Farm Murders: self-censorship in Afrikaans media empire presents two politicised versions of same 3 murders in Free State

Farm Murders: self-censorship in Afrikaans Media empire Netwerk24.com presents two versions of same murders: -- "One terrible evil: two perceptions: editors at two Afrikaans papers, Beeld and Volksblad, clash with two perceptions over the same farm-murders" ------------------------- -- News comment by Herman Toerien: 16 January 2015. "Seldom, if ever before have ideological differences between two Afrikaans newspapers inside the same media empire, been as brutally exposed to the public as did the two dailies Beeld, and Volksblad. Both highlighted the evil of farm-murders. And later that day the civil-rights group Afriforum and the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa provided the farm-attack statistics for 2014 including the farm-murders. Those were hard, empirical statistics which should have been presented objectively, without argument. But the argument didn't end and won't be any time soon. ----------------------------- The subject in the two newspapers were dealing with the following three murders in the Freestate: 1. The sadistic double-murders pf Afrikaner couple Toon 73 and Rienie Swanepoel 70 who were tied up together and killed one after the other by black attackers at their farm. The mental torture inflicted on the couple who had been married for many years, was undoubtedly horrendous: also for their families... -- http://www.netwerk24.com/nuus/2015-01-14-hegte-egpaar-bo-op-mekaar-geskiet 2. Torture-murder of Afrikaner farm-woman Martie Bester 67, who may have been held captive & tortured for days before her torched body was found inside her burning farm-house: -- http://www.censorbugbear.org/farmitracker/reports/view/3061 Jan 16 2015 - Two black suspects in the torture/rape/arson murder of Afrikaner farm-woman Martie Bester were named as Molelekoa Mothibeli and Lekgotla Matatiele, both 22. The police are still looking for two of their comrades. The four attackers may allegedly have tortured and killed the elderly Afrikaner farm woman several days or even a week before she was found in her burning (torched) homestead, according to well-informed sources reporting to the self-defence group Boere Krisis Aksie. The new information, which cannot at this stage by officially confirmed by the police, raised the question whether Mrs Bester may have been held captive and may even have been tortured,". The reliable sources said on Thursday that there are 'indications' that the attack had already taken place last Monday -- a full week before Mrs Bester's torched body was found, another source said she'd been dead 'several days'before the homestead was torched with her inside. https://www.facebook.com/boerekrisisaksie/photos/pb.116298045063416.-2207520000.1421426067./1071838906175987/?type=1 The race-issue in these three murders has been proven; there were black male attackers targetting elderly (white) Afrikaners on two Free State farms. The facts also are that the Afrikaners were tortured mentally and physically and treated with a high level of sadism: usually this indicates that the perpetrators had feelings of hatred towards their victims. In both cases, the attackers had been previously unknown to their victims. --------------------------------- THE CLASH BETWEEN BEELD'S VERSION OF EVENTS AND VOLKSBLAD'S ----------- -- Beeld (published from Pretoria/Johannesburg in Gauteng) placed its focus and propaganda with the warning that 'farm murders must not be politicised", with its Netwerk24.com headline: "There also is no proof as is being claimed by others, is racially-motivated'... The article described the brutality of the farm murders and condemns them. However, it's being embelished with a strong dose of editorial bashing by its senior editor Basson. --Volksblad (published in Bloemfontein in the Free State) daily's approach is entirely different. Its Netwerk24.com headline reads: --- "It is truly time that the government shows that it's serious about these horrific crimes which simply will not end'. -- And about the racial issue, Volksblad editorialises: "Equally, the government must leave alone the race-card and declare farm-attacks priority crimes." Beeld's editor Basson is the editor-in-chief of the entire media empire, while Volksblad editor Gert Coetze is an 'acting editor. In the same issue, a senior editorial member Charles Smith also writes an editoirial with the title: "Today we are Toon, Rienie and Martie" - after the 3 Afrikaner victims of the horrific attack, Toon and Rienie Swanepoel, and the gruesomely murdered Martie Bester. He headlines his editorial: "South Africa's new killing fields, describing these latest farm-murders and hatecrimes against Afrikaner agriculturalists in the Free State province. It's not the main issue whether one could guess whether the (inevitably black male) attackers have racial motives whenever they attack white Afrikaner farm-families (often after they return from church) during which they are cruelly tortured and often murdered. Any violent crimes against race-boundaries have an emotional impact. Think about the huge demonstrations outside the court where the socalled 'lion-camp murder' was heard: where a white road-builder was amongst the accused who had allegedly 'fed a black man to the lions'. In the Appeals court, this white contractor was found not guilty - because the pathology reports and -testimony indicated that the black 'victim' had already been dead long before the white man had showed up at the scene. And other incidents whenever whites are accused and are highlighted extensively in the news media - but when a farmer from Parys was murdered by blacks who dragged him behind a bakkie, there was hardly a news-item to be found about it. During the apartheid-era, it was considered a more heinous crime to commit murders across the racial boundaries precisely because they incited racial hatred. We all have very clear evidence as to who are actually committing the attacks and murders on white (mostly Afrikaner) farmers. And let it be stated here: black farm-families also are attacked and murdered such as the case in the Free State where a black farm-couple was murdered and their animals were rescued by white neighbours. Usually when it comes to (farm) murders, the attacks are primarily carried out by black people, and the victims are primarily white. This proven fact creates perceptions and emotions. And this commentator, writes Herman Toerien, "does not enjoy having to hammer on the racial issue - it's purely reactive. Toerien writes: "One expects that a responsible government and a responsible media would react in a responsible manner to these facts. It's not too much to ask that politics restrain themselves from making inciting statements about agricultural issues in South Africa which in fact endanger the lives of every farmer and his family. There are non-governmental organisations in South Africa, of which one mainly is financed by the powerful trade union movement and co-ruler of South Africa, COSATU -- which is constantly publishing unproven reports about the 'atrocious conditions for workers on farms'. Yet whenever their claims are investigated by other organisations, they are proven to be fabricated cases. There is no need to 'debate' the facts around the farm-murders and farm-attacks. The ABC of democracy indicates that a ruling party actually rules on behalf of the general population and that the government should tread carefully with hetero-genicity and to stick to its agreements, for instance its national peace agreement... Yet it was Free State Agriculture and advocate George Bizos who had to drag the government into the law-courts to enforce the constitutional rights to security for Free State residents. The government settled out of court and this agreement was made an official court-order which the government was ordered to abide by. When they ignored the court-order, the court had to be approached again, and the government again had to 'settle' out of court. The stubborn perception that the ruling ANC politicians stubbornly continues to be racially motivated towards farm attacks, is not limited to the 'white' farming community. Provincial leaders of a non-racial party, the African Christian Democratic Party, ACDP supported their black leader in Cape Town when he refused to read out a prepared statement condemning a farm-murder in North West province - fearing that he would be branded a ' white patsy ' he asked a white executive of the party to issue the statement to Beeld. A while later at a meeting in Bloemfontein, the black ACDP leader was asked 'why his party never mades statements about farm murders'. He reacted by saying that his party issued 'many statements' but that the news media never published them. However in reality, his party does not issue any statements condemning farm-murders on a national level - they clearly reduce it to a 'provincial' issue. And it's not the only political party which reduces the massive number of murders and attacks on white farm families to 'a provincial matter'. The perception amongst the political parties is that this is a strategy to draw black voters which won't work if the leaders issue statements condemning farm-attacks on a national level which will be widely published in the news media. Again, it's entirely a racial issue. In short, the farm-attacks may or may not be racially- and politically-driven but the way in which opinion-makers such as our own politicians and especially our government, reacts to them indicates that the racial issue is heating up this pot. No ideological glasses will change this until the government carries out its basic requirements towards all its citizens. And the only way in which a responsible government can react to this evil, is to have a responsible government in the first place. In this, the media plays an enormous role not only in regard to farm attacks, to service as the citizens' watchdogs watching the acts of the government. Recently the editorial writer Max du Preez resigned from the "Independent' Media group (IOL) which publishes the English-language dailies such as the Star, the Cape Argus and the Pretoria News because this group - without consulting with Du Preez in advance -- had apologized to the ANC for things Max had written about president Zuma in one of his editorials. The ANC had reacted furiously. Max stood by his facts and viewpoints about Zuma - and the Independent Media Group is the big loser which finds that its name 'Independent' has become the subject of ridicule. It is terrible that our farmers and their family members are being murdered and attacked so cruelly, and we must do everything we can to stop this. However now we aren't losing merely our food-producers, we are also at great danger of losing any hope of building up a society in which racial harmony has won. We are losing any hint that we may just have a responsible government which rules for the good of all, and if we are bombarded with 'political correctness' by our news media, which thus hamper freedom of speech and freedom of the media, the price is becoming enormous. https://www.facebook.com/boerekrisisaksie/photos/a.178568022169751.48293.116298045063416/1072158732810671/?type=1&theater ============== Afrikaans: Nuuskommentaar: Plaasmoorde – een erge euwel, twee persepsies 16 Januarie 2015 by Herman Toerien Selde, indien ooit, is ideologiese verskille tussen twee koerante binne dieselfde groep so ontbloot soos in die hoofartikels van Beeld en Volksblad gister. Beide het plaasmoorde onder die loep geneem. Later die dag het AfriForum en TLU SA die plaasaanval-syfers vir 2014 verskaf, wat plaasmoorde insluit. Dis harde, empiriese syfers, en dit moes in ʼn objektiewe wêreld vry van ideologiese bande die einde van die argument wees. Maar dit is nie, en dit sal nie gou wees nie. In Beeld is die fokus geplaas op die vermaning dat plaasmoorde nie verpolitiseer moet word nie. Netwerk24 se subopskrif lui: “Ook is daar geen bewys dat dié moorde, soos soveel ander beweer, rasgemotiveerd is nie.” Die artikel beskryf egter die euwel in sy brutaliteit, en veroordeel dit. Die artikel word met ’n goeie dosis Basson-bashing in die kommentaarkolom gevolg. Volksblad se aanslag is heel anders, met Netwerk24 se subopskrif wat lui: “Dit is werklik tyd dat die regering wys dat hy ernstig is oor hierdie verskriklike misdade wat net nie wil ophou nie.” Oor die raskwessie skryf Volksblad: “Net so moet die regering die rassekaart vir eers links laat en opnuut daaroor besin om plaasaanvalle tot voorkeurmisdaad te verklaar.” Beeld se redakteur is ook hoofredakteur van die Media24-groep, terwyl Gert Coetzee van Volksblad ’n waarnemende redakteur is. In dieselfde uitgawe van Volksblad skryf Coetzee ook ’n puik rubriek met die titel: “Suid-Afrika se nuwe slagvelde,” terwyl ’n senior redaksielid, Charles Smith ’n rubriek skryf met die titel: “Ons is vandag Toon, Rienie en Martie.” Dit is die voorname van die jongste slagoffers van plaasmoorde in die Vrystaat. Uiteindelik handel dit nie daaroor of aanvallers werklik rassemotiewe het wanneer hulle plaasmense aanval (dikwels na kerk voorlê), wreed martel en dikwels dan vermoor nie. Wanneer misdade oor die rasgrense heen plaasvind, het dit ’n emosionele inslag. Dink maar aan die groot betogings by die hof van die sg. leeukampverhoor waar ’n blanke onder die beskuldigdes was wat ’n swart man “vir die leeus gevoer” het. Onder appèl is die blanke onskuldig bevind aan moord omdat die patologiese getuienis daarop gedui het dat die man reeds dood was voor die blanke op die toneel verskyn het. Dink ook maar aan die reaksies op die bakkie-sleepvoorvalle – hoe dit geweldig “opgeblaas” is toe blankes aangekla is, maar toe ’n boer van Parys tydens ʼn plaasaanval op dieselfde wyse vermoor is, was dit kwalik nuus. In die vorige bedeling het dit as strafverswaring gedien om misdade oor die kleurgrens te pleeg, juis oor die rassegevoelens wat dit opjaag. Wie tydens plaasaanvalle aanval, en wie vermoor word is klinkklare, harde bewyse. En laat dit dadelik gestel word, daar is swart boeregesinne wat aangeval word en vermoor word. Verlede jaar was daar byvoorbeeld na afloop van ’n Vrystaatse plaasaanval waartydens ’n swart boer en sy vrou vermoor is, ook emosionele berigte oor die lot van die gesin se troeteldiere, vir wie daar toe na aanleiding van die berigte (meestal wit) uitkoms gekom het. Maar meestal, as dit by moorde kom, word die aanvalle deur swart mense gepleeg en is die slagoffers meestal wit. En dit skep persepsies en emosies. En hierdie kommentator skep geen behae daarin om so op die kleurkwessie te hamer nie – dis suiwer reaktief. Daar word van ’n verantwoordelike regering en ’n verantwoordelike media verwag om op ’n verantwoordelike wyse hierop te reageer. En dit is nie te veel gevra dat die politici in hul uitsprake oor die landbou hulle moet weerhou van vrot appel-veralgemenings wat die lewe van elke boer en sy gesin in gevaar stel nie. Daar is nie-regeringsorganisasies, waarvan minstens een grootliks deur Cosatu gefinansier word, en die ander klaarblyklik uit die buiteland, wat verslag op verslag die lig laat sien oor “wantoestande” op plase. Politici is gou om hierdie verslae as die evangelie op te slurp en striemende veralgemeende aanvalle op boere te loods. Wanneer die “gevalle” deur ander instansies ondersoek word, is dit bykans alles gefabriseerde gevalle – waarskynlik om die organisasies se bestaansreg te “regverdig” en voortgesette finansiering te kry. Dit is nie iets waaroor gedebatteer hoef te word nie. Dit is die ABC van demokrasie dat ’n regerende party in algemene belang regeer, anders het ons te make met ’n diktatuur van die meerderheid. Dit is die ABC van politieke sosiologie dat daar omsigtig te werk gegaan word met heterogeniteit. Dit is ’n algemene beginsel dat gehou word by ’n akkoord, soos die nasionale vredesakkoord. Tog was dit vir Vrystaat Landbou, met adv. George Bizos aan die spits, nodig om die regering voor die hof te sleep om sy lede en Vrystaatse inwoners se grondwetlike regte op veiligheid te verseker. Die regering het buite die hof geskik en die ooreenkoms is ’n bevel van die hof gemaak. Toe die ooreenkoms verslons word, is die hof weer genader en weer geskik. Die persepsie dat die ANC politiek-halsstarrig en rasgemotiveerd oor plaasaanvalle dink, is nie beperk tot die wit boeregemeenskap nie. By geleentheid was die provinsiale leiers van ’n nie-rassige party, die ACDP, by hul swart leier in Kaapstad saamgetrek. Die vorige aand was daar ’n plaasmoord in Noordwes. ʼn Mediaverklaring oor die plaasaanval word aan die leier voorgehou, wat weier om dit uit te reik omdat die ANC dan sal sê hy is “’n wit meeloper.” Die wit leier van die Wes-Kaap kon die verklaring egter in sy naam uitreik, en dit is onder meer in Beeld gedra. ʼn Ruk later, tydens ’n vergadering in Bloemfontein, word die leier gevra hoekom sy party nooit iets oor plaasaanvalle uitreik nie. Hy reageer en sê sy party reik “baie” uit, maar dis die media wat dit nooit dra nie. In werklikheid reik sy party op nasionale vlak niks oor plaasaanvalle uit nie (dit kan met ’n besoek aan die webwerf geverifieer word), maar die party het op provinsiale vlak heelwat uitgereik, en die media het effektief almal gebruik – en daaroor is breedvoerig aan die leier verslag gedoen. En hierdie party is nie die enigste wat plaasaanvalle vir reaksie tot ’n provinsiale saak” gereduseer het nie. En dis moeilik anders te verklaar as dit deel uitmaak van ʼn persepsie dat ʼn strategie om swart lede te trek nie sal werk as die nasionale leierskap plaasaanvalle veroordeel nie. Dus maar weer ras. Kortom, die plaasaanvalle mag moontlik meestal nie ras- en politiek gedrewe wees nie, maar die wyse waarop meningsvormers soos die politici, en veral die regering daarop reageer, maak dat dit wel deeglik in hierdie pot prut. Geen ideologiese bril gaan dit ook verander voor die regering sy basiese verpligtinge teenoor al sy burger nakom nie. Daar is net een manier waarop ’n verantwoordelike regering op hierdie euwel sal reageer, maar dan moet daar ’n verantwoordelike regering wees. En die media het ook ʼn enorme rol, nie net oor plaasaanvalle nie, maar om as algemene waghond oor die regering te dien. Pas het Max du Preez as rubriekskrywer by die Independent Media-groep bedank omdat die groep, sonder om hom te ken, vir die ANC verskoning gevra het oor dinge wat Max in ’n rubriek oor pres. Zuma kwytgeraak het. Die ANC het woedend reageer. Max het by sy feite en standpunte gestaan. Nou is die Independent die groot verloorder, en lyk die naam “Independent” ’n bietjie verspot. Dit is verskriklik erg dat ons ons boere en hul gesinslede so wreed verloor, en alles tot ons beskikking moet gedoen word om dit te stuit. Maar ons verloor nie net ons boere nou nie, ons loop ’n groot gevaar om alle hoop op rasseharmonie ook te verloor, en ons verloor terselfdertyd enige sweempie van ’n verantwoordelike en verantwoordbare regering wat in algemene belang regeer, en as ons nog ’n “politieke korrektheid” in die media hieroor op die koop toe kry wat mediavryheid strem, raak die prys enorm groot Sadistic hatecrime: Afrikaner couple Toon 73 and Rienie Swanepoel 70 tied up together and killed adistic black attackers at their Bainsvlei, Free State farm http://www.netwerk24.com/nuus/2015-01-14-hegte-egpaar-bo-op-mekaar-geskiet Hatecrime: Afrikaner farm-woman Martie Bester 67 may have been held & tortured for days before torched body was found: http://www.censorbugbear.org/farmitracker/reports/view/3061 Jan 16 2015 - The two black suspects in the torture/rape/arson murder of Afrikaner farm-woman Martie Bester were named as Molelekoa Mothibeli and Lekgotla Matatiele, both 22, allegedly had killed her a week before she was found in her torched homestead, according to well-informed sources reporting to the self-defence group Boere Krisis Aksie. "The new information, which cannot at this stage by officially confirmed by the police, raised the question whether Mrs Bester may have been held captive and may even have been tortured,". The reliable sources said on Thursday that there are 'indications' that the attack had already taken place last Monday -- a full week before Mrs Bester's torched body was found, another source said she'd been dead 'several days'before the homestead was torched with her inside. https://www.facebook.com/boerekrisisaksie/photos/pb.116298045063416.-2207520000.1421426067./1071838906175987/?type=1 ------------------------------- Local news publication Vista News, published by the Caxton media group, does not politicise or editorialise about their news story regarding the torture-murder of Mrs Martie Bester, - however they practice severe self-censorship by leaving out any ethnic descriptions of the victims and of the perpetrators and by providing only the police-version of the murder. They also published the report only in Afrikaans. Thus English-language readers would for the most part, not read this report at all. VistaNews writes: "Jan 20 2015 funeral from Dutch-Reformed Church Theunissen of tortured, murdered farm-woman Martie Bester http://www.vistanews.co.za/219627/news-details/vrystaatse-boervrou-op-plaas-vermoor journalist: @aletta.vdwalt 2015-01-15 Afrikaans-only article: "DIE boervrou Martie Bester (68) van die plaas Erfbloem buite Theunissen is Maandag vermoor en haar plaashuis aan die brand gesteek. " ’n BEJAARDE boervrou, Martie Bester (68), is Maandag op haar plaas buite Theunissen vermoor. Die vrou, wie se huis en bakkie ook aan die brand gesteek is, se verkoolde lyk is in een van die vertrekke in die huis gevind.’ n Lykskouing word nou gedoen om vas te stel hoe sy vermoor is. Haar bakkie is ook uitgebrand op die plaas gekry. Die polisie het die grusame ontdekking van Bester se lyk gemaak nadat hulle oor die brandende huis in kennis gestel is. Twee verdagtes is reeds Dinsdag in verband met die gru-voorval aangekeer. Van die slagoffer se vuurwapens is in hul besit gevind. Hulle het gister reeds in die hof verskyn. Die verdagtes is al twee plaaslike inwoners. Hulle is danksy ’n wenk uit die gemeenskap agtervolg en aangekeer. Bester word Dinsdag om 10:00 uit die NG Moedergemeente Theunissen berawe. http://www.vistanews.co.za/219627/news-details/vrystaatse-boervrou-op-plaas-vermoor