- Constand Viljoen
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General Constand Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM (born on October 28, 1933, Krugersdorp) is a former South African military commander and politician. He is partly credited with preventing the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected Afrikaners prior to the 1994 elections.
Portrait of Constant Viljoen. Digital image. Web. <http://www.joeblog.co.za/museumafrica/>
Contents
Military service
Viljoen received a degree in military science in 1955 and joined the South African Army in 1956. In 1974 he was made the Director General of Operations at the army headquarters and he subsequently became Principal Staff Officer to the chief of the defence force. In 1977 he became Chief of the Army and in 1980 the Chief of the overall Defence Force.[1] He was the senior officer in the campaign in Angola in 1975-1976.
Viljoen planned the Battle of Cassinga, the first major airborne assault by South African forces. Although he was at the time Chief of the Army, he was present at the scene of battle,[2] typical of what has been described as a swashbuckling front-line leadership style that made him revered among whites.[3]
Political career
Viljoen is credited by some with kick-starting the Afrikaners' self-examination that lead to their acceptance of universal suffrage and free elections, with his famous speech at the Broederbond annual assembly in Voortrekkerhoogte, saying of the black South Africans in his army - As hulle kan veg vir Suid-Afrika, kan hulle stem vir Suid-Afrika! ("If they can fight for South Africa, then they can vote for South Africa!").
In 1993 Viljoen and fellow retired generals formed the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front), an umbrella body for right-wing groups. However, Viljoen reportedly had strained relationships with the leaders of other right-wing parties.[4]
Bophuthatswana action and decision to contest elections
Main article: Bophuthatswana coup d'état of 1994Immediately prior to the 1994 elections Viljoen had a force of between 50 000 and 60 000 trained military personnel at his command, with the ability to take over large parts of the country.[5] [6] The force was assembled in preparation for war with Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC, as a last-ditch move to protect Afrikaner interests.[7]
In March 1994 Viljoen led an effort by several thousand white militia to protect the government of Lucas Mangope in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana against a popular uprising.[8] Despite being asked not to participate in the action because of their racist views, members of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement also moved into Bophuthatswana, sparking clashes with the security forces the white militia were supposed to support.[9]
Immediately after the incident Viljoen split off from the Volksfront[10] and started an election campaign,[11] co-founding and becoming leader of the Freedom Front, a political party representing conservative Afrikaner interests. His decision to take part in the elections are believed to have prevented a violent uprising by Afrikaners and on the occasion of his retirement from politics the ANC government thanked him for preventing bloodshed.[12]
Viljoen's decision was at least partially influenced by the mediation of his identical twin brother, Abraham (Braam) Viljoen, who was an anti-apartheid activist while his brother led the military.[13] [14]
Although his party was at odds with the ANC government over the unfulfilled desire of parts of the Afrikaners for a separate state (Volkstaat), Viljoen praised Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his retreat from politics in 1999, even ending his Parliamentary speech with an attempt at speaking in Mandela's native language, Xhosa. Translated, he said: Go rest in peace. Go rest in the shadow of a tree at your home.
In 2001 Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Pieter Mulder and retired from politics, saying he had grown frustrated working in a parliament dominated by the ANC.[15]
Post retirement
In 2003 it emerged that Viljoen had been a target of the Boeremag paramilitary right-wing group, which considered him a traitor who had underhandedly sold out the Afrikaner people.[16]
In 2008 Viljoen, aged 74, put up what was described as a spirited fight against two would-be muggers, who were subsequently arrested.[17]
References
- ^ Hamann, Hilton (2001). "Introduction". The days of the generals. Zebra. p. xv. ISBN 1868723402, 9781868723409. http://books.google.com/books?id=mYgWcHq8lE8C.
- ^ "Battle of Cassinga still rages". Independent Online. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&set_id=1&art_id=vn20070519093038473C345664. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Keller, Bill (1993-05-06). "South African Rightists Rally Behind Ex-Generals". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/06/world/south-african-rightists-rally-behind-ex-generals.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Waldmeir, Patti (1998). "13: Battling for the Right". Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of the New South Africa. Rutgers University Press. p. 223. ISBN 0813525829, 9780813525822. http://books.google.com/books?id=2IHKD-FY8YgC.
- ^ "Soweto bombs may have been just a 'dry run'". Independent Online. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=15&art_id=ct20021102190803396B510670&set_id=1. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Proving That One Man Can Make a Difference". US News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/990524/archive_001065.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Viljoen reveals just how close SA came to war". Independent Online. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=13&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=ct20010324172513644P420166. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Keller, Bill (1994-03-11). "Homeland Leader in South Africa Flees His Capital". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/11/world/homeland-leader-in-south-africa-flees-his-capital.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Keller, Bill (1994-03-12). "Mixed Signals Fatal for South African Separatists". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/12/world/mixed-signals-fatal-for-south-african-separatists.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Cohen, Tom (1994-03-13). "South Africa Takes Control Of Homeland -- Bophuthatswana's Ruler Removed To Open Up Election". The Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940313&slug=1899838. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Keller, Bill (1994-03-13). "A Homeland's Agony". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/13/world/a-homeland-s-agony.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Mbeki thanks Constand Viljoen". News24. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_996781,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Abraham Viljoen: Longtime Campaigner For Black-White Solidarity in South Africa". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/1993/1028/28131.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Mediation during the Transition in South Afric". University of South Africa. http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=14555. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Constand Viljoen to leave SA parliament". BBC. 2001-03-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1223061.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Was the TAU part of the Boeremag plot?". Independent Online. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1067593321550B263. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Elderly man turns table on muggers". The Times. http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=768657. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
See also
Categories:- 1933 births
- Living people
- People from Krugersdorp
- Afrikaner people
- South African people of Huguenot descent
- South African Army generals
- Freedom Front Plus politicians
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