THURSDAY, 3.30PM
CONSERVATIVE PARTY leader Ferdi Hartzenberg, asked whether his party had approved of the murder of Chris Hani by one of its senior officials, replied with an anecdote about an unwelcome Christmas present:
“My child gives me a Christmas present which I don’t like. I do not return it, but express my appreciation for the good spirit in which it was given.” He said the CP did not know about the Hani murder before-hand and did not approve of it, but “we accept that it was done in a certain spirit and in a certain attitude which the applicants thought would serve the cause of the CP.”
Hartzenberg confirmed that the CP was not in favour of violence as a means to achieving political ends, but said that in 1993, the party became increasingly militant, adopting such slogans as “The Third Freedom Struggle”, which may have influenced party members towards violence. Hartzenberg said the current controversy over farm murders was an example of spontaneous action, and that the Conservative Party would support farmers who chose to retaliate.