SETTLEMENT OF THE BOER-AFRIKANER PEOPLE'S CLAIM TO TERRITORIAL SELF-DETERMINATION

Auteur

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (1825-1904) was the dominant figure in Boer and South African history of the nineteenth century. Born in the Cape Colony, Kruger took part in the Great Trek and played a prominent role in the settlement of the interior from the 1860s onward. In various roles, as field cornet, as commandant-general, as vice president, and finally as four-times elected president of the Boer South African Republic ("Transvaal"), Kruger led his people time and time again to victory against overwhelming odds, including numerous wars with African tribes, and the British Empire itself. Re-elected with ever-increasing majorities, Kruger became the embodiment and symbol of the Boer people. He was only finally ejected from office in the cataclysm now known as the Second Boer War. Exiled to Europe, Kruger died in 1904, just two years after the state which he had helped to found disappeared.

Texte du rabat

This memorandum by the Boer-Afrikaner Volksraad (Assembly) records the historical connection of the Boer-Afrikaner people to the South African soil. The correct historical setting is an important aspect in the strive for self-determination, which is the sole purpose of the existence of the Volksraad. The memorandum is written to the international community to remind the outside world about the rightful claim of the Boer-Afrikaner people to be in South Africa. The memorandum goes into depth how the European descendants initially acquired land on the southern tip of Africa. How vast uninhabited land was discovered and cultivated, even in the semi- desert where no man could settle without the technology of drilling for water. How treaties were made with the black tribes and how the previous Boer Republics were established. How self-determination was lost in the Boer Republics and about the present strive and challenges to regain self-determination for the Boer-Afrikaner people. From the Preface: This document is an appeal and a proclamation. It relates the history of the Boer-Afrikaner nation since its inception; its continued struggle for survival against all odds; its unsurpassed contribution to uplift the Black peoples of South Africa; the deceptive and treacherous political process which caused its downfall; and its present exposure to a new kind of slow war which is waged with the intent to exterminate the Boer-Afrikaner people as a distinct nation - i.e. a new genocide. It appeals to the international community to step in as mediator in our quest for peaceful exertion of our internationally recognized right to self-determination. The Memorandum has been researched and compiled by Mr. Paul Kruger, 2016