 on 18 December 1992.[29]

Governmental response[edit]

On 5 June 1998, Mohammed Valli Moosa (then minister of constitutional development in the African National Congress (ANC) government) stated during a parliamentary budget debate that "the ideal of some Afrikaners to develop the North Western Cape as a home for the Afrikaner culture and language within the framework of the Constitution and the charter of human rights is viewed by the government as a legitimate ideal."[30]

On 23 July 2014, members of an Afrikaner group who call themselves the "Boer-Afrikaner Volksraad" announced forthcoming talks with the South African government around the concept of territorial self-determination for "Boer Afrikaner people". The talks would include either President Jacob Zuma, his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, or both; and would be held before the end of August 2014.[31]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "South Africa Will Play Two Anthems Hereafter". The New York Times. New York. 3 June 1938. p. 10. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  2. ^ Sly, Liz (7 December 1993). "Rightist Whites Trying to Plan Separate S. Africa State". Sun-Sentinel.
  3. ^ Majavu, Mandisi (12 June 2022). "Orania: A white homeland in post-apartheid South Africa". Sociology Compass. 16 (7). doi:10.1111/soc4.13004. ISSN 1751-9020.
  4. ^ Jackson, Rachel; Makgetla, Tumi (11 October 2013). "Redrawing the Map for Democracy". Foreign Policy.
  5. ^ Constitutional Committee (1996). "Volkstaat Council (Volkstaatraad) - Self Determination and the Working Draft of the New Constitution" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development - Republic of South Africa.
  6. ^ Ramutsindela, Maano Freddy (1998). "Afrikaner Nationalism, Electioneering and the Politics of a Volkstaat". Politics. 18 (3): 179–188. doi:10.1111/1467-9256.00076. ISSN 1467-9256.
  7. ^ Du Toit, Brian M. (1991). "The Far Right in Current South African Politics". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 29 (4). Cambridge University Press: 627–67. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00005693. ISSN 1469-7777. JSTOR 161141. S2CID 154640869.
  8. ^ a b c M. Schönteich; H. Boshoff (2003). "'Volk' Faith and Fatherland, The Security Threat Posed by the White Right". Institute for Security Studies (South Africa). Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  9. ^ a b Manuel Álvarez-Rivera. "1994 General Election in South Africa". Election Resources on the Internet. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  10. ^ a b c G. Theissen (1997). "Between Acknowledgement and Ignorance: How white South Africans have dealt with the apartheid past". Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, University of the Witwatersrand. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  11. ^ Duckitt, John (1991). "The development and validation of a subtle racism scale in South Africa". South African Journal of Psychology. 21 (4): 233–239. doi:10.1177/008124639102100406. S2CID 145589715.
  12. ^ R. W. Johnson (1999). "How to use that huge majority". Focus. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  13. ^ Pieter du Toit (12 January 2010). "Volkstaat hou g'n heil in". Beeld. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  14. ^ Uys, Stanley (16 March 2010). "The Afrikaners are restive". Politicsweb. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  15. ^ a b c "31 Jul 1993: Maduna, Penuell". The O'Malley Archives. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  16. ^ a b Mbeki, T. & Buthelezi, M. (24 March 1999). "Report of the Government of the Republic of South Africa on the Question of the Afrikaners". Speech delivered at the National Assembly, South Africa. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  17. ^ "Afrikaner Independence: Interview With Volkstaat Council Chair Johann Wingard". 27 May 2005. Archived from the original on 7 August 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  18. ^ "South Africa: unemployment rate by population group 2019-2023". Statista. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Freedom Front Policy". Freedom Front. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  20. ^ Bevan, Stephen (1 June 2008). "AWB leader Terre'Blanche rallies Boers again". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  21. ^ Carrots and sticks: the TRC and the South African amnesty process. Jeremy Sarkin, Jeremy Sarkin-Hughes. Intersentia nv, 2004. ISBN 90-5095-400-6, ISBN 978-90-5095-400-6. Pg 289.
  22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ "Orania residents confident of establishing an exclusively white homeland". SABC News. 12 March 2001. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  24. ^ Groenewald, Y. (1 November 2005). "Orania, white and blue". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  25. ^ Recognition of Kleinfontein as cultural community welcomed by FF Plus Archived 10 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Freedom Front Plus, 21 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Section 235". South African Constitution. 1996. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  27. ^ C. Lloyd Brown-John (1997). "Self-determination and separation" (PDF). Retrieved 17 May 2009. [dead link]
  28. ^ "INDIGENOUS PEOPLES REGIONAL PROFILE: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA" (PDF). USAID.gov. October 2021. In 1996 and again in 2005, a group of Afrikaner nationalists submitted petitions claiming Indigenous status at the UN.5 The claims were rejected on the grounds that the group was neither marginalized, discriminated against, nor did it meet the criteria "set out in international legal standards and discourses at the present time".
  29. ^ "Resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992 – Declaration on the Rights of Minorities". United Nations. 1992. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  30. ^ "VF se strewe legitiem, sê Moosa" [Minister Valli Moosa views volkstaat as legitimate ideal]. beeld.com. 5 June 1998. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011.
  31. ^ "Afrikaner group seeks independent state". News24. 23 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.

External links[edit]