“Just a year before the declaration of the Republic, an event occurred at Sharpeville in the Transvaal, in 1960, which would resonate around the world, and forever-after be used as anti-Afrikaner propaganda. A mob of about 6,000 blacks, protesting against a law which compelled them to carry identification-passes allowing them to work in “white” areas, surrounded a police station. The ostensibly “peaceful” demonstration turned ugly when a woman inserted a gasoline-soaked rag into the fuel-receptacle of a police vehicle and then lit it. The resultant explosion panicked the small contingent of besieged policemen (already on edge due to the fact that 9 young policemen had recently been hacked and burned to death by a mob near Durban). A known criminal in the crowd then fired a shot at a policeman he recognized, standing in the doorway. The commander at Sharpeville ordered his policemen to be ready to shoot, but only if the masses broke down the fence; their last line of defense around the police station. When the mob stormed through the fence, firing broke out, and 69 of the rioters were killed. The senior police commander Lt. Colonel Pienaar later told a commission of inquiry into the “Sharpeville Massacre" that: “The Native mentality does not allow for a peaceful demonstration. For them to gather [together], means violence.” Although the white Afrikaner, by virtue of their 3 centuries of contact with black Africans, could claim to “know” them better than any other white nation did, a liberal media’s spin on these events, led to a world-wide perception that the Afrikaners were violent “white supremacists” and thus international sanctions against them were necessary.” - Bulala, by Cuan Eglin
Events leading up to the attack on Sharpeville Police Station in March, 1960
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 5:09am
Afrikaner Broadcasting Corporation
The literary work by P.C. Swanepoel titled Really Inside BOSS, was used as a source of reference for the following article. During the terrorist attack on the Sharpeville Police Station, Mr. Swanepoel was an employee of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) and describes in detail the causes which led up to the events at Sharpeville on 21 March, 1960.
The South African Government and Police were vilified following the Sharpeville attack. The most common criticism accused a lack of compromise and negotiation by the State when dealing with the terrorist element in question. The police were facing extremist terrorist leaders determined to undermine the State and the terrorists did not hesitate to sacrifice innocent lives in pursuit of their aims. The police were not trained as negotiators. Ordinary policemen were fulfilling their designated duty to uphold law & order helping to maintain the peace. The situation which transpired at Sharpeville spiralled out of control, the police reacted accordingly defending life and property.
The ANC embarked on a ‘potato boycott’ in May, 1959, after sensational reports in a journal aimed at black readers alleged a potato farmer in the Bethal district had mistreated his workers. A ‘stay-at-home’ was organised as a reinforcement of the boycott. Simultaneously a crowd of several thousand rioters had gathered at the Cator-Manor slum on the outskirts of Durban. The rioters initially attacked the municipal beer hall.
The police were called to the scene and rumours spread of the police being vastly outnumbered. Strong suspicion was present of ANC cadres instigating the beer hall attack. The police would baton charge the attackers, who would retreat and subsequently regroup a short distance away, repeating the attack on the beer hall. The police would withdraw, whereupon the mob would attack the police with stones. The situation was seemingly close to resolution.
