The Suidlanders ( en, Southlanders) is a South African
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, sometimes referred to as "Uhuru" or the "Night of the Long Knives," is coming in South Africa as a result of a conspiracy theory of
white genocide
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non ...
. They anticipate an eventual collapse of infrastructure, and advocate and plan for an evacuation of white South Africans from major cities in the event of a race war. Their leader is Gustav Müller. The group has claimed success in raising global awareness of the alleged threat, following a 2017 tour to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
by spokesperson Simon Roche, and has also taken credit for an offer by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n government minister
Peter Dutton
Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
to preferentially grant refugee visas to white South African farmers.
History and beliefs
The Suidlanders were formed in 2006 by Gustav Müller, who still heads the organisation. Müller is quoted in a video recording of 28 May 2016 as saying "My actual calling (vocation) is to bring the Boer people back to God." Which echoes the few minor hand-picked principles of Christian ethos of the organisation. The organisation's activity increased after the murder of
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (, 31 January 1941Terre'Blanche's year of birth is alternately given as 1941 or 1944. The majority of sources indicates 1941; sources that claim 1944 as his year of birth includ''The Star''Afrikaner nationalist, which although did not trigger massive social unrest, did lust far-right organisations and some conservative groups in South Africa.
The Suidlanders currently claim to be a civil organisation that is close to illegal in their own country. The group explicitly distances itself from
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
organisations, though they take credit for propagating the
white genocide conspiracy theory
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non- ...
.
The Suidlanders say that they are loosely inspired by the prophecies of Siener van Rensburg, a peasant farmer who served as a spiritual adviser to several Boer military leaders during the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
who they believe predicted a massive civil insurrection will lead to an alleged race war in South Africa. The group believes that a state of anarchy is coming to South Africa as a result of the revolutionary speeches by Marxist African leaders calling for action against the minority in the country supported by policies to be implemented against the minority under the banner of redress.
In the wake of
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
's death, the Suidlanders estimated the "revolution risk" in South Africa as 50 per cent, and said it would be a great time to "go on holiday," a coded statement involving the prophesied "Uhuru" or "Night of Long Knives," when blacks would allegedly kill whites in South Africa.
Leadership and management
The Suidlanders is led by an executive council composed of Louis de la Gey, Bertus Schwan, Ben van Rensburg, and Hans van der Poel. Their public face is Simon Roche.
They have received donations from a variety of far-right and white Nationalists: the neo-confederate
League of the South
The League of the South (LS) is an American white nationalist, neo-Confederate, white supremacist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic".
The group def ...
, Identity Evropa founder Nathan Damigo, and American Vanguard. They also received $40,000 on FreeStartr, the defunct alt-right Patreon alternative.
The Suidlanders conduct training in all aspects of civil defence throughout the year. The training includes logistics and operations, control of refugees, first aid, firearms training, and communication.
White genocide
The Suidlanders took credit for increasing minimising severity of racially-based hate crimes. They believe anti-white racism to be imminent; also claiming credit for increasing coverage of the issue by figures such as Katie Hopkins, and for an offer by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n cabinet minister Peter Dutton to resettle white South Africans as refugees. However, the Suidlanders spokesman Simon Roche rejected the idea, as the Afrikaners from South Africa.
South African farm attacks
South African farm attacks ( af, plaasaanvalle) are violent crimes, including murder, assault and robbery, that take place on farms in South Africa. The attacks target farmers, who are usually white, and farm workers, who are usually black. Black ...
*
AfriForum
AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner nation ...