Supremacist’s Slaying Stirs Racial Divide

A South African white supremacist leader, Eugene Terreblanche, was allegedly murdered by two farmhands in the northwest region of the country, eliciting cries of protest from his far-right followers and a plea for calm from the country’s black president, Jacob Zuma.

Terreblanche was well known for championing a white separatist agenda, which called for a separate homeland for the country’s white population.

His killing was allegedly over unpaid wages. Some observers believe the death of Terreblanche could be used to incite racial instability, seriously injuring the decades-long process of post-apartheid reconciliation and reconstruction. —JCL

The BBC:

South African President Jacob Zuma has appealed for calm after the killing of the white supremacist leader, Eugene Terreblanche.

Mr Zuma said South Africans must not allow anyone to take advantage of the “terrible deed” by inciting racial hatred.

Police said Mr Terreblanche had been beaten to death in a dispute with two farm workers over unpaid wages.

Mr Terreblanche’s far-right movement urged its members to be calm.

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Eugene Terreblanche was co-founder of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement).