SPRINGBOK CYBER NEWSLETTER
May 2000 editionThe recent intervention of British military forces into Sierra Leone was not only a great inspiration in itself, but it also clearly demonstrated the encouraging way that events may develop in the "dark continent" in the days to come.
Few can doubt that the deployment of British troops in order to restore law and order and to crush tyranny in Sierra Leone was right (the only surprise was that the Blair administration possessed the "backbone" to undertaken this necessary action). When chaos engulfs the primitive states of Africa (as is increasingly the case) it is not the UN nor NATO nor the EU which can and should intervene to restore order, but the Former Colonial Powers - which in the case of Sierra Leone means Britain.
We must not forget, however, that there is currently another part of Africa which was once in the British sphere of influence, but which is now in the grip of a primeval tyrant and where anarchy is increasing reigning supreme - namely the Robert Mugabe-state of Zimbabwe. The situation there, moreover, warrants immediate British military intervention even more than in Sierra Leone, because there are large numbers of our own kith and kin under attack. We should not only be voicing our full support for British military action in Sierra Leone against the thug Foday Sankoh therefore, but should also use it as a precedent in order to advocate similar action against Mugabe.
We have been criticised in the past for our advocation of renewed European imperial rule in Africa, and many people have told us we were being "unrealistic". We accept, of course, that the chances of the Blair administration maintaining a military and administrative presence in Sierra Leone are remote, but even so recent events have proved catagorically that the Former Colonial Powers CAN re-establish control in their former spheres of influence in Africa. Rhodesia CAN be re-born.
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MAY SPRINGBOK CLUB FUNCTION
The Springbok Club will be staging its Spring Braai and a video-showing on Monday 29th May 2000. It will be held at the home of Mr. Tony Waller at: 1 West View Road, Crockenhill, Swanley, Kent, BR8 8JP (this is approximately 10 to 15 minutes walk from Swanley Railway Station), and will take place throughout the evening, commencing at around 18.00 hrs.
Food and braai facilities will be provided, and the charge will be free for Full Members of the Springbok Club, £2.50 per head for Associate Members, and £5.00 per head for non-members (which should be made payable to "Patriotic Press" and sent to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX). Friends and supporters are of course welcome to bring along their own food, in which case no charge will be levied. All attendees, however, are asked to provide their own liquid refreshment.
In order to gauge anticipated numbers we would like everyone intending to attend to contact us in advance if possible, either via e-mail, or by 'phoning Tony Waller at either: 01322-666303 (home) or 0208-8503631 (business). Needless to say full instructions about how to reach the venue can be obtained in this way. Friends and supporters are however welcome to turn up on the day, but of course no food can be guaranteed in these circumstances.
After the braai there will be a video-showing of the highly-acclaimed film "Africa Addio".
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PATRIOTIC FORUM MEETING
The Springbok Club has joined forces with a number of other organisations under the title of the "Patriotic Forum" in order to host an important meeting featuring a most interesting visiting American guest speaker.
The details are as follows:-
Date : Monday 12th June 2000
Time : 18.30 hrs for 19.30 hrs
Venue : The Star Tavern (Belgrave Mews West, Belgravia, London S.W.1.)
(This meeting will take place in the upstairs Function Room, where we have arranged for private bar facilities to be provided. We would therefore ask everyone to go straight up to this private Function Room.)
Guest Speaker : Mr. Bill Cooke
Mr. Cooke comes from Baltimore in Maryland, and is the founder and chairman of the "Falklands Society", an Internet-based organisation which aims to foster US/UK friendship. The theme of his talk will be relations between the United States, Britain and the Commonwealth. More details about this meeting will be given next month, and we hope that as many of our supporters as poosible will be able to attend.
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SPRINGBOK CLUB NEWS
Paul Sissons has decided to leave the Springbok Club Executive Committee because of his other commitments and the fact that he finds it increasing difficult to travel to London from East Anglia for Exco meetings. He continues to be a keen and supportive member of the SC however, and indeed is trying to establish a branch in East Anglia.
In his place we have been most pleased to welcome Mr. Peter Fisher from Hampshire onto the Executive Committee. Peter has been a keen and active member of the SC for some time, and we do not doubt that his energy and enthusiasm will be of great benefit.
As well as these encouraging moves towards the establishment of formal branches in both East Anglia and Hampshire, we have also recently been contacted by friends interested in forming branches in Lancashire, Sussex and the Chilterns. If you live in any of these areas and would like to become more active then please let us know.
As we stated last month, Nick Maine, the current Australasian co-ordinator of the SC, wishes to hand over this position because of his many other commitments (though he will continue to be active with his Gold Coast Branch). If you are from either Australia or New Zealand and would be willing to take over this position then again please let us know.
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ANTI-MUGABE DEMONSTRATIONS
As supporters will know, we have been actively publicising various protests in London against the occupation and seizure of White-owned farms by Mugabe. We hear that these demonstrations are likely to be on-going, and needless to say we will continue to circulate supporters with details as soon as they become known to us. We must emphasise that we are not directly involved with the organising of these protests ourselves however, and that we therefore cannot be held responsible for their composition. One complaint which we have received concerns the presence of people carrying the flag of the Mugabe-regime on these demonstrations; it does appear to be strange and hypocritical for people to do this, and a slap in the face for those Whites being subjected to violence from Mugabe's thugs (indeed the same criticism can be levelled at the current "zimbabwe" cricket side touring England, who shed "crocodile tears" about the chaotic situation "back home", but who are still prepared to bear the flag and red-star emblem of the Mugabe regime!). The organisers of these protests would do well to prevent the provocative presence of these offensive Zimbongoland flags in these demonstrations.
We have also recently learnt of similar protests being staged in Canada and in Pretoria, and needless to say will circulation details of these also as soon as they are known.
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LONDON SWINTON CIRCLE MEETINGS
The London Swinton Circle (which is also an associate of the "Patriotic Forum") staged an excellent meeting earlier this month when their guest speaker was Mr. Philip Benwell, the National Chairman of the "Australian Monarchist League". Mr. Benwell gave a riveting speech, in which he not only inspired everyone by his accounts of the successful campaign waged by pro-Monarchists during the recent Australian Constitutional Referendum, but also went on to advocate a closer grouping of what he described as the "Core Commonwealth" - in other words those Commonwealth nations who recognised the Queen as head of state. He also proved to be totally knowledgeable about the dangers posed to Britain by continued membership of the EU, and about how this was the root cause for the apparent alienation being felt by many Australians, which had resulted in the unfortunate upsurge of pro-republican sympathies in that country which his organisation was battling against. Indeed Philip Benwell turned out to be a speaker at the "Save Our Sovereignty" demonstration in London which we advertised in the April edition of the SCN (which we hear turned out to be a good success). During question time a member of the Springbok Club asked Mr. Benwell what his attitude was to the current plight being faced my our mutual kith and kin in the former Rhodesia, and he responded by expressing general support and stating that it would be far easier to aid them if the "Core Commonwealth" which he envisaged was already in existence.
On Thursday May 25th 2000 the London Swinton Circle will be staging another most important meeting in the House of Commons (Committee Room No.5, at 18.45 hrs for 19.00 hrs) when the guest speaker will be Mr. Andrew Hunter MP. As well as being a proven great friend of the Unionist cause in Ulster, Andrew Hunter was also a very good friend of South Africa during the days of civilised rule. The theme of his talk will be "terrorism and security".
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REAL SOUTH AFRICAN FLAGS
We are happy to be able to announce that a small stock of full-sized real South African flags has now reached us. We can assure all those who have already placed requests that their orders are now being processed, but if anyone else would like to purchase one whilst stocks last then please send £12.00 (made payable to "Patriotic Press") to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, UK. (The price will only be £10.00 if you intend to collect the flag personally at a future Springbok Club meeting, but overseas purchasers should of course add on an appropriate extra amount to cover overseas postage costs). Purchasers from North America, however, should contact Ferdi Fourie direct. E-mail him at: ffourie@cse.unl.edu to find precise details about supply.
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PATRIOTIC PRESS'S SOUTH AFRICAN NEWSLETTER
During that vital period of South African history during the end of 1989 and the beginning of 1990 we managed to publish an in-depth analysis of the developing situation in the country called "Patriotic Press's South African Newsletter". Although we were forced to cease publication when we were forced to relocate operations to the UK, we have recently received a request for a full set of all eight editions of this publication. This, alas, meant that we had to convert all the relevant data-files to our current more advanced Desk-Top Publishing system - but having done this we wonder whether any further supporters would like to purchase a set?
Although this publication is of course no longer of any current relevance, it is even so still of great historical interest. We are now therefore selling them for £20.00 for a complete set of all eight editions. Payment should be made to "Patriotic Press" (in Sterling) and sent to : BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, U.K..
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BOOK OFFER
COVOS BOOKS of South Africa are specialist publishers of Africana, and offer a range of most interesting and illuminating books which will appeal to many of our supporters. Amongst the titles they stock are:-
FIREFORCE - One man's war in the Rhodesian Light Infantry, by Chris Cocks. Hard cover with dust jacket, 228 x 155 mm., 368 pages, 120 black and white and colour photos, plus maps and sketches. Widely acclaimed as the classic account of counter-insurgency warfare in Africa. Includes the RLI roll of honour, citations and operational orders. Price R185.00.
HOW WE KEPT THE FLAG FLYING, by Donald MacDonald. Hard cover, 213 x 137 mm., 303 pages, with frontispiece and 7 illustrations and various diagrams. This enduring story of the Siege of Ladysmith is the first in a series of Anglo-Boer War reprints. Price R169.95.
PAMWE CHETE - The Legend of the Selous Scouts, by Lt.Col. Ron Reid-Daly. The revamped, rewritten version of the best-selling "Top Secret War". With new, previously unpublished material, including the roll of honour and full schedules of citations and wings. New photo sections. The definitive account of this exceptional unit's short but distinguished service in the field of counter-insurgency operations during the Rhodesian Bush War. Price R225.00.
COVOS BOOKS can be contacted at : P.O.Box 6996, Weltevredenpark, Transvaal, 1715, South Africa. Tel.: +2711-4769926, fax.: +2711-4769927, e-mail : covos@global.co.za
We are happy to be able to confirm that the Springbok Club can now supply copies of all these books, prices being £20.00 (Fireforce), £15.00 (How We Kept the Flag Flying) and £27.50 (Pamwe Chete). All payments should be made payable to "Patriotic Press", and sent to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, UK. (Please add 10% for p.& p.).
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REQUEST FROM AMERICAN ACADEMIC
An American academic, Ben Jenkins, has recently contacted us and asked if we could pass on a request for assistance. He writes as follows :-
"Hello, my name is Ben Jenkins, and I am an academic researcher in the U.S. who is continuing work on an analysis of the connection between ethnicity and nationality. To this end, I am attempting to contact South Africans, Rhodesians, and other Sub-Saharan Africans to ask for their assistance. The way you could help me is by completing a short questionnaire looking at the characteristics that make nations "strong" (both powerful and cohesive). The survey is designed to be completed over email and could be returned, with any questions, to jenkinsb@grinnell.edu ".
We hope that as many of our supporters as possible will be able to help Ben Jenkins in this regard. Simply contact him at the email address given to obtain his questionnaire.
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OFFER OF ACCOMMODATION IN THAILAND
A supporter has also recently forwarded us the following most generous offer of accommodation assistance for those fleeing the Mugabe terror which he has received from a colleague now living in Thailand, Mr. Chris Hill. He writes as follows :-
"If some of you are worried or anxious about where to put your kids or old folks, we can offer a bedroom (en suite), a nice SAFE home on a temporary basis, 'til you can make permanent arrangements. We won't charge you for this, but (thinking of a friend of a friend who stayed with us this month) would be grateful if you could consider 'overseas phone bills' before just getting on the phone.
"We're not terribly geared to very little 'uns, (babies) and I'm afraid, not equipped for coping with those who are seriously infirm - that's not a NO - but we would need a medical history so that we could clear this with the doctors to see if we could cope.
"Sorry, but you would have to arrange and pay your own travel here - anyway, a safe house in a safe country for a couple of folks. Let me know."
We would like to compliment Chris Hill on this most selfless act of generousity. He can be contacted at :
sentinel@ine.inet.co.th or sentinel@loxinfo.co.th
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PHONEY NEWS-GROUP
A few months ago we were recommended to join a news-group called the "Rhodesia OneList", which seemingly was an Internet forum for those who believed in the Rhodesian cause and wished to discuss relevant issues - as the very name would imply.
A number of our supporters joined this news-group as a result of this recommendation, but almost immediately were subjected to inexplicable insults and personal abuse from two individuals already on this news-group. Furthermore, various postings from these two trouble-makers suggested that they by no means supported the Rhodesian cause, and indeed in several incidences seemed to be pro-terrorist. Complaints were of course subsequently made to the so-called "Administrator" of this list, but to no avail, and indeed she tended to side with the two characters who were causing all the trouble.
We would certainly like to get to the bottom of this phoney news-group therefore. Anyone who has any information can contact us in the strictest confidence, and if anyone would be prepared to take positive action then again please let us know. We can't allow these traitors to hi-jack the Rhodesia name.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
A regular feature in which we ask whether anyone knows the current whereabouts of a friend or colleague who has lost contact.
No.21 : Mr. CLIVE CRAWFORD
Clive Crawford was born and brought-up in Kenya, but his family moved to Rhodesia when colonial rule ended. He subsequently moved to Natal to take up an appointment with the Durban City Council, and lived in Howick. His father subsequently left Rhodesia after the fall of that country in 1979, and went to live in Pietermaritzburg. Clive was a great patriot and committed Christian. He was an active member of the National Forum and other patriotic groups in the Durban area, and also a number of evangelical Christian organisations (as were his wife and father). Friends would be very keen learn where Clive and his family now are, and if possible to re-establish contact with them.
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RECOMMENDED WEB-SITE
Msasa Enterprises SA of Benoni produce and distribute a number of excellent videos concerning the Rhodesian struggle, the most recent being entitled "The Final Chapter". They also have a very informative web-site describing their products, which can be accessed at :-
http://www.mazoe.com/rhodesianvideos.html
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See you again next month!
