S. African Afrikaners still seek own territory .
CAPE TOWN 1996-08-31
South African right-wing Afrikaners on Saturday revived their campaign for a form of self-rule , identifying a sparsely-populated area in Northern Cape province as the best place for a home of their own .
Constand Viljoen , leader of the Freedom Front party , told a news conference in Pretoria self-determination for Afrikaners could begin at local government level .
" Certain powers can be delegated from the provincial level , towards the sub-regions , " he said .
" We think that the Afrikaner model within this new , multi- ethnic society of South Africa will have to develop experimentally with world thinking in this regard . "
Viljoen broke with other right-wing whites in 1994 by taking part in the country 's first all-race elections in April of that year , saying the only way to attain self-determination was by cooperating with President Nelson Mandela 's majority African National Congress .
Some right-wingers demanded sovereignty in their own territory in the run-up to the elections , saying the alternative was war .
Their threats came to nothing .
Viljoen has hailed clauses in South Africa 's new constitution as making possible a form of self-rule for the Afrikaners , descendants of the country 's Dutch , German and French settlers .
According to state television , Viljoen told the news conference the self-rule model should be introduced in parts of the Northern Cape provinces where a majority of people -- whites and mixed-race Coloureds -- speak Afrikaans .