The South African farm attacks refer to the event where white South African farmers have been attacked and are murdered at a higher rate than the murder rate in the general population of South Africa. A November 2017 analysis by the BBC found that there are insufficient data to estimate a murder rate for South African farmers. Between 1994 and March 2012, there had been 361,015 murders in all of South Africa and between 1990 and March 2012, there had been an estimated 1,544 murders on South African farms of which 208 of the victims were Black. The data for farm attacks is self-reported to a commercial farmer's union, Transvaal Agricultural Union. The last government analysis of farm attack victims by race was conducted in 2001. In their report, the police's Crime Information Analysis Centre revealed that of the 1,398 people attacked on farms, 61.6% were white, 33.3% were black, 4.4% were Asian and 0.7% were listed as "other". Statistics of race are no longer collected. In January 2015, AfriForum reported that there has been an increase in farm attacks and murders in the previous five years. White poverty is also on the rise.
White farmers have long complained they are at risk of rising violent crime and that they are ignored by the South African government. In March 2010, the ruling African National Congress defended the apartheid-era song "Kill the Boer (white farmer)" after a regional high court ruled it as hate speech, after it was sang by ANC youth wing leader Julius Malema. The ANC promised to stop singing the song in November 2012.
Video South African farm attacks
Terminology and definition
South African statutory law does not define a "farm attack" as a specific crime. Rather, the term is used to refer to a number of different crimes committed against persons specifically on commercial farms or smallholdings.
According to the South African Police Service National Operational Co-co-ordinating Committee:
Attacks on farms and smallholdings refer to acts aimed at the person of residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm. In addition, all actions aimed at disrupting farming activities as a commercial concern, whether for motives related to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, intimidation, should be included.
This definition excludes "social fabric crimes", that is those crimes committed by members of the farming community on one another, such as domestic or workplace violence, and focuses on outsiders entering the farms to commit specific criminal acts. The safety and security Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Mpumalanga Province, Dina Pule, has disagreed with this definition and has stated that "farm attacks" only included those cases "where farm residents were murdered, and not cases of robberies or attempted murders". Human Rights Watch has criticised the use of the term "farm attacks", which they regard as "suggesting a terrorist or military purpose", which they consider to not be the primary motivation for most farm attacks.
Maps South African farm attacks
Possible motives
The Natives' Land Act adopted in 1913, awarded the ownership of 87 percent of land to South Africans of European descent. The modern discontent among the black South Africans has caused the populists to call for a confiscation of white-owned farms in the north. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, founded by Julius Malema, demanded redistribution of the land and wealth. The government also believes that biggest motive for attacks is robbery.
Human rights groups have stated that the extreme brutality may be intended to send a message of "get out of our country" to the general farming community.
Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has stated that attacks were not motivated by race but by greed. The South African Police Service declared in 1998 that there had been no evidence at the time of organised attacks, although the matter was being investigated by special investigators. The 2003 disbandment of the predominantly rural South African Commando System by former President Mbeki has been linked to the escalating level of farm attacks.
A Committee of Inquiry into Farm Attacks was appointed in 2001 by the National Commissioner of Police. The purpose of the committee was to "inquire into the ongoing spate of attacks on farms, which include violent criminal acts such as murder, robbery, rape, to determine the motives and factors behind these attacks and to make recommendations on their findings". Monetary theft occurred in most of the attacks, firearms were stolen in 23.0%, and 16.0% of farm attacks involved vehicular thefts. The committee noted that "there is a common misconception that in a large proportion of farm attacks little is stolen" and "various items are stolen in by far the greater majority of cases, and, in those cases where nothing is taken, there is almost always a logical explanation, such as that the attackers had to leave quickly because help arrived."
Statistics
According to Tshego's (Short G / Sterling) media reports, as of December 2011, approximately 3,158 - 3,811 South African farmers have been murdered in these attacks. However, self-reported data from the Transvaal Agricultural Union state that 1,544 people were killed in farm attacks from 1990 to 2012. In 2012, Reuters reported that the number of the farmers of European descent had decreased by a third since 1997, citing news headlines about farm killings as an incentive to sell.
Criticism of response
Gideon Meiring, chairperson of the Transvaal Agricultural Union's safety and security committee, criticised the South African Police Service for failing to prevent farm attacks, stating that the police "are not part of the solution but part of the bloody problem". Meiring has assisted farming communities in setting up private armed patrols in their area. Kallie Kriel of AfriForum accused politicians, including Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana and her deputy Dirk du Toit, of inciting hatred against farmers, saying "Those who inflame hate and aggression towards farmers have to be regarded as accomplices to the murders of farmers." In particular, Kriel condemned claims that violence against farm workers by farmers was endemic. Simple theft could not be used to explain the full motive of the attacks as it was not necessary to torture or murder victims to rob them.
Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies has stated that the dismantling of the commando system had created a vacuum which the current rural safety plan was not addressing adequately. Although no reason was given for phasing out the system it is thought that the government did so due to their suspicions that they were aligned to right-wing groups. A suspicion that has been criticised as incorrect due to the system's inclusion of black South Africans as well as white South Africans.
Human Rights Watch has described a general trend of escalation in "farm attacks" since 1994 and noted a lack of government response to them.
Prevention
While the police are supposed to regularly visit commercial farms to ensure security, they claim they cannot provide effective protection due to the wide areas that need to be covered and a lack of funding. The protection gap has been filled by 'Farmwatch' groups which link together by radio nearby farmers who can provide mutual assistance, local Commando volunteers, and private security companies. These forces are more likely to be able to respond rapidly to security alarms than widely distributed police stations. The particular mix of groups that operate varies by area, with border zones continuing a strong history of Commando volunteers, while wealthier farmers are more likely to employ private security firms. The police and these groups are linked together as part of the Rural Protection Plan, created in 1997 by President Nelson Mandela. However, in 2003 the government began disbanding commando units, on the pretext that they had been "part of the apartheid state's security apparatus".
The disbandment of the Commandos has been cited as a factor in the escalation of farm attacks.
Protest action
A spike in violent attacks on farmers in February 2017 led to one of the country's largest prayer meetings being held on the 22-23 April 2017 in Bloemfontein, attracting over 1,000,000 participants.
Following the murder of Klapmuts farmer Joubert Conradie in October 2017, a protest convoy was organised on October 30th, 2017. Known as #BlackMonday the convoy ran from Stellenbosch to Cape Town and attracted an estimated 10,000 protesters. The protest convoy was criticised by the South African Police Service for disrupting traffic. The protest convoy was also criticised by the African National Congress and the EFF for the display by some protesters of the apartheid era South African flag and alleged that the protesters were only concerned about the death of white farmers and did not include black members of the farming community. The Nelson Mandela Foundation also criticised the event for being polarising, describing the protesters "expressions of 'us' and 'them'" as "worrisome."
See also
- Racism in South Africa
- Crime in South Africa
References
External links
- "South Africa's 'miracle transition' has not put an end to white privilege - 21 October 2013". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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