South African rightwinger Terreblanche killed (2nd Lead)

Apr 4, 2010, 6:31 GMT

Johannesburg - Two farmworkers were arrested for their alleged involvement into the death South African white rightwing leader Eugene Terreblanche, news reports said Sunday.

Terreblanche, 69, was beaten to death on his farm in Ventersdorp in the north-west of the country, South Africa's News 24 reported.

The charismatic leader of the Afrikaner Weerstands Beweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, AWB) was asleep and alone on the farm at the time of the attack, the report said.

'Terreblanche was found dead on the bed with facial and head injuries,' the South African Press Association quoted police spokeswoman Adele Myburgh as saying.

Coming into prominence in the 1980s, Terreblanche championed the minority that was opposed to the end of apartheid.

Two farmworkers, aged 16 and 21, were arrested for his murder. Police said that they allegedly got into an argument with Terreblanche over unpaid wages.

Andre Visagie, an AWB leader, said Terreblanche, who was beaten with pipes, was found at about 6 pm (1600 GMT).

Visagie said that his group's immediate plans were to make funeral arrangements. Then the AWB would meet to discuss 'how to avenge' Terreblanche's killing, News24 quoted him as saying.

For now, the group was 'trying its best to keep people calm,' AWB said.

President Jacob Zuma also appealed for restraint. The killing should not allow provocateurs to incite or fuel racial hatred, SAPA cited a presidential statement.

The president was 'filled with shock and horror' over the murder, Zuma's spokesman Vusi Mona was quoted as saying by News 24.

AfriForum, a non-profit group representing minorities, called on all South Africans to remain calm after the murder.

'These events are a call to all South Africans to come to their senses and to be aware of the extremely polarised and violent circumstances presently prevalent in the country,' AfriForum said.

Terreblanche's AWB wanted to create self-government for white farmers. He formed the white supremacist group in 1973 to counter growing opposition to South Africa's apartheid rule.