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A judge will announce today his verdict in the trial of two blackSouth Africans accused of beating their employer, the whitesupremacist Eugene Terreblanche, to death at his remote farm in thecountry s North West Province. There are fears that the conclusion of the case could reignitesimmering racial tensions just as the murder itself did shortlybefore South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup in June 2010. At that time, lurid headlines screamed Murder Could Spark WorldCup Race War, We ll Avenge Terreblanche Vow White Fanatics, and Dark Clouds Over The Rainbow Nation - the moniker adoptedby South Africa after apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela came topower in 1994. In the end, the sporting event passed without incident. But angerover the ruling African National Congress failure to markedlyimprove life for blacks and whites, and a habit left over fromapartheid of blaming each other for the country s ills, remains. Terreblanche became famous in the 1980s for his fire-breathingspeeches advocating a separate Boer nation. In death, he joined anestimated 3,000 white farmers and their families beaten, tortured,and killed since 1994, mainly by black intruders in raids on theirremote homesteads. South Africa s crime problem is notorious and many more blackpeople have been killed in that time, but the far right say thebrutality of the murders suggest a genocide that the state isdoing little to prevent. Underage defendant During the trial, defendant Chris Mahlangu claimed Terreblanche hadsexually assaulted him and he had killed him in self-defence. The second defendant, who was aged 16 at the time and so cannot benamed, is said to have confessed his role in the alleged murder topolice. But Norman Arendse, the teenager s lawyer, said he is hopefuland fairly optimistic that his client will be acquitted at courtTuesday in Ventersdorp, a dusty town almost 90 miles west ofJohannesburg. There is no forensic evidence linking him to the scene, althoughMr. Mahlangu was covered in blood spatters, and because of his agethe judge ruled that the teenage defendant's confession could notbe used against him. He lived and worked at the farm so we don t deny he was nearbybut he was not involved, Mr. Arendse said. Mr. Terreblanche hadplied him with strong cider earlier that day and that explains hisbravado when talking to the police. Doubts about justice system If the teenager is acquitted, Terreblanche s supporters say, itwill prove that the justice system like everything else in SouthAfrica, they say is against them and they will unleash havoc. Andre Visagie, the former general secretary of Terreblanche sAfrikaner Resistance Movement who now runs a sister organizationPeople of the Covenant, promised to bring 500 khaki-clad supportersto stand outside the court as the verdict is delivered. The people are very emotional and aggressive and fed up with farmmurders, he said. Mr. Terreblanche was murdered in the mostgruesome way and if his murderers, who confessed that they killedhim, are acquitted, I can assure you there will be havoc. He claimed that more liberal Afrikaners were now joining theirranks, and as many as 3,000 people would march through SouthAfrica s cities in the coming months, wearing balaclavas to avoidthe victimization that has previously deterred them. 'We are fed up' We are fed up in South Africa with the genocide of white people,with being second class citizens, with the appalling government ofthe ANC, with black people stealing money through corruption, hesaid. We have learned one lesson over the last 18 years with thisgovernment they don t listen to what we are saying. Violence is what makes them listen. So we are discussing what weare going to do if these boys are acquitted. But we will not say: It s a shame , and move on. Police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said riot units and apolice helicopter were on standby in case of trouble. This is acrunch moment and we are ready for any eventuality, he said. It s always sad to lose a loved one or a leader but there arelimits. We will act against any wrongdoing. I am an expert from papercarrier-bag.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Pizza Packaging Boxes , Cardboard Shirt Box Manufacturer, Personalized Paper Bag,and more.
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