AfriForum will host a conference tomorrow in memory of the victims of the Church Street bomb. The bomb exploded in front of the Nedbank Square building in Church Street, Pretoria on 20 May 1983. Nineteen people were killed and 217 was hurt. The majority of victims were civilians. The ANC accepted responsibility for the bomb attack. 

Short presentations will be made at the event by the following speakers:

• Dr Anthea Jeffery, Head of Policy Research at the South African Institute of Race Relations and author of the book Peoples War: New Light on the Struggle for South Africa.
• Gen Johan van der Merwe, former National Police Commissioner. (Gen Van der Merwe was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the South African Police Service’s Security Branch in January 1986 until he became Deputy Commissioner of the SAPS. He was promoted to Commissioner of the SAPS in 1990).
• Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO of AfriForum and producer of the documentary film Tainted Heroes.

An excerpt from the movie Tainted Heroes will be shown at the event, after which it will be released on YouTube. The excerpt will especially shed light on the ANC’s controversial decision in the 1980s to no longer differentiate between soft and hard targets in military operations. The excerpt also contains footage taken directly after the bomb explosion in 1983.

There will also be an announcement at the event about the first phase of AfriForum’s strategy for the dissemination of Tainted Heroes.

The details of the event are:

Date:      20 May 2016
Time:     9:30 until 11:30
Venue:   Premier Hotel, 573 Stanza Bopape Street (Church Street), Arcadia, Pretoria
RSVP:   Shinelle Brewis at 082 489 7215 or shinelle@afriforum.co.za

Ernst Roets
Deputy CEO
AfriForum
Cell: 082 264 0953
Email: ernst@afriforum.co.za
Twitter: @ernstroets