The Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF; ) was a separatist umbrella organisation uniting a number of right-wing

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cast ...

organisations in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in the early 1990s.

History

The AVF was formed by General Constand Viljoen and three other generals from the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

(SADF), and launched on 7 May 1993. The other three generals were Major General Tienie Groenewald, a former chief of military intelligence, Lieutenant General Koos Bischoff, former chief of operations of the SADF, and Lieutenant General Cobus Visser, a former head of investigations of the

South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Af ...

. The AVF President was Dr Ferdi Hartzenberg, leader of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, and the chief secretary was Colonel Piet Botha. The AVF existed as an umbrella group for right wing groups rather than a party in itself. Other groups involved included the

Boerestaat Party The Boerstaat Party ( en, Boer State Party) is a Boer nationalist South African political party founded on 30 September 1986 by Robert van Tonder. It was never officially registered as a political party because it was unable to rally 500 person ...

, the Herstigte Nasionale Party, and the Oranjewerkers. The AVF aimed to disrupt the 1994 elections. The AVF established a ''Volksrepubliek werkkomitee'' ("People's Republic working committee") to gather information and put the ideal of Afrikaner self-determination into practice. In September 1993 this committee recommended a '' Volkstaat'' solution incorporating

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

, parts of the Transvaal, and northern Kimberley and Northern Natal, which would exist as a state with the right to secede from a federal South Africa; in November 1994 a new proposal was suggested for a smaller state with just autonomy.van Rooyen, Johnann. ''Hard Right: The New White Power in South Africa'' I.B. Tauris (1994) pp114-115 The negotiations held with the ANC displeased hardliners within the AVF, with Hartzenberg demanding nothing less than an independent Afrikaner homeland. After negotiations failed Viljoen's position in the AVF was undermined by the hardliners; Viljoen left and subsequently formed the Freedom Front. The AVF rejected the interim constitution of South Africa which was passed in November 1993. In 1994 the AVF sought to have the Boers recognised as an indigenous people by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

but were unsuccessful after 82 other indigenous peoples signed a petition against the AVF's participation. The AVF also participated in the 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis in which several members of the

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (), meaning "Afrikaner Resistance Movement", commonly known by its abbreviation AWB, is an Afrikaner nationalist paramilitary organisation in South Africa. Since its founding in 1973 by Eugène Terre'Blanche and ...

were killed. The AVF was disbanded in November 1996.

References

External links

First Report of the Volk's Republic Works Committee of the Afrikaner Volksfront
{{Authority control 1993 establishments in South Africa 1996 disestablishments in South Africa Afrikaner nationalism Boer nationalism Defunct political parties in South Africa Far-right politics in South Africa Nationalist parties in South Africa Organisations associated with apartheid Political parties disestablished in 1996 Political parties established in 1993 Political party alliances in South Africa