A Look at the Author

Considering the fact that I recently purchased his book, 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elite Fighting Unit, I feel that I should look into the history of Mr. Piet Nortje, the author. My hope is that his book will provide, as the title indicates, vivid insight into the inner workings of 32 Battalion. The author description, though, is quite brief, merely saying that he joined the battalion in 1978 and rose through the ranks to a leadership position. Upon further searching, however, I have found out that he has continued to play a role in maintaining connections after the battalion's disbandment. For example, the website of the veteran's associations states that he founded it in 2001. The mission seems to be to keep the legacy of the battalion alive and assist destitute members left in the aforementioned town of Pomfret. Some other interesting tidbits I found include the fact that his military service did not, in fact, end until 2003, well after the end of apartheid, and a quote from a Washington Post article where he talks about mercenaries in Pomfret. Overall, I think that he was well positioned to write the book, and should provide a relatively full story. He served throughout the major conflict in Angola, and was and is one of the groups leaders. If possible, it would definitely be interesting to talk with him (once I finish reading the book, of course).

Political Pawns

As someone who tangentially follows South African politics, I found this expose to be relevant for multiple reasons. For the last 16 plus years, the country has been controlled by the ANC, or African National Congress. Recently, however, discontent has been building over their failure to reduce the high unemployment rate (at around 25 percent right now), curbtheir corruption, and stop their abuse of state power to silence opposition. An example would be the recent laws passed by the Zuma administration that many feel are serious restrictions of press freedom.

So, what does this have to do with an article describing a state visit to Equatorial Guinea? Well a lot, I think. Basically, it tells of a visit by Jacob Zuma to the oil-rich nation. Guinea's long time dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema, released four South African mercenaries as a good will gesture. Apparently, he wants to become a "respected statesman and run a proper democracy." Based on past actions, though, I don't think that Zuma really cares whether this nation becomes democratic or not. He has no problem supporting the racist dictatorship of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. South Africa, you see, wants access to their substantial energy resources (of course, the United States does exactly the same in many other places, but that doesn't make it any better). Ultimately, as a man who doesn't seem to respect democracy at home, I find it hard to believe that he cares about it abroad.

The Mail and Gaurdian also goes into great detail about the mercenaries released. It describes their individual and collective histories, particularly that of Nick du Toit. An officer in 32 Battalion, he joined Executive Outcomes (a funny name for a mercenary company), and popped up across Africa in places as diverse as Sierra Lion and the Comoros. I think that his story definitely warrants further exploration, as do the other names mentioned throughout the piece.

Action in Angola

One of the inherent difficulties in study a subject as obscure (in the United States, at least) as the 32nd Battalion, is finding good first hand sources. Fortunately, there are tools like the Google News Reader, which has a remarkable treasure trove of old newspaper articles copied directly onto the internet. I found this piece from the Eugene Register-Gaurd, of all places, dated March 16, 1982. This puts it right in the midst of the 32nd Battalion's greatest period of action - their time in Angola. During the 70's and 80's, the South African military fought against communist backed Angolan rebels. 32 Battalion bore much of that action, and here is but a small tidbit. According to the author, a 45 person strong contingent crossed into Angola, killed 201 rebels, and captured weapons and ammunition. The peculiar thing, about this, I think, is the way in which the South Africans went about reporting this to the media. The captain of the squad, a Mr. Hougaard, boasted that they had caught the gorrilas "totally with their pants down." In addition, they brought in journalists to see the "decomposing bodies of South West Africa People's Organization" fighters. Whether due to the military's racism, their blindness to international feeling, or merely as the nature of those engulfed in war, such behavior probably wasn't good PR. This helps to explain the units reputation, certainly, and perhaps its eventual disbandment.

Pomfret

After its disbandment in 1993, the majority of 32 battalion was located in the Northern desert town of Pomfret. Due to both their origins (most of the soldiers were Portugese speaking Angolans) and their poverty, many never left. I came across an article from about 2 years ago relating to this place, and more notably, its residents. The town, you see, used to be the site of an Asbestos mine before the discovery that its inhalation could lead to cancer. The South African government had decided in 2007 to demolish the town, due, ostensibly, to Asbestos. One can assume that the government's real motivation lies in the recent recruitment of many of these men by mercenary firms looking for experienced soldiers.A judge, however, ordered a halt to the destruction of the town after hearing complaints from the residents themselves. They feel, fairly, I think, that without the support structure they have come to rely on, they would not be able to survive. For historical and cultural reasons, the former soldiers of the 32 battalion are hated by many in South Africa. I have been searching for a more recent update, but have been unable to find anything, I will, though, pursue different avenues in an effort to find out what ended up happening to this bizarre little town of 6000.

Also, I found this documentary from 2005 on the history of the town.

Interesting Articles

I recently happened upon three articles, The Case Against the West by Kishore Mahbubani, What Have We Learned, If Anything? by Tony Judt, and The Rise of the Rest by Fareed Zakaria.

The article The Case Against the West, in particular, caught my interest. The author was attempting, as one might expect, to explain the seemingly imminent demise of Western hegemony. I have a multitude of problems with this article, chief among them the origins of the author. Kishre Mahbubani has served in the government of Singapore for many years, including as ambassador to the UN. For much of the article he waxes on about the hypocrisy of the West due to its rhetorical promotion of semocracy but its de facto promotion of dictatorship and supremacy when it serves their own interests. He argues that democracy is "among the world's best bet," and that we need to "inject the spirit of democracy into globabl governance." Coming from a Singaporean official, I find this to be, frankly, hilarious. Singapore is a one-party state that suppresses freedom of speech and press and has the highest execution rate per capita in the eintire world (see here). Despite everything he says about the benefits of democracy, he is, above all, a functionary of a semi-authroitarian state. As for the argument that the UN needs to be more democratic, I hardly think that giving dictatorships more say in international affairs will lead to greater freedoms for the people of the world. Overall, I find it hard to take what Mr. Mahbubani writes seriously - it is all overshadowed by the basic hypocrisy of his own history in government and foreign affairs.