A little-known South African group, the Warriors of the Boer Nation, has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in South Africa’s black townships of Soweto.
English to Africa reporter Richard Kotey talked with Graeme Simpson, director of the South Africa Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Speaking from New York, Mr. Simpson said he has no doubt that people across the board, both politically and racially, condemn the bombings by the extremists.
He said those carrying out what he called the heinous acts are part of such a fractured and splintered organization that they will not be able to succeed in destabilizing the South African government. But he said one should not forget that some traces of apartheid still exist, and that one manifestation of this is the white extremists groups.
Mr. Simpson said one must be careful with any assumption that apartheid has completely disappeared and that there is always the likelihood that extremists groups will emerge. And he said rather than being surprised that this sort of thing is happening now, one should have been stunned that it didn’t happen earlier.