On Sunday 25th of March a rally was held in support of white South Africans, and in particular for white South African farmers who face the double threat of being beaten, tortured and murdered at a disproportionately high rate by roaming bands of black criminals, and of potentially having their land stolen by the government.
We asked event organiser Arno Nel how many people attended the rally, and if they believe e rally achieved its goal:
“Conservative estimates [are] that over 2000 people attended. The march has achieved its goal in showing support for the farmers and people in South Africa.”
As these pictures show, the rally received strong support from Brisbane patriots, and the organisers were satisfied with the “professional and adequate” police presence.
Importantly it appears to have been a peaceful, family friendly event.
According to Nel:
“Although we received criticism from green groups, they did not oppose us in the march. We believe the sheer numbers discouraged them.”
The rally appears to have garnered little media attention, with the front page of a google search of “South Africa protest Brisbane” currently returning matches specifically regarding the protest from just three news organisations; news.com, SBS and The XYZ, although other news sites have reported on the march. Nel stated that:
“We are disappointed with the media response. We believe that because the majority of farmers are white, that it does not get attention it deserves.”
The XYZ will continue to follow this story. Another march is planned for Perth on April 8, with more to follow.