EXTRACT
FROM SPEECH BY MAJ GEN OPPERMAN AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS, ARTS, CULTURE AND
HERITAGE CONFERENCE IN
THE
SITUATION CONCERNING INTANGIBLE ASSETS
7.
Whilst it would, in view of the indifference of many members of this cultural
group and the crippling need for more funds, be over-confident and even presumptuous to try and suggest that all is
well as far as the Afrikaners' tangible assets (i.e. monuments, museums,
works of art, architecture etc) are concerned, it is rather on the side of the
intangible assets (i.e. language, history, music, performing arts, oral
traditions, social practices etc) that many Afrikaans speaking people are
re-acting with mixed feelings.
8.
On
the positive side it is encouraging to note the
spontaneous renewed interest in and awareness of certain aspects of their intangible
inheritance, like traditional music and song, inspiring many youth members and
young people once again to become involved in it. The active role played by the
various Afrikaans cultural festivals, and the ATKV in this regard, especially
to promote the Afrikaans language as spanning different cultural groups,
deserves special mention.
9.
It is also gratifying to take note
of the strong and positive stand recently taken by the youth members of the
Voortrekkers, an Afrikaans cultural youth organisation, about their own culture
and their role in the new
10.
Cultural
diversity implies the acknowledgement of the identities of the different
cultural minority groups. Franklin D.
Roosevelt said: “No democracy can long survive which does not accept as
fundamental to its existence, the recognition of the rights of
minorities”. It is a basic Human Right
and our Constitution clearly lays the foundation for the
conservation of cultural and related rights. Yet, in practise, it is not always
so clear cut.
11.
Despite the positive developments in certain areas,
the author, Max du Preez, who used to be a big opponent of
the previous dispensation, recently stated that Afrikaners and Whites are
losing their short-lived sense of belonging, of being an integral part of the
nation of
THE LANGUAGE QUESTION
12.
First and foremost would be what is
described by Prof Hermann Giliomee as “…the greatest threat since
13. Giliomee
also explains that the Nationalists developed Afrikaans into a public language,
both as a means of overcoming feelings of inferiority towards English speakers
and as a unique form of cultural expression.
It might be interesting to note that Afrikaans was one of four languages
in the world (the other being Hebrew, Hindi and Indonesian-Malay) which, in the
course of the twentieth century, was standardised and used in all branches of
life and learning, including at post-graduate level at university and in
science and technology. Hebrew and
Afrikaans were the only languages spoken by a very small speech community that
managed to achieve that feat. Afrikaans
was the only one to do so in the face of direct competition with English, one
of the few universal languages. Considering these facts, it might become
clearer why Afrikaans speaking people are so proud of their language and are
hanging onto it for dear life.
14. It is indeed sorry that some prominent Afrikaans speaking
persons in positions of power and influence, especially from the business
community, would much rather mask their Afrikaner identity and appear
unconcerned about language and culture. As a result Afrikaans, arguably the
most important cultural asset of many South Africans and not only the
Afrikaners, has suffered a precipitous decline as a public language.
15. Despite
some exceptions, this attitude also negatively impacts on the access of the
Afrikaner cultural establishment to private sources of financial support.
According to Giliomee, the assumption that corporations with historic Afrikaner
ties would support Afrikaans is mistaken. Instead the prevailing impression is
that most Afrikaans speaking business leaders have their respective corporate
interests uppermost in mind when they meet Government as part of an ‘Afrikaner
delegation’. Apparently, most big companies fear that the Government can punish
a corporation severely should it incur its displeasure.
16. Fortunately,
there are also individuals who are willing to stand up despite the business
risks that might be involved, as businessman Johan Rupert recently proved when
he withdrew advertisements from a British magazine who openly insulted the
Afrikaans language.
THE HISTORY QUESTION
17. Whilst it must immediately be admitted
that the history as previously taught at schools, was principally the history
of the White people, specifically the Afrikaans speaking people and their
predecessors. Nowadays however many Afrikaans speaking people perceive the new
history to be tantamount to "a bastardization of history", as a total
disregard for the achievements of the past and a deliberate attempt to
reconstruct, to renegotiate and even to recreate the history. Frequently this
is done with total disregard for excellent research done in the past, which is
casually discredited and replaced by unsubstantiated oral history versions,
which again could easily be based on own agendas and distortions.
18.
One
specific case in mind, is the history of the Battle of Blood River/Ncome,
arguably perhaps one of the most sensitive and emotionally laden events in our
shared past. To try and write this battle out of history, to try and suggest
that is was a figment of White imagination, and that in fact it was a
resounding military victory for the Zulu Impi's who took part in the battle, to
belittle the question of divine intervention, although there are some Afrikaans
speaking historians who might also rather explain the outcome of the battle as
a mere tactical success, the discrediting of the Vow as something that should
be "renegotiated" by the various interested parties, are seen by many
Afrikaans speaking people as provocative in the extreme. Public statements to
this effect cause a reaction amongst many Afrikaans speaking people that would
rather undermine than support the desire to effect greater reconciliation and
nation building.
19.
This
obviously does not mean that there is no room for further research and new
perspectives about the history. The role played by members of other cultural
groups during the Great Trek, and in fact in the Laager at
THE CHANGING OF PLACE NAMES QUESTION
20. Disregard
for the Afrikaner’s history (or the country’s so-called colonial history) is
evident in many actions taken by Government to redress the inequities of the
past. Although much could be said about
name changes effected under the previous dispensation (e.g. Voortrekker-hoogte
in the place of Robert's Heights, now Thaba Tshwane), it would be a pity if we
haven't learned from the mistakes of the past. Perhaps it would have been
better to resort to a system of dual names, to be phased in over a period of
time, with the most legitimate ones surviving, than to summarily revert to name
changes that lead to emotional reaction and fly in the face of attempts to
achieve greater reconciliation and nation building.
21.
The
Minister of Arts and Culture has thus far illustrated that he is acutely aware
of the possible negative effects of such name changes, and he is therefore
obviously applying his mind when such name changes are submitted to him for
consideration, and we would like to thank him for that.