A Vision of Freedom    

Welcome to the home page for the book, Visions of Freedom

Klik op VvV-HOOFBLAD (of OPSTAL-knoppie hierbo) om na die Boertaal terug te skakel

NB: Kindly note that this English mirror page is an abbreviated version of the original home page for the book project.

Perhaps the best way to describe this project is to say that the book was originally intended as a book for "all and none", as Nietzsche said of his Thus spoke Zarathustra.

It was never even designed or planned as a book publication. On the contrary, it was merely intended as a compilation of a number of supporting documents relevant to a speech given on the topic of international law at a conference of the economic empowerment of the Boer people. It turned out differently. Read on:

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The book, Visions of Freedom, was published in Afrikaans at the end of 2005. It addresses the burning issue of the quest for freedom of a people within the changing South African socio-political arena.

Within a few months the entire set of printed copies was sold out. It has been received exceptionally well and the author has received various accolades for the work.

The book was never intended as an academic publication and is more accurately described as an exploration of social self-consciousness that ventures outside the box of populist assumption and prejudice, whilst seeking a reinterpretation and renewal of vision from a selective point of view.

The book is a compilation of diverse material. It contains a few essays written by other authors, as well as some translations into Afrikaans. Its main focus is a critical evaluation of some principles of international law and its relation to the South African situation, with special reference to what is often (incorrectly) referred to as "mere minority" groups.

Amongst others, it challenges the assumption underlying a one-sided reading of the UN Charter of Human Rights, that the atomistic individual is still the ideal model for citizenship in a fast changing world. Contrary to this, the notion of the vital importance of group rights has received, in the international arena, a steady increase in awareness and articulation.

The book presents a critical analysis of the concept of "self-determination" and raises the question whether the populist meaning attributed to it in the South African socio-political and media landscape, does justice to the meaning thereof in internal law, i.e. both in theory and practice. The legitimacy of the notion of a nation state based upon the territorial rigidity of a predetermined geographical unitary state is challenged, both to its historical inception and its present basis.

The analysis also extends to the post-1994 South African landscape and raises core questions about the tensions brought about by the assumptions and justification of dominance and power based on racial and quantitative measures. International law proscribes a dynamic definition of a people ("Volk") and asserts that peoples' collective rights should enjoy a higher priority that those fabricated by the nation-state setup of modern state, based primarily on the atomistic individualism of citizenship.

The special case of the explicit preference of the majority of the Afrikaans-speaking Boer people for a form of justifiable self-determination puts the lie to the assumption by any party, group or organization to legitimately govern over them as a people. Governing over a people contrary to their consent constitutes an oppressive and unjust order.

In view of its conflict-resolution approach, the book also plots the course for exploiting the possibility to extend the quest for self-determination to international mediation.

A unique contribution of the book is the articulation, based upon accepted principles in international law (in the form of UN resolutions which the SA government is co-signatory to), of a systematic set of rights claimed by the Boer people. Though this may well be flying in the face of local populist opinion at the moment, it may well gain wider acceptance in future as a guideline to fostering internal relations based upon greater freedom for all peoples in South Africa.

A second edition of the book is due to appear in the course of 2007. Printed copies of the English translation of the book are not yet available.

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