Organisers of the 13th Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn have been quick to remove posters of the right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB).
The Herald Online reported on Monday that the posters also made reference to controversial Afrikaans song De la Rey and apartheid South Africa’s coat of arms.
Festival CEO Karen Meiring said any posters not approved by festival organisers would be removed, no matter what the message was.
The posters in question made their appearance on Sunday, carrying the words ”Ons De la Rey” (our De la Rey) above the AWB sign and ”Eendrag maak mag” (Power through unity) at the bottom.
New Afrikaans hit De la Rey was heard all over Oudtshoorn during the first festival weekend, with Bok van Blerk performing the song on several stages.
The lyrics about Boer general Koos de la Rey and his leadership during the Anglo-Boer War were heard blaring from car stereos all over town.
Racial tension has been running high in Oudtshoorn after an incident at Langenhoven Gymnasium when a white boy allegedly assaulted a coloured pupil in the presence of a white teacher.
A Sunday newspaper linked the incident to the banning of the song De la Rey from the school by principal Hillie Schultz.
Afrikaans writer and Eastern Cape government official Jason Lloyd asked on Sunday for De la Rey to be banned from the festival, saying it fuelled racial division.
Van Blerk wore a black T-shirt sporting the new South African flag when he performed the song in a packed tent at the festival on Sunday. — Sapa