Deur Ons Politieke Redaksie · oorwoe en dringende aanbevelings van die Goldstone-kom- missie...
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# 1 3 ^ - j c j s i . ^ Bewennge teen FW kan geweldsklimaat verergerA Deur Ons Politieke Redaksie DIE Regering en die SA Polisie stem saara dat ongegronde beweringe teen pres. F.W. de Klerk en andere oor die Boipatong-tragedie gevaarlik is, die geweldsklimaat kan vererger en po- gings kan kortwiek om geweld te be- kamp, s£ 'n woordvoerder van mnr. Hemus Kriel, Minister van Wet en Orde. Kapt. Craig Kotze se" daarom word die verklaring van regter Goldstone verwelkom dat geen getuienis gekry is nie wat beweringe regverdig van direkte medepligtigheid aan of b-?- planning van die huidige geweld deur pres. De Klerk, enige Kabinets- lid of enige hooggeplaaste offisier in die Polisie o vVeermag. Omdat sulke ongeregverdigde ver- klaring; die Polisie se pogings om die Boipatong-moordenaars op te spoor, reeds so kwaai geskaad het, kan net gehoop word dat die haat- veldtog; van sekere organisasies teen die Polisie nou gestaak word. Spesiale kennis moet ook geneem word van die erkenning vain regter Goldstone dat die Veiligheidsmagte nie orde en reg kan handhaaf nie sonder die aktiewe samewerking tussen hulle en die oorgrote meer- derheid burgerlikes en hul politieke verteenwoordigers. » Pi.aj, Inkatha ongelukkig oo:* kommlssie se bevindinge DIT is onregverdig dat die Goldsto- ne-kommissie hom haas om te s£ hy kry nie bewyse dat die PoL •le by die Boipatong-slagting betrokke nie, maar swyg oor die beskuldings teen die Inkatha-Vryheidsparty (IVP), stf die IVP. ’n IVP-woordvoerder, dr. Walter Felgate, se‘ hy hoop die Goldstone- kommissie se verslag dat hy nie be- wyse kon kry dat die Kabinet of die Polisie by die Boipatong-slagting be- trokke was nie,' word ter harte ge- neem. ; Die IVP glo nie die Kabinet was be- trokke nie en glo nie aan die bcataan van 'n derde mag nie. Die kommi^ ^e swyg egter eenvou- dig net oor die verhoor en beskuldi- ging van die IVP in die media, en s€ ook niks oor die tien IVP-lede wat verlede Maandag onder die tien Boi- patong-slagoffers was wat begrawe is nie. Die kommissie moes ges£ het of die IVP as organisasie by die geweld betrokke was of nie. Die FVP het reeds verskeie kere gese' hy is nie op nasionale, provinsiale of streekvlak by geweld betrokke nie. Vryspraak vir die Magte ‘voortydig’ ill/Ha OM die VeUigheidsmagte in hierdie stadium vry te spreek van die Boi- patong-slagting en ander dade van geweld voordat die Goldstone-kom- missie getuienis aangehoor het, is voortydig, s<? die ANC. Die ANC se‘ die kommissie se ge- brek aan bronne en sy verwysings- v het sy vermo^ beperk om deur te dring tot die grondslag van ver- skeie voorvalle van geweld. Daarom het hy gevra vir internasionale mo- mtering en ondersoek van geweld “Die kommissie het die kwessie van die staat se aanspreeklikheid be- perk tot regstreekse betrokkenheid by geweld of die beplanning daar- ? ™*svatting omdat mede- pligtigheid die opdrag tot geweld of ^ v e r s u u n om geweld te bekamp, f , . hI , Stem Saam » e t die dle stemloses nie an- hiei\S -°m deur °Penbare lug ^ ^ - (Sapa)6 en grieWe,te om getuies te beskerm MAATREELS waarmee die Goldstone-kommissie mense kan beskerm wat voor hom getuig, word deur die" kommissie en amptenare van die Departement van Justisie bespreek. Die kommissie het gister by monde van regter R J Goldstone, voorsitter, in ’n verklaring gese hy hoop die" maa tresis sal geld teen 4 Augustus wanneer hy met sy voile ondersoek na die Boipatong-slagting be- Die kommissie het in sy tweede tussentydse ver- slag aanbeveel r ny gemagtig word om mense wat voor hom getuig, genoeg beskerming te kan gee en die Departement van Justisie het dit aanvaar. Regter Goldstone het gister g:ese': “Die getal mense wat vermoor en gewond is, die bedroefde gesinne en die regmatige woede van alle goeie mense vereis antwoorde op die in die ooglopende vrae wat rand- om die gebeure van 17 Junie ontstaan het” Die kwessies waaroor die kommissie op 4 Augus- tus moet begin besin, is onder meer • Die identiteit van die mense wat direk verant- woordelik is vir die slagting, • Die oorsaak van die slagting en die aard, tyd en plek van die beplanning daarvan en die mense wat verantwoordelik is vir die slagting en die beplan- ning daarvan,en • Die stappe wat gedoen is deur lede van die Weer- mag wat in die omgewing van die KwaMadala-hostel ^was direk na' die slagting, en • Of enige stappe deur die Polisie gedoen kon of moes word om die slagting te voorkom of af te weer.
Transcript of Deur Ons Politieke Redaksie · oorwoe en dringende aanbevelings van die Goldstone-kom- missie...
# 1 3 ^ - j c j s i . ^
Bewennge teen FW kan geweldsklimaat verergerA
Deur Ons Politieke Redaksie
DIE Regering en die SA Polisie stem saara dat ongegronde beweringe teen pres. F.W. de Klerk en andere oor die Boipatong-tragedie gevaarlik is, die geweldsklimaat kan vererger en po- gings kan kortwiek om geweld te be- kamp, s£ 'n woordvoerder van mnr. Hemus Kriel, Minister van Wet en Orde.
Kapt. Craig Kotze se" daarom word die verklaring van regter Goldstone verwelkom dat geen getuienis gekry is nie wat beweringe regverdig van direkte medepligtigheid aan of b-?- planning van die huidige geweld deur pres. De Klerk, enige Kabinets- lid of enige hooggeplaaste offisier in die Polisie o vVeermag.
Omdat sulke ongeregverdigde verklaring; die Polisie se pogings om die Boipatong-moordenaars op te
spoor, reeds so kwaai geskaad het, kan net gehoop word dat die haat- veldtog; van sekere organisasies teen die Polisie nou gestaak word.
Spesiale kennis moet ook geneem word van die erkenning vain regter Goldstone dat die Veiligheidsmagte nie orde en reg kan handhaaf nie sonder die aktiewe samewerking tussen hulle en die oorgrote meer- derheid burgerlikes en hul politieke verteenwoordigers. »
P i . a j ,
Inkatha ongelukkig oo:* kommlssie se bevindingeDIT is onregverdig dat die Goldsto- ne-kommissie hom haas om te s£ hy kry nie bewyse dat die PoL • le by die Boipatong-slagting betrokke nie, maar swyg oor die beskuldings teen die Inkatha-Vryheidsparty (IVP), stf die IVP.
’n IVP-woordvoerder, dr. Walter Felgate, se‘ hy hoop die Goldstone- kommissie se verslag dat hy nie be
wyse kon kry dat die Kabinet of die Polisie by die Boipatong-slagting betrokke was nie,' word ter harte geneem. ;
Die IVP glo nie die Kabinet was betrokke nie en glo nie aan die bcataan van 'n derde mag nie.
Die kommi^ e swyg egter eenvou- dig net oor die verhoor en beskuldi- ging van die IVP in die media, en s€
ook niks oor die tien IVP-lede wat verlede Maandag onder die tien Boi- patong-slagoffers was wat begrawe is nie.
Die kommissie moes ges£ het of die IVP as organisasie by die geweld betrokke was of nie. Die FVP het reeds verskeie kere gese' hy is nie op nasionale, provinsiale of streekvlak by geweld betrokke nie.
Vryspraak vir die Magte ‘voortydig’
i l l / H aOM die VeUigheidsmagte in hierdie stadium vry te spreek van die Boipatong-slagting en ander dade van geweld voordat die Goldstone-kom- missie getuienis aangehoor het, is voortydig, s<? die ANC.
Die ANC se‘ die kommissie se ge- brek aan bronne en sy verwysings- v het sy vermo^ beperk om deur te dring tot die grondslag van verskeie voorvalle van geweld. Daarom het hy gevra vir internasionale mo- mtering en ondersoek van geweld
“Die kommissie het die kwessie van die staat se aanspreeklikheid beperk tot regstreekse betrokkenheid by geweld of die beplanning daar-
? ™*svatting omdat mede- pligtigheid die opdrag tot geweld of ^ v e r s u u n om geweld te bekamp,
f , .hI , Stem Saam »et die dle stemloses nie an-
hiei\S -°m deur °Penbare
lug ^ ^ - (Sapa)6 en grieWe,te
om getuies te beskermMAATREELS waarmee die Goldstone-kommissie mense kan beskerm wat voor hom getuig, word deur die" kommissie en amptenare van die Departement van Justisie bespreek.
Die kommissie het gister by monde van regter R J Goldstone, voorsitter, in ’n verklaring gese hy hoop die" maa tresis sal geld teen 4 Augustus wanneer hy met sy voile ondersoek na die Boipatong-slagting be-
Die kommissie het in sy tweede tussentydse verslag aanbeveel r ny gemagtig word om mense wat voor hom getuig, genoeg beskerming te kan gee en die Departement van Justisie het dit aanvaar.
Regter Goldstone het gister g:ese': “Die getal mense wat vermoor en gewond is, die bedroefde gesinne en die regmatige woede van alle goeie mense vereis antwoorde op die in die ooglopende vrae wat random die gebeure van 17 Junie ontstaan het”
Die kwessies waaroor die kommissie op 4 Augustus moet begin besin, is onder meer
• Die identiteit van die mense wat direk verant- woordelik is vir die slagting,
• Die oorsaak van die slagting en die aard, tyd en plek van die beplanning daarvan en die mense wat verantwoordelik is vir die slagting en die beplanning daarvan,en
• Die stappe wat gedoen is deur lede van die Weer- mag wat in die omgewing van die KwaMadala-hostel was direk na' die slagting, en
• Of enige stappe deur die Polisie gedoen kon of moes word om die slagting te voorkom of af te weer.
•Beeld-KommentS3 5425 Johannesburg E3 1466 Prei
£ DINSDAG, 7 JULIE 1992
‘VN moet help om SA geweld te fieeinifig’NEW YORK. - Afrikastate het gister gevra om 'n drmgende sitting van die Veiligheidsraad van die Verenig- de Nasies (VN) om geweld in Suid- Afrika te help beelndig en grondwet- like onderhandelinge w ar aan die gang te kry.
Die versoek sou na verwagting gistermiddag bespreek word ten tyde van die Veiligheidsraad se sa- mesp^kinge met geslote deure.
Die gebeure volg op die Boipatong- slagting op 17 Junie en die daarmee gepaard gaande dooie punt in onderhandelinge by Kodesa.
Die versoek aan die Veiligheidsraad is gerig in ’n brief van die afge- vaardigde van Madagaskar, mnr. Noel Rakotondramboa.
Hy vra om ’n spoedsitting van die raad om “die situasie in Suid-Afrika te oorweeg”.
Dlt het ’n besluit van die Organi- sasie vir Eenheid in Afnka se minis- tersraad ingesluit, wat ook ’n spoed-31 8 *
Goldstone
sitting versoek.Die re^olusie vra die raad “om die
geweld in Suid-Afrika te ondersoek en gepaste stappe te doen om dit te beelndig. 'n Gunstige klimaat vir onderhandelinge wat sal lei tot 'n demokratiese, nie-rassige en vreed- same Suid-Afrika, moet ook geskep word".
Die resolusie vra ook dat die se- kretaris-generaal die nodige stappe doen om geweld te beelndig en onderhandelinge aan die gang te kry.
Die sekretaris-generaal, dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, het ges£ die Veiligheidsraad moet ’n soort VN-teen- wocrdigheid in Suid-Afrika bespreek, maar hy het nie gese' watter vorm dit kan aai^ieem nie.
Die ANC het meer as n dosyn eise gestel voordat hy weer aan onderhandelinge sal deelneem. Hy eis on- der meer ’n intemasionale ondersoek na die geweld en ’n vredesmag of monitors in swart woonbuurte. - (Sapa-AP). ^
DIE ANC se leierskap van die laaste tyd word onder emstige verdenking geplaas deur gister se verklaring deur regter Richard Goldstone, voorsitter van die Konunissie van Ondersoek na Openbare Geweld en Intimidasie.
Terselfdertyd het die Regering ook nie skotvry daarvan afgekomnie.
Die bedenkinge oor die ANC volg daarop dat geen getuienis aan die kommissie voorgel£ is wat op enige wyse die beskul-
igings regverdig dat die Staatspresident, lede van sy Kabi- et of van die veiligheidsmagte by die huidige geweld be-
trokke is of dit beplan het nie.Ten ergste kan dit beteken dat die vemaamste motief vir
die ANC se onttrekking aan die onderhandelingsproses vals is; dat die leiers van die ANC en sy bondgenote doelbewus hul volgelinge mislei het toe hulle na die slagting van Boipa- tong juis daardie be kuldigings teen die Regering uitge- spreek het.
As dit ; geval is, kan gevra word wat die rede daarvoor is. ’n Moontlikheid is dat die ANC-leiers bloot ’n verskoning gesoek het om met massa-aksie verlore aansien te probeer herwin. In die proses kon hulle hulle dalk deur meer mili- tante leiers van hul bondgenote op sleeptou laat neem het.
Dit is ook moontlik dat die ANC-leiers self werklik die wil- de, ongetoetste aantygings teen die Regering geglo het. As dit so' is, is dit nie hul integriteit wat onder verdenking is nie, maar staan hulle aan beskuldigings van naiwiteit bloot- gestel.
Die leiers van die ANC en sy bondgenote is ’n verduideli- king aan die mense van Suid-Afrika verskuldig.
Ook die Regering behoort te verduidelik waarom ’n aantal oorwoe en dringende aanbevelings van die Goldstone-kom- missie veronagsaam is, soos wat regter Goldstone gister be- weer het. Die vem aam ste daarvan is die aanbevelings oor veiligheidsmaatre61s by hostelle.
As die aanbevelings uitgevoer is, kon die slagting van Boi- patong dalk voorkom gewees het.
r T \ A ^ i ' « * * . y j y
Hoekom tree ons swartes dan soos diere op?
Waarom stel die ANC nie ondersoek in na die skuldiges
wat ’n nan in Boipatong met die halssnoer-metode vermoor
het, of diegene wat blanke joernaliste aangeval het nie?
Did vraag word gestel deur dr. Oscar Dhlomo, direkteur
van die Instituut vir ’n Veelparty-Demokrasie, in sy rubriek
in Die Burger, susterkoerant van Beeld in Kaapstad.
DIE afgelope byna drie weke sal op- geteken word as die mees frustreren- de tydperk in die voortgaande soeke na vrede, versoening en politieke moraliteit in ons land.
Vier gebeure kan in die' tyd uitge- lig word wat my amper soos sommi- ge Britse kommentators vlak voor hul algemene verkiesing laat uitroep het “Suid-Afrika het onherroeplik die pad van geweld en onverdi aag- saamheid gekies. Sal die laaste per- soon wat die land verlaat asseblief die deur toemaak?"
Die eerste voorval was die Boipa- tong-moordparty ~ 17 Junie toe on- skuldige mense en kinders voor die voet afgemaai is deur moordenaars wat na bewering van die KwaMada- la-hostel gekom het.
Vir ’n verandering het die Polisie klaarblyklik verbasende vordering gemaak in ’n poging om die moordenaars in hegtenis te neem. Die' nuut- gevonde en welkome Polisie-doeltref- fendheid kan moontlik te danke wees aan die bewerings deur die in- woners van Boipatong dat die aan- vallers vergesel was van lede van die Polisie of die Veiligheidsmagte.
Nieteinin moet ’n mens waarskyn-
lik “dankbaar” wees dat die Polisie uiteindelik doen wat alle vredelie- wende mense van hom verwag - om die moordenaars in hegtenis te neem, geregtigheid te laat geskied en die vrede in ons stukkende land te herstel.□ □□□□SEDERT die grimmige gebeure by Boipatong is baie vingers na die In- katha-Vryheidsparty (TVP) gewys.
Daar word beweer dat die meeste inwoners van die KwaMadala-hostel IVP-lede is. Die IVP het dit ontken en daarop gewys dat geeneen van sy afdelings ooit ’n besluit geneem het om Boipatong aan te val nie. Die na- sionale voorsitter van die IVP Ket selfs sy gewig by ander simpa., o r ders ingegooi en sy meelewing met die naasbestaandes betuig.
Ek wil dit egter aan Inkatha-leiers stel dat hul ontkennings meer geloof- waardigheid en morele krag sal he as hulle nou dadelik besluit om streng tugstappe te doen teen enige hostelbewoners wat IVP-lede is en wat van die' vreeslike misdaad aan- gekla word. Ons sal wag en kyk.□ □□□□DIE tweede voorval was die ongeluk-
kige besoek van pres. F.W. de Klerk aan Boipatong om sy meegevoel met die naasbestaandes te betuig. Dit is jammer dat pres. De Klerk se stap deur sy teenstanders as blote politie- kery veroordeel is. Dit wys net hoe ver die onverdraagsaamheid, polari- sasie en naakte haat ons samelewing al verteer het.
Terselfdertyd moet ek byvoeg dat ek ook dronkgeslaan is oor die vraag waarom slegs pres. De Klerk, saam met ’n klompie kollegas en ’n groot veiligheidsmag, na Boipatong ge- gaan het.
Is hy dan nie ’n mede-onderteke- naar van f Vredesverdrag nie? Hoe goed sou dit nie gewees het as pres. De Klerk aan sy eweknie£ soos mnr. Nelson Mandela en hoofminis- ter Mangosuthu Buthelezi, en dalk selfs kerk- en sakeleiers wat reg- streeks met die vredesproses ge- moeid is, voorgestel het om in die gees van die verdrag almal saam na Boipatong te gaan nie.
Terloops, dieselfde oorweging geld mnr. Mandela, wat letterlik in pres. De Klerk se voetspore gevolg het, as- of hy wou bewys dat hy meer aan-
geskieYen toe gehal'ssnoer86^ bewusleloos 9eslaa" met st°kke en klippe,
vaarbaar in Boipatong is as pres. De Klerk.□□□□□ASOF dit nie genoeg was nie, moes ons voorverlede week in die pers lees dat die Middelland-streek van die ANC sy veldtog van massa-optrede sou begin deur 'n skynverhoor van
, pres. De Klerk en IVP-leiers, onder wie mnr. Buthelezi, te hou. Later is ges£ slegs mnr. David Ntombela sal “verhoor" word. Uiteindelik kon ’n mens egter in die pers lees dat die “doodstraf ’ in die skynverhoor aan pres. De Klerk en IVP-leiers opgele is.
Moet ’n mens dan voorgee dat jy geskok is as IVP-aanhangers te mid- de van soveel uiterste uittarting ge- welddadig reageer? Terloops, waarom was daar geen protes teen die'uit- tarting deur vredeliewendes en die beskermers van die Vredesverdrag nie?
Op ’n tydstip wanneer almal des- peraat in die openbaar en agter die skerms aan die werk is om te red wat
--nog van die onderhandelingsproses
•n verdraagsaamheid oor is, is dit nverklaarbaar dat die nasionale leiers van die ANC een van sy sterk- ste streke toelaat om sy onderhande- lingsvennote - die IVP- en NP-leiers
self - in die openbaar so' te vemeder en belaglik te maak.□□□□□DIE vierde en laaste gebeurtenis het plaasgevind op die begrafnis van die Boipatong-slagoffers.
Op die voorblaaie van koerante Dinsdag kon ’n mens foto’s sien van ’n vermeende Inkatha-lid wat ver- moor word voor ’n gehoor wat toe- kyk of hulle in ’n sirkus is, en ’n foto- graaf wat die' bloedstollende feit op film vasle". Die berigte het ’n afgrys- like prentjie geskilder van hoe die arme ke'rel uit 'n huis in Boipatong gesleep, bewusteloos geslaan met stokke en klippe, geskiet en toe ge- halssnoer is.
Die skuldiges het egter nie daar opgehou nie; hulle het toe onskuldige joemaliste wat hul werk op die to- neel gedoen het, aangeval en geinti- mideer.
Luidens ’n ANC-verklaring oor TV
Dinsdagaand is “kommer” oor die moord uitgespreek, maar dit is ge- wyt aan die frustrasie van “the people”.weens die “koppigheid van die Regering”.
Natuurlik was daar geen verkla-
ring vir die vraag waarom ons swar- tes soos diere moet optree telkens as ons deur die "it Suid-Afrikaanse regering gefruscreer word nie. Kan ie- mand asseblief verklaar hoe en waar die Regering seerkry as ons swartes mekaar doodmaak?□ □□□□ONS is nie die enigste gi cep wat in die geskiedenis van die mensdom verdruk was nie.
In Bybelse tye is die Jode verdruk deur die Egiptenare, maar hulle het mekaar nie doodgemaak nie! Inteen- deel, Moses is gestuur om hul'e uit die slawehuis uit te lei. Waar i. die hedendaagse Moses wat 'n staf ge- bruik en nie ’n panga nie?
Die Amerikaanse swartes was eeue lank verslaaf, maar hulle het mekaar nooit doodgemaak nie! In- teendeel, hulle het ’n Martin Luther King opgelewer wat hulle deur die morele krag van gaweldloosheid be- vry het.
Die Jode is verdruk en met uitwis- sing bedreig deur Hitler, maar hulle het mekaar nie doodgemaak nie. In- teendeel, hulle het nekaar van Hitler se konsentrasiekampe en gaskamers probeer red.
i □□□□□' BY die Boipatong-begrafhis was in-
vloedryke nasionale en intemasio- nale kerkleiers ook teenwoordig. Toegegee, hulle het waarskynlik nie die' wrede moord aanskou nie. Die SA Raad van Kerke (SARK) het reeds ’n verklaring uitgereik om die moord te veroordeel.
Maar weer eens gaan die ANC se “kommer” nie genoeg wees nie. Wat ons wil sien, is ’n ondersoek deur die ANC om vas te stel of enigeen van die moordenaars aan die' beweging behoort.
As die ondersoek aan die lig bring dat die moordenaars inderdaad ANC-iede is, dan moet daar vinnige en deurtastende tugstappe volg. Weer eens sal ons wag en kyk.
■ r - s v . ^ - p I,
Halssnoere wys na AN C
Hellmuth Schlenther TERREUR en intimidasie wat regstreeks met d'° ANC verbind word, vier weer hoogty in sw artr '. Je en dorpe in Transvaal.
Veral in die Vaaldriehoek, maar ook elders in Transvaal, wek die toename van die aantal halssnoer-
mnorde kommer.Sulke moorde en die skrikbe-
wind van “comrades" is deel van n I patroon wat op ’n beplande veldtog
dui, meen die polisie, wat self deur die aantal afgryslike brandmoorde
geruk word.In die eerste ses maande vanjaar
is byna net soveel mense met halssnoere vermoor soos in die
hele 1991.Die ANC, Azapo en die PAC het
vermoedelik na die slagting in Boi- patong die beheer oor sewe swart gebiede oorgeneem - onder die voorwendsel dat hulle die inwo- ners teen aanvalle kan beskerm.
Hulle het ’n nuwe sambreellig- gaam, die Broad Forum, gevorm en gebruik straatkomitees om ge- sag uit te oefen en inwoners se be- wegings dop te hou.
“Die invloed van strukture van die ANC by intimidasie is herhaal- delik bewys. Die ANC kan nie se sy hande is skoon as met sulke op- trede voortgegaan word nie,” het n
woordvoerder van die polisie aan
Transvaler gese.• Voorvalle van halssnoer-
moorde het die afgelope ses maande onrusbarend gestyg.
In 1989 is twaalf halssnoer- moorde gepleeg en 72 mense op an-
der maniere verbrand.In 1990 is 48 halssnoermoorde
gepleeg en sewe mense in sulke po- gings ernstig beseer. Vyftig mense is ernstig beseer in pogings om hulle te verbrand en 101 doodge-
brand.Verlede jaar is 24 mense met
halssnoere vermoor en 102 verbrand. Nog 39 is ernstig beseer in pogings om hulle te verbrand.
Van 1 Januarie tot 30 Junie vanjaar is 23 mense rmet halssnoere om die lewe gebring en 76 verbrandemstige beserings.op- gedoen in pogings om hulle ,te yer-
brand. —- TDie polisie se die inwoners van
swart stede en dorpe word aan die nukke en grille van straatkomitees onderwer" wat beheer ^oor byna elke aspe- van di6 mense se lewens uitoefen.
Goldstone se verslag <s s e
hy’s jammer eis die NP
KRITIEK teen die polisie en twyfel oor gewese lede van die Koevoet-eenheid word in ’n verslag van die Goldstone-kommis- sie uitgespreek.
Geen bewyse is egter nog aan die kommissie voorgele dat die staatspresident, lede van die kabinet of senior polisie- en weermagoffisiere medepligtig is aan geweld of die beplanning daarvan me.
Beweringe dat di6 mense reg- streeks vir geweldsdade verant- woordelik is, is gevaarlik, on- verstandig en onregverdig, is die eenparige bevinding van die kommissie in ’n verklaring by die voorlopige verhoor oor die
Boipatong-slagting.Die Nasionale Party het gis-
teraand daarop aangedring dat die ANC en sy leiers die staats
president en veiligheidsmagte om verskoning vra weens -lie aantygings teen hulle.
Die kommissie se voorsitter, regter Richard Goldstone, lewer wel kntiek o, die regering en die polisie oor nul versuim om belangrike en dringende aanbe- velinge uit te voer wat die kommissie al etlike maande gelede gedoen het.
Van di6 aanbevelinge was die omheining en patrollering van hostels. Hy betwyfel ook die blote bestaan van ’n groep oud- lede van die polisie se Koevoet-
eenheid.
Regter Goldstone se beweringe dat regeringsleiers en senior polisie- en weermagc Ti- siere regstreeks by die geweld betrokke is is veral gevaarlik omdat dit waarskynlik die ge- weldsklimaat sal vererger en pogings sal belemmer om die geweld in bedwang te bring.
Geen bewyse om die beweringe te staaf, is nog aan die kommissie voorgele nie, maar indien dit voorgele word, sal dit deeglik ondersoek word.
Regter Goldstone het aange- kondig dat die volledige ondersoek na die Boipatong-slagting op 4 Augustus hervat sal word. - Sapa
„ „ „ x ,
: A N C saH iieHellmuthSchlenther ^
DIE ANC sal nie mense verhinder^waTverkla- rings oor die slagting by Boipatong aan die polisie wil maak nie, se miirCarl Niehaus, ’n woord- voerder van di6 organisasie.’* ■'-*
Hy gereageer op bengte^at die ANC sou be- sluit om me met die polisie Jaam te werk nie in ' die ondersoek na die gebeure wat tot die dood van 45 mense gelei het.---------- -----
Mnr Niehaus se die inwoners van Boipatong was onseker oor die rol van die polisie, omdat
mense wat verklarings afgele het, glo aangerand is. •> ■
Die mense se weiering om saam te werk, was dus ’n weerspieeling van die gevoel en die “hele gevoel” dat die polisie by die geweld betrokke was. "• '* ■ - * - -
Die gevoel is deur die p laaslike ' ANC-tak weerspieel, wat aanleiding gegee het tot berigte dat die ANC die polisie se ondersoek wil belemmer.” - -
Hy ,se die ANC gaan mense nie dwing om ver- klarings aan die polisie te maak nie en ondersoek
. altematiewe om relevante inligting in te samel.''"\/ o n n 1 X n H » i. - —__n i i • .
Direct Govt involvement in Boipatong
violence ‘not proved’
p
Goldstoneout
By Helen Grange and Shaun Johnson
H arsh c r it ic ism of the
Government and security
forces for fa iling to act on some of the Goldstone Commission’s recommen
dations came yesterday
from commission chair
man Mr Justice Richard
Goldstone.While allegations of direct
State complici' n the Boipatong violence nad not been proved, the judge said, he was ‘‘distressed that some of the considered and urgent recommendations (of the commission) have been ignored”.
. In a clear reference to theI ANC and its allies, JudgeII Goldstone said it was “un- fiwise, unfair and dangerous"
to accuse the Government and security force leaders of direct involvement in the violence, when no evidence bad emerged to substantiate the charges.
j f Reading a statement at the preliminary hearing into
‘ the Boipatong massacre, he
said:?''
I • No action, apart from an 1 allocation of funds for “up
grading”, had been taken on his recommendation for the immediate fencing off o. hostels.• Recommendations 'on- cerning the bearing of weapons in public had been “partially but inadequately implemented”.• The commission’s sugges-
| jtions on the controversial 32 JBattalion had been met• “with what can generously I be described as an unhelpful |lrespj)tis£ Irom - Ji^e ijia r TSADF member”.
• Recommendations on po- . licing in Mooi River had I “been ignored . . . with no I reasons furnished”. ♦• Police investigation into a
( prima facie case of police I involvement in a plan to as- , sassinate an ANC leader inSchweizer-Reneke had “taken unacceptably long”.
In addition, Judge Goldstone said that whether or not Koevoet was involved in violence, “the very existence of such a group in South
.Africa in 1992 is calculated fl to cause yet further distrust U of the security forces”.* Judge Goldstone, announc- .
ing that a full inquiry had been established to investigate the Boipatong massacre, said the commission > had nevertheless “unanimously decided to make public its views on a number of issues . .. in view of the present climate of violence”.
1 He said that if the commission’s recommendations were ignored, this could “only be calculated to dimin-
j ish if not destroy the credibility and effectiveness, not only of the commission, but also of the Government”.
Judge Goldstone appealed to all leaders to re-establish “appropriate ways to continue the search for a peaceful transition”.
Regarding the current mass action cam paign, Judge Goldstone said the “right to public demonstration is especially important at a time when the disenfranchised majority of South
L ... • To Page 3 tRr
IS
0‘ lgnored’ Goldstone hits oilt at inaction• From Page 1
Africans have no alternative peaceful means of political action.
“But at the same time I this right should not be j exercised in such a way . that is calculated to lead [to violence.” He said an 'international panel of experts set up by the commission to make recommendations on rules and procedures of demonstrations and marches would report in public in
Cape Town on Thursday.He said his commis
sion was currently hearing “other kinds of allegations concerning Government and security force involvement in the violence”. Violence allegedly instigated by the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party would also continue to be investigated.
I Serious acts of violence committed by 32 Battalion in Phola Park had been reported by the
i commission to the ctate
I President.On the question of Uie
difficulty in obtaining testim ony from w itnesses in Boipatong, Mr Justice Goldstone said
, the security forces needed to understand the anger and frustration of the people, who could not be expected to co-operate with those they saw as being instigators of violence.
The commission's inquiry into the massacre
5 was postponed to August | 4 to allow legal teams to 1 prepare evidence.
The judge said he hoped appropriate regulations offering witness protection - currently being discussed with the Justice D epartm ent
would be in force by the time the hearings begin.
,i He also criticised Tell cent press comment”
which anticipated the commission’s findings, saying “this practice is regrettable."
Police promis<^4-iiour Ho\teI watchBy Zingisa Mkhuma
Police have given an undertaking that the Iscor- owned KwaMadala hostel in Boipatong near Vanderbijlpark will be kept under 24-hour sur
veillance by the security iforces.
The. undertaking from Commissioner of Police General Johan van der Men*e was made at the second preliminary hearing of the Goldstone
Commission of Inquiry into the June 17 Boipatong massacre.
Mr Justice R J Gold- stone said the commission had been informed by counsel for the police that General van der Merwe had undertaken to ensure:• A continuous police presence to monitor the comings and goings of all p e rso n sa t the Kw aMadala hostel.• The SAP would take
■ all reasonable steps to
monitor the situation at hostels and their surrounds which were curre n tly known to be sources of unrest.
The SADF had given an assurance to the commission through its counsel that it would also maintain a round-the- clock presence in the vicinity of the KwaMadala hostel and the Boipatpng area. ~ '
The Star yesterday noted a heavy security police presence outside
KwaMadala hostel.In M eado w lan ds ,
Soweto, four police Cas- spirs were seen in the vicinity of the local hostel.
In Dobsonville, a po- j lice truck stood next to ! the hostel which was recently partly demolished by local residents. There was no visible sign of security forces at Dube and Nancefield hostels.
Ail the hostels mentioned, except for KwaMadala, are not fenced off.
NO evidence had been
submitted to the Gold
stone Commission which in any way justi
fied allegations of di
rect complicity in, or planning of, current violence by the State
ij President, or any
member of the Cabi-
|net, or any highly-
rplaced officer in the
IpA Police or Defence
%>rce, Mr Justice
j Richard Goldstone said yesterday.
The chairman of the Commission of Inquiry? into Public Violence and Intimidation was referring in a statement “to the involvement in current violence of government and the security forces", and said “different kinds of allegations had been made by some political leaders and by some newspapers”.
The allegations include direct complicity in, or planning of current viol-
; ence by the State President, members of the Cabinet and senior members of the SAP and SADF.
Another allegation was that there had been direct complicty in, or planning of violence by members of the middle or lower
FW ‘not involved’FROM PAGE 1
ranks of the SAP and Defence Force.
A third was unwillingness or inablity by the State President and members of the Cabinet to take adequate steps to prevent current violence.
A fourth was the unwillingness or inability of the security forces to prevent current violence.
Mr Justice Goldstone said: “No evidence has been submitted to the Commission which in any way justifies allegations of any direct complicity in, or planning of current violence by the State President, any member of the Cabinet or any highly- placed officer in the SA Police or Defence Force.
“But if such evidence is submitted to the Commission it will be thoroughly investigated. :
“In the basence of such evidence the Commission considers that allegations to the effect that government and security force
leaders are directly responsible for the currrent violence are unwise, un- f >r and dangeroi
“They are dangerous •_ particularly because they are likely to exacerbate'" the climate of violence and frustrate and retard attempts to curb violence,” Mr Ju„.ice Gold- stone warned.
Mr Justice Goldstone also said serious acts of violence committed by 32 Battalion in Phola Park had been reported by the commission to the State President, and other evidence of misconduct by members of the police and army were currently being heard and considered by committees of the commission.
“The commission will continue to investigate allegations of violence alleged to have been instigated by supporters of the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party," he said.
In order for the government to gain respect and support, it had to demonstrate that it had full control of its security forces.
In turn, the security forces had to be able to secure ,lie lives and homes ot the people.
If acts of violence were to be committed by. or with, the complicity of the SAP, it could not be expected of the victims of violence to co-operate with the police in subsequent inquiries into the violence.
The commission was also distressed that some of the considered and urgent recomme: dations made by it had been ignored and no action had
il.een taken so far.
On mass action, he said public demonstration was a fundamental democratic right, although in times of political tension it could have the potential for violence.
“For that reason, some months ago the commission set up an international panel of experts to assist it in making recommendations to the State President on the rules and procedures which should apply to public demonstrations, marches and picketing," Mr Justice Goldstone said.
He appealed to all the country's leaders to spare no effort in re-establishing appropriate ways to continue the search for a peaceful transition to a democratic form of government.
Mr Justice Goldstone also said the commission had previously welcomed vigorous public debate on matters referred to it for inquiry and on its reports. Howev , it viewed with concern recent Press comment which anticipated the commission’s findings.
Hi; announced that a full inquiry into the Boipatong massacre on Juar 17 would resume on / gust 4. — Sapa.r
apologise,firifi Q taw r.-- I
says NPBy Chris Steyn and
SapaTHE ANC and its
leaders, president Nelson Mandela and general secretary Cyril
Ramaphosa, owed
State President De
Klerk, the government and high-ranking offi
cers of the security
forces an apology. his reaction to Mr Justice
This was said yesterday Goldstone's disclosures
u- f Nalional Party’s that no evidence had been chief director of informa- submitted to the commis- tion, Mr Piet Coetzer, in ^s ion to suggest complicity
v in or planning of current violence by the State President, any member of his Cabinet of the security force officers.
Mr Coetzer said Mr Justice Goldstone’s remarks were “damning” for the ANC’s recent “scandalous" propaganda.
HEEEH3 B
_A N CHc-.sikI ii was hoped
that the ANC would take note of Mr Justice Goldstone’s remarks that in the absence of evidence allegations that government and security force leaders were responsible for the current violence were “unwise, unfair and dangerous”.
! “If Mr Mandela and MrRamophosa, who are directly responsible for the allegations, have any honour, they will now set the record straight,” Mr Coetzer said.
“Mr Justice Gold- st- ^^emarks illustrate
ANC leaders have misused several tragic incidents of violence in recent times for propaganda purposes.
“The time has come for the ANC to search its own heprt as far as violence is concerned.”
Mr. Coetzer said if the ANC was serious about a peaceful solution, the organisation would stop flinging around wild accusations and commit itself to negotiation.
“The ANC itself has to. make a constructive con-- tribution to cool down the :urrent overheated politi- :al climate, instead of agi- ating it further.”It was sincerely hoped
hat *Se ANC had also aki .J k u s note of Mr ustice Rldstone’s ob- ervations that mass ac- ion, in times of political insion, could have the •otential for violence.Calm constructive talks
etween South Africa’s waders were needed now, lore than ever.
“We call on Mr Mande- i to seriously reconsider is unyielding attitude in lis regard," Mr Coetzer lid.
ANC national spokes man, Mr Carl Niehaus, said Mr Justice Gold- stone’s remarks were “premature".
"He has not found that government ...id security forces were not responsible for the violence. He has only stated that so far no evidence has bt n submitted in this regard.” Mr Niehaus said.
He said Mr Justice Goldstone’s remarks had created the impression t.iat he had already made up his mind. This would make it mo difficult for people to come forward with the necessary evidence.
In a statement, the ANC said it agreed with the commission's view that the disenfranchised had no other recourse but public demonstrations of their concerns and grievances.
The ANC charged that Mr De Klerk’s remarks about mass action during his visit to Japan were both unwise and dangerous and only served to exacerbate the climate of violence.
The ANC said the lack of resources and the terms of reference of the Goldstone Commission restricted its ability to get to the bottom of a number of violent incidents.
These shortcomings led the ANC to call for international monitoring and investigations of violence, the statement added.
The commission had narrowed the issue of State culpability to “direct complicity in or planning of violence”, which missed the point as culpa- bilit; .xtended to commission or ommission, according to the ANC
“We (ANC) find it odd. too, that the Com
mission can make so conclusive a determination without evidence being
• laid before it."
The A..C had planned to have independent investigators, including lawyers, take statements from Boipatong residents who feared co-operating with the police. The ANC would try and present any evidence collected in this manner the commission.
Ministry of Law and Order spokesman. Captain Craig Kotze, welcomed Mr Justice Goldstone’s statement.
“In view of the fact that such unsubstantiated statements *” ve already done enormous damage to police efforts to track down the Boipatong killers, it can only be hoped that the hate campaign directed against the 5>outh Alncan Police by certain organisations will now cease,” he said.
Special note had to be taken of Mr Justice Goldstone’s recognition of the fact that law and order could not be maintained by the security forces
without active co-operations between them and the vast majority of citizens and their political representatives.
“An appeal is therefore made, along with Judge Goldstone, to all political leaders to actively assist in this task and that community leaders should be particuiary careful not to make allegations of police misconduct or complicity which are not substantiated by facts,” Capt Kotze said.
Conservative Party leader Dr Andries Treur- nicht, said Mr Justice Goldstone’s remarks showed up the “very transparent” attempts of
the ANC and the SACP to cast reflections on the police and the government.
It is a typical communist strategy to pave the way. for a takeover either by themselves or by an international task force, ’ Dr Treurnicht said.
He said the country had a need, especially now
for firm maintenance of law and order.
“The government’s responsibility to do this may not be watered down,” Dr Treurnicht said.
A spokesman for the SADF said it had taken note c Mr Goldstone’s statement
The Inkatha Freedom Party yesterday said there was “not a shred of evidence" available to show that the IFP was involved in the Boipatong massacre, yet the Goldstone Commission did not j exonerate the party from complicity in the violence as it did the SAP and the 1 security forces.
Although the IFP executive committee had not had time to study the i Goldstone report in depth it did note several problem areas in the report, | IFP spokesman Ms Su- I zanne Vos said last night. I
She said Mr Justice Goldstone was “perpetuating myths” that the hostel dwellers were the most common factor in the violence yet he avoided noting that they were in fact the most attacked 1 communities.
The repc ^voided looking at the historical perspective of the attacks.
The report should look at what was behind the attacks. She added that fencing off hostel dwellers would not solve the problem.
'• * ' Tuesday 7 THE CITIZEN_________ --------- -------- _---- ------------------
Calls ignored: Goldstone. . , ____ _ ciH existed w
Tuesday 7 Jbly
THE Goldstone Com
mission of Inquiry yes
terday expressed “dis
tress” that a number of its “considered and
urgent recommenda
tions” had been ig
nored.Mr Justice Goldstone
said in a statement despite the commission’s re
quests in its second interim report that all hostels
be immediately securely fenced; that no arms be taken in or out hostels
and that the hostels
should be in a position to protect hostel dwellers from external attacks, no
action had been tak"n.... “The only response to date has been a statement
on behalf of the government that R294 million
has been allocated for the
upgrading of hostels.“As far as the commis-
sion-is aware no action
has been taken to date.He added the commis
sion’s recommendations
concerning the bearing of
A -“Weapons in public had not been “implemented ad
equately” .I In addition, the com- 1 mission’s recommenda
tions concerning the deployment of 32 Batailion
in peace keeping operations were met with an “unhelpful response”
from a senior member of
the SA Defence Force.“No reasons have been
furnished for ignoring the commission’s recommen
dations.”Furthermore, the com
mission’s recommenda
tions, made in January this year, concerning polix'
cing in Mooi River, Natal had been ignored “with no reasons furnished for
doing so”, Mr Justice
, Goldstone said.In December last year
( the commission referred \ | to the Attorney-General
1 of the Transvaal a prima
facie case of involvement by policemen in Schweiz-
er-Reneke in an unsuccessful cons^.racy to mur- der an ANC leader in the
town.“Notwithstanding con
stant enquiries . . . the police investigation has taken an unacceptably
long time." Eventually the commission felt
obliged to call the investigation officer to testify in public and explain the de
lays.According to Mr Jus
tice Goldstone the commission did not expect that recommendations
made by it should necess
arily be accented or im
plemented.“It does ho *ver ex
pect that they w u not be
ignored.” ■/If the recommenda
tions were not accepted or implemented the commission believed the pub- /
lie should be informed ol the fact and of the reasons
therefor.If the commission was
to continue to serve any purpose it had to retain such national and international credibility it may
have earned, he said.“To ignore its recom
mendations can only be calculated to diminish if not destroy the credibility and effectiveness not only
of the commission but also of the government,''
he saidUrgent attention was
being paid by Police Commissioner General
Johan van der Merwe to policing issues raised by Mr Justice Goldstone in
his statement, the Ministry of Law and Order said
yesterday.
Police Commissioner
Gen Johan van dei Merwe said he had taken note of the Goldstone Commission’s statement
concerning the preliminary investigation into the
Boipatong massacre and
was giving urgent atten
tion to the matters rai d
therein.
“ I have also noted with appreciation that no evi
dence has been laid before the commission that the SAP was involved in the massacre, but that any
evidence in this regard would be thoroughly in
vestigated.”
The police had also
given full attention to the commission’s recommen
dations with regard to policing at Mooi River, said Gen Van der Merwe.
“ It is therefore not
clear what the commission means when it states that its findings have been ignored. The commission
will be contacted as a matter of urgency in this
regard.”A lack of clarity also
existed with regard to the commission’s statements regarding the Schweizer-
Reneke matter.
The SA Police reported
to the commission on
February 6 and 18, March 9, and May 4 and 27 on problems with regard to
the analysis of certain
tape recordings.
The commission acknowledged receipt of these reports and contact would be made urgently
with Mr Justice Gold- stone to determine
whether thes^ reports had been submitted to him
personally.
As had already been
stated by the Minister ol Law and Order, Mr Her- nus Kriel, urgent attention was being paid to the question of carrying dangerous weapons in public.
"The SA Police has
already taken steps to fulfil its responsibilities with
regard to the hostels and further steps are being considered by relevant government departments.
“However, consider
able problems exist with regard to the practical implementation of certain recommendations made
by the commission and
discussions with the commission will be held in this
regard as soon as poss
ible.” — Sapa.
fH rrW i/fW • • A^ r v itw , y yi> ----- Tuesday- 7- Jul
under siege; blame us?
A Anton Ferreira.p iO N g | i '. . Mchur-., 'unemployed, sits in a
.cold concrete barracks
r dreaming of the days
. wlien his Zulu ances
tor^ took on the British
army and won.
.Today his people are still fighting, but they are besieged in the migrant worker hostels of Johannesburg and Mchunu fears the' enemy is winning. >y
“This war was forced on us,” said Mchunu, who moved from Zulu- land to Tokoza hostel 17 years ago to work in the big city factories.
~ ‘We were living here ,-^^efully until July 2,
when the African National Congress called
for a work stayaway.
‘Lies’“We hostel residents
did not observe the staya- way and went to work. On our way home, we were attacked and the ANC 'started spreading lies that we support the White apartheid regime.
“Now I cannot go to an ANC area or I will die.”
Mchunu is a member of the Zulu-based Inkatha
Freedom Party, which has been Sighting the ANC or its surrogates since 1984 in a war that has killed about 12 000 Blacks.
In the worst recent massacre last month, at least 43 people were killed in Boipatong, a few kilometres from Tokoza, in a raid that plunged South Africa into political crisis.
Police say up to 300 men from KwaMadala hostel, almost a carbon copy of Tokoza, carried out the killings.
Residents of hostels in the southern Transvaal — almost all Inkatha outposts in a largely ANC community — complain that while killings like Boipatong grab world attention, no one notices the smaller incidents that build up to them.
Peter Mbatha, a colleague of Mchunu’s in Tokoza hostel, showed a visiting reporter his diary listing what he said were dates and times of a do-j zen attacks on the hostel by ANC supporters since) September 1990.
“I don't trust reporters anymore,” he said. “We tell them of the attacks on us, but we are ignored.”
Mchunu nodded in agreement.
“When someone from the ANC dies, u. 're is an outcry for months,” he said. “When one of us dies, no one says anything. It is as if we were dogs.
“What annoys me is | that the ANC pretends to be holy, but they want to j replace White apartheid j with Xhosa apartheid.” !
FortressMany of the ANC’s
senior leaders, including Nelson Mandela, are Xhosas, although the movement insists it is non-racial and non-eth- nic.
Up to 300 000 migrant workers live in the hostels of the southern Transvaal industrial heartland, set up under apartheid to provide accommodation for Black labour from rural areas.
Tokoza hostel, like most, is a forbidding grey building that looks like a fortress or jail.
Windows on the street are boarded up, and the garbage-littered courtyard inside could be the set of a film about survivors of a nuclear holocaust. :'\-j • H
About one-third of the
6 000 men in the hostel are out of work due to a recession dragging into its third year.
Most of the men have left their families in Natal. They sit in circles in the pale winter sun, playing an African version of draughts. Others listen intently to a Red Cross worker.
“The Red Cross gives us first aid lessons,” said Inkatha organiser Gertrude Mzizi, a regular visitor to the hostel.
“This way we can tend our own wounded after fights, because the staff in : the hospitals around here are pro-ANC.”
Unsmiling men guard the hostel entrance. “In case somebody tries to come in and plant a bomb,” explained Mzizi.
“This place is like a refugee camp — many of the residents came here because ANC comrades burned down their h. ,.es
the township,” she said.
“In the township wars, , we are always condemned1] as murderers. But no one] ever asks who fired the | first shot.”
Mchunu is an induna, a “ Supervisor appointed by his local chief in Zululand
to be in charge of everyone in the hostel from his home area.
“My identity as a 7 ' and respect for my ancestors is one of the most important things in life for me,” he said.
Fought both“In history, we have al
ways fought for this land. We fought the British, and we fought the Boers. This land should be returned to the traditional leaders who fought for
it-”
Mchunu said hostel residents would never accept being fenced in and guarded by police, as the ANC has demanded as a condition for resuming constitutional talks with the government.
The ANC has also demanded that the hostels be closed, calling them launching pads for massacres. ANC members in Soweto commandeered an earthmoving machine last month to partially demolish ore hostel.
“If the ANC takes power in South Africa, the country will be in ruins,v Mchunu said. “Blood, not water, will flow from the taps.” — ,Sapa-Reuter. *
r THE: CITIZEN \i C O M M E N T y Shameful
LAST week we said that the ANC campaign
linking State President De Klerk, the govern
ment and the security forces to the Boipa-
tong massacre was collapsing.
I. Yesterday the Goldstone Commission of In
quiry reported that no evidence had been
submitted which in any way justified allega
tions of direct complicity in, or planning of,
current violence by the State President or
any member of his Cabinet or any highly
placed officer in the South African Police or
the Defence Force.
We cannot anticipate the findings on Boipa-
tong, since the full inquiry begins on August
4, but if there is no evidence of Mr De
Klerk’s involvement in current violence, then
this must includa Boipatong.
But even if it doesn’t at this point, the fact is
that there has been no evidence of his com
plicity in violence, yet the ANC linked him to
the violence without producing any evidence.
There had been allegations by some political
leaders and newspapers that the government
and security forces were involved in the cur
rent violence, said the commission.
There had also been allegations of direct com
plicity in, or planning of, violence by the
State President, members of the Cabinet and
i senior members of the SA Police and SA De-
. fence Force.
Another allegation was that there had been di
rect complicity in or planning of violence by
members of the middle or lower ranks of the
SAP and SADF.
There was a further allegation of unwillingness
or inability by the State President and mem
bers of the Cabinet to take adequate steps to
prevent current violence.
After saying no evidence had been submitted
which justified the allegations against the
State President, any member of the Cabinet or highly placed SAP or SADF officers, Mr
Justice Goldstone said if such evidence was
submitted to the commission it would be
thoroughly investigated.
“ In the absence of such evidence, the commission considers that allegations to the effect
that government and security force leaders
i are directly responsible for the current viol-
1 ence are unwise, unfair and dangerous.”
' It is clear that the AN C has falsely implicated
the State President in the current violence.
It is hameful. It is deceitful. It casts a doubt
on th ■ ANC’s good faith.
For what the ANC has done is to discredit Mr De Klerk and his government without being
• able to substantiate its allegations. ^ ■
More'than that. It whipped ,up)feelings against
them — dangerously. .*f £ ' ; .
Sadly, in countries overseas the mud slung at
the State President stuck.
People believed what the AN C , said because
the ANC had sown suspicions about Mr De Klerk and here seemingly.^was the evidence
to justify t h i s / ; ; 4 ^ ^ f e y ^ / : . ' . ; . • ■ Unfortunately .•too;, the Organisation of Afri
can Unity waspersuaded bythe'ANC to'con-demn the goverri’ment.forithe. violence. '
The growing friendship,*of 'Black states to
wards Mr De Klerk and his government was
thrown overboard.' ' •,But, as we said previously, the ANC will not
retract, will not apologise, will not undo the
harm it has done.Back home, too, the ANC has misused the vi
olence for political gain, convincing Vaal Tri
angle residents that the State President and his government were involved in the killings
at Boipatong.\We h o r ' *hat foreign governments will now
apprec.ale the depths to which the ANC has
sunk in its propaganda campaign.We hope that all sections of our community
will treat sim ilar‘claims with the contempt
they deserve.s4fc&iv$’£'$*j&. vn .More than ,thaV^<bjrge0h£ A N Q to>stop-»ts
pernicious 'propaganda/* We. .h^ve. enough trouble in this^sorely,’divided .lari^^ithout
having intemperate/attack’s thatijarouse
hatred and cause more _violepc«&«ra% ’fV Fight :the batile^’faiflyS ,truthfully, honestly,
Why not Crossroads?ARE we to understand Crossroads Zulus werethat the senior British detectives are only coming over to assist the Gold- stone Commission with the Boipatong massacre. Why are these learned men not going to participate in an investigation of the Crossroads massacre?
}. The fact is that at
murdered by the ANC, but at Boipatong the people were massacred by the Zulus.
Crossroads is a mere SAP investigation, while Boipatong calls for international intervention. SARAH
Bryanston
Judge troubled commission S;
advice ignored1KGATI S A TH E K G E . S ta ff ,«eportef
THE Goldstone Commission• has expressed concern at the government’s failure to imr !e-/ ment some of the recommenda-: tions stated in its second inter-1' im report. •
Mr Justice Goldstone said yesterday “ the commission is ,
; distressed that some of the con- i sidered and urger.i recommen- i
dations made by it have been ] ignored” . • |
I In related developments Mr j Justice Goldstone also cleaned (\ the State President,'any mem
ber'of the cabinet or any high-- ly-placed officer in the South
African Police or Defence , Furce of( allegations of any di- 1 rect complicity in or planning J of current violence.
He also announced that an . inquiry into the Boipatong massacre should start with • its- sittings on August 4.
Dealing with the commis- j sion’s second interim report, i Mr Justice Goldstone referred j in particular to the hostels j which the commission had said i should be fenced and the police J should ensure that no arms be taken in or out of the hostels.
He said the only repsonse to date has been a statement on behalf of the government that R294-milIion has, been allocated for the upgrading of the ,
. hostels. No further action has j been taken.
I Mr Goldstone said the com- mission’s recommendations concerning the deployment of 32 Battalion in peacekeeping operations “ were met with what can onerously be described as an unhelpful re sponse from a senior member of the South African Defence Force” .
CONSPIRACY
In December 1991, the judge said, the commission referred to the Attorney-General of tl Transvaal a prima facie case of police involvement in an unsuccessful conspiracy in Schweizer-Reneke to murder an ANC leader in the town.
'■ ;.^Due o the length of the police investigation, the commis- ., sion felt obliged to call the investigating officer to testify in public and explain the delays. V,
Mr Goldstone said the com-ajj mission' did not expect its rec-w ommendations to be ignored. If <|
rtits>recommendations were not*- ’’accented ot' implemented, “ the commission'believes that it and i;
:the;public.are entitled to be in- 5 .formed/of,that fact and jof the VrSasdhs "thereof’ i1 '■ c v \wi
Vthe''commission is to ,lf Continue to serve any purpose'''1 'it must retain such national and international credibility as it may have earned. To ignore its I
recommendations can only be I
! • calculated to diminish, if not I destroy, the credibility and ef- '"fectiveness not only of the■ ’ commission but also of the gov
ernment,” Mr Goldstone said.
He appealed to all of the country’s leaders to assist by all means possible in re-establish
ing appropriate ways to continue the search for a peaceful transition to a democratic form of government. > . ,
The commission expressed concern at recent Press reports which anticipated the findings of the commission. ^p a r tic u lar Mr Goldstone referred to comments ' which affected the credibilty of v, ..rsses who had testified before the commission
, and findings ,had been stated in matters £tohichvhave yet to be decidedly the commission.
BOIPATONG
The judge announced that with the concurrence of the Minister of Justice, the commission had decided that^ a committee should be established to conduct the full inquiry into the Boipatong massacre' of June 17. ; {
It will consist of Mi Justice Goldstone as the chairman, assisted by Mr D J Rossouw SC and Mr M N S Sithole, with former Chief Justice of India, Mr Justice P N Bagwati, as assessor.
The terms of reference of the inquiry were framed with the assistance of legal representatives of the parties concerned
and are:
• The identity of the persons directly responsible for the
i massacre; ■(
• The cause of the massacre and the nature, time and place of the planning o f the massacre and the planning thereof; j
• ' The action taken by members of the South African Defence Force who were iq the
! j.vicinity .of the ,KwaMadala jV Hostel, immediatelyiafteri the r|massacr0ijj;a .{ .;M ; ; ^ ^ [ ^ » | >
i V Whether any steprobuld;. (Tor shouldi have been taken by.'• the SAP, to prevent or avert the gmasssacrejjr,;. ^
• , e nature and efficiency, jj|of the investigation by the SAP. Rafter i the massacre; and^|->^ i
• The nature and efficiency] of the investigation by the SAP*
U aftervthe massacred1
^'fe'TheAugust 4 at a venue* still to'be 1
; ‘announced.ill____.. . . . •:s ^At,that.{ime,the.coippussion hopes' a .witness prote^tioi).pro-, gramme will be in pla?e as agreed to by the Minister ofJustice. ..Jt1 * - ' j
THE PRETORIA NEWS Tuesday July 7 1 99 2
SAP, ANC upin arms
O w n CorrespondentJohannesburg
P O L IC E C om m iss ioner General Johan van der
Merwe and the ANC last
night both publicly disputed key aspects of M r Jus
tice Richard Goldstone’s statement — but for very different reasons.
Gen van der Merwe attacked Mr Justice Goldstone’s allegation that officials had ignored some of his recommendations, and an ANC statement rejected the commission’s “ exoneration of the State from
direct involvement in violence.
Responding to specific allegations, Gen va* der Merwe said the S^P had given “ full attention” to the commission’s recommendations on policing in Mooi River, Natal.
“ It is therefore not clear what the commission me. s
when it states that its findings have been ignored. The commission will be contacted.”
He said “ a lack of clarity” existed about Mr Justice Goldstone’s criticism of the duration
of a police investigation in Schweizer-Reneke.
“ The SAP reported to the commission on February c and 18, March 9 and May 4 and 27 respectively on problems with regard to the analysis of certain tape recordings,” Gen van der Merwe said.
In its statement, the ANC said that while it acknowledged the importance of the Goldstone Commission,'it lacked the resources to “get to the bottom
of a number of incidents of violence . International monitoring and investigation was now urgent.
. "I'he ANC said “ th commission has, unfortunately, narrowed the issue of State culpability to ‘direct complicity in or planning of the violence’. This misses the point. Culpability extends to acts of commission and omission. We find it odd too, that the commission can make so conclusive a determination without evidence be
ing laid before it” . , \
The exoneration of the security forces f-om responsibility in the Boipatong massacre and other acts of violence, before the commission sat to consider evidence, was premature.
The ANC welcomed Mr Justice Goldstone’s acceptance of mass action as a democratic right, but stressed that no actions organised by the ANC
nad been calculated to lead to violence.
P|-^ M E A T S ' f / 0
Letters to the editor P.O. Box 439 Pretoria 0001
Face facts, don t slant image of the South African Police
SIR,
I refer to the letter “Look at the pointers and put paid to the
Police” by DB. as published in The Pretoria N e ws of June 29. Please allow me to make the following comment:
The writer leaves no doubt as to where his sentiments lie.Some of his statements are so ridiculous that they actually defy comment.
However, I would like to place at least some of his comments in perspective.
There have been a number of inquiries into the so-called “ third force” theory. After an intensive investigation, Judge Goldstone came to the conclusion that there was no evidence that the police were responsible for the train attacks.
I The honourable judge did however, refer to the power struggle between the ANC and Inkatha.
We are still waiting for ex- ! policemen such as Dirk Coetzee to : testify. I wonder why Mr Coet
zee refuses to return to South Af- ; rica. Is it possible that he i knows that his “ evidence” would I not stand up in a court of law?
' The South African Police has a very good record as far as solving crime is concerned. If the writer took time to do some research before making such a statement he would have found that the South African Police compares favourably with police forces of other countries.
We have always stated that policing is also a community matter and programmes such as Neighbourhood Watch are
welcomed.
The South African Police has, on serveral occasions, intimated that they were not involved in the Boipatong massacre. We have requested people who witnessed the massacre to come forward and produce evidence of the alleged police involvement.
The South African Police have obtained over 1 000 state
ments. There is not one shred of evidence that will substantiate any of these allegations.
W *•' is it that so many people are quick to place the blame on the iA P but when they are required to stand up and be counted they seem to fade into obscuri ty? May I suggest that they know that their allegations are mere propaganda and would not stand up in a court of law.
I would like to mention that in another incident, shortly before the Boipatong massacre, a reporter questioned one of the residents as to who had attacked them. He replied “white men wearing balaclavas” .
When asked about the car they were travelling in he identified a blue car “ like that one” , pointing to a blue vehicle standing
nearby.
To his surprise the reporter was given a registration number, only to discover it was his own vehicle that the attackers were said to be travelling in!
Makes one think doesn’t it?
People resorting to telling such blatant lies in their quest to discredit the SA Police, or any other organisation for that mat , should rer oe charged and brought before the courts to answer for their despicable slander, r.
These are the facts, sir.
May I state categorically that the SAP « ere not involved in this heinous ac , but we will do everything in c ur power to get to the bottom of t ais crime.
I do trust th it the media and all those who c iose to level these accusations against us will give the results of the investigation the same prominence as was given to this terrible tragedy.
FRANK ALTON
SAP Public Re ations, Pretoria.
10 OPINION/COMMENT
t c f 2. I? t o vA stream of reason
a muddled swampL HANK heavens for a f- wise man: cutting like a
stream of pure reason through a swamp of muddled thinking and hidden agendas come the pronouncements yesterday of M j Justice Richard Goldstoney,, chairman of the commission 1on violence which bears his name.
7 The judge ■said there was no evidence yet to sustain allegations that any senior member of government or the security forces had had a hand in the Boipatong massacre. If there was such evidence it would be thoroughly investigated.
i In the meantime the judge counselled advantage-seeking politicians — and media — to shut up because their wild allegations were dangerous.
£ By' the same token the judg^ had some tough things
to^say^a&ut; the police'relative ’ fa tthe , unacceptable length of time taken fop certain investigations and for ig- iwring t£e commission’s earlier advice regarding the policing of hostels.
In pursuing this calm and resolutely even-handed approach Mr Justice Goldstone is not only being true to the,, highest standards of his profession, he is doing the courir K try a mighty favour as well.'
We have no doubt that political and other organisations will fall over their feet now to justify their positions. Little infuriates the inherently unreasonable more than being seen to be unreasonable.
We have no doubt too that sterner action w ill now follow.In the stewing pot of murder and political brinkmanship it ha taken an
. .. unusu.^ manto cry out: Stop — this is preposterous:-;
We think it likely that when the history of. this sad time is written, South Africans will be grateful to Goldstone Commission.
Goldstone
>■ V,
\The plight of a warriorp-K ^'V '•
UNEMPLOYED Simon Mchunu sits in a cold concrete barracks
^d^eainlng’ of the ti.’vs when his c Zulu ancestors took on the Brit- ' ish’ Xrmy and won.
Today , his people are still fighting, but they are besieged in the migrant worker hostels of Johannesburg and he fears the en- emy jS winning.
V .‘This war was forced on us,” said - M r" Mchunu, who moved fronv Zululand to Tokoza hostel 17 ye'ars ago to work in the big city factories.
“We were living here peacefully until July 2 1990, when the ANC called for a work stayaway.
“We hostel residents did not observe the stayaway and went to work; On our way home,/we were attacked and the ANC start
led .spreading ties that we support \the white apartheid regime.
“Now I cannot go to an ANC area, or I will die.”
Mr Mchunu is a member of the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party, which has been fighting the ANC or its surrogates since 1984 in a war that has killed about 12 000 blacks.
■ In ihe worst recent massacre, at 16asf 42 people were killed last month' in Boipatong, a few kilometres'* from Tokoza, in a raid that plunged South Africa into
' po’'>:tal crisis.
, - police say ’ip to 300 men from :• kwaMadaia hostel, almost a car's bon copy of Tokoza, carried out
the killings.. . i •
-yll^lsident* of hostels in the Southern Transvaal — almost all
A proud nation that once took on the might of the British Army and won, now fee ls it is being beaten by the “ enemy” . ANTON FERREIRA’ re
ports from Tokoza
Inkatha outposts in a largely ANC community — complain that while killings like Boipatong grab world attention, no one notices the smaller incidents that build up to them.
Peter Mbatha, a colleague of Mr Mchunu’s in Tokoza hostel, showed a visiting reporter his diary listing what he said were dates and times of a dozen attacks on the hostel by ANC su/porters since September 1990.
“ When someone from the ANC dies, there is sn outcry formonths,” he said, us dies, no one s is as if we were
“What annoy ANC pretends to . . . they want to n apartheid with Xhosa <
\"hen one of ■.ything. It
that the :oly, but ce white artheid.”
Many of the ANL s senior
leaders ' including Nelson Mandela, are Xhosas, although the movement insists it is non-racial and non-ethnic.
Up to 300 000 migrant workers live in the hostels of the Southern Transvaal industrial heartland, set up under apartheid
' to provide accommodation ' for ..-'■at'.r
n [ i t- p io-black labour from rural areas.
Tokoza hostel, like most, is a forbidding grey building that- looks like a fortress or jail.
About one third of the 6 000 men in the hostel are out of work because of a recession dragging ■ into its third year. Most have left;:; their families in Natal. />
Unsmiling men guard the hostel entrance. “ In case somebody tries to come in and plant a bomb,” explained Inkatha organiser Gertrude Mzizi.
“This place is like a refugee camp — many of the residents came here because ANC comrades burned down their homes in the township,” she said.
“ In the township wars, we are always condemned as murderers.But no one ever asks who fired the first shot.”
“ My identity as a Zulu, and respect for my ancestors, is one of the most important things in life for me,” he said.
“ In history, we have always fought for this land. We'fought the British, and we fought the Boers. This land should be returned to the traditional leaders - who fought for it.”
Mr Mchunu said hostel residents would never accept being - fenced in and guarded by police, as the ANC has demanded as a condition for resuming constitutional talks with the government.
“ If the ANC takes power iag..\ South Af. .a, the Country will be**--
. in ru ins,” M r Mchunu said. ;ij| “ Blood, not water, will flow-front;^*1 the taps.” - Sapa-Reuter - 1'
SOWETAN Tuesday Ju ly 7 1992
NEWS Goldstone lees State off the hook • Nehawu stage sit-in
Goldstone
■ VIOLENCE UPDATE’ 1 _ L — _____________________
Goldstone has ruled —
The, Government, SAP
and SADF are in the
clear over the killings:
he G oldstone Commission yesterday
said the State President, Cabinet Min
isters or any high-ranking officer of
the SAP and SADF were not involved
■ in the execution or planning of vio
lence.Mr Justice Richard Goldstone yesterday said
there was no evidence linking them with the
violence. *However, the commissi ju expressed concern
at the Government’s failure to implement some
of the recommenidations in its second interim
r e p o r t : '• jsi" Goldstone said:: “The commission is dis
tressed that some of the considered and urgent
recommendations made by it have been ig-
noreA ^/K - in particular, the judge referred to the hostels
which the commission had said should be fenced
and the police should ensure that no arms be
taken in or out of the hostels.He said the only response to date had been a
statement on behalf of the Government that R294 million had been allooated'for the upgrad
ing of the hostels. No further action has been
taken.Goldstone said the commission’s recommen-
^W ere met with what can generously be
described as an unhelpful response from a senior
member of the SADF ^
Justice Goldstone on the deployment of 32 Battalion in peacekeeping
dations concerning the deployment of 32 Battal
ion in peacekeeping operations “were met with
what can generously be described as an unhelp
ful response from a senior member of the South
African Defence Force” .On the Government’s innocence in the vio
lence, the judge said if evidence of such alleged
complicity was submitted to the commission, it
would be considered fully.In the -ence of any such evidence, the
Commission considered the allegations were
unwise, unfair and dangerous.They served only to exacerbate the climate of
violence and frustrate attempts to curb it
Goldstone said the commission had decided,
with the concurrence of Justice Minister Kobie
Coetsee, that a committee of the commission
would be established to conduct a full inquiry
into the Boipatong massacre.
It would start sitting on August 4.
gowetan
Comrrient
Ovih organisations refuse to
learn from the past.
In 1985 the ANC and
Inkatha foughf each other
in Natal township vying for territorial supremacy.
The Third Force look advantage of the
fighting and it has now spread to many
parts of the country leaving more than
12 000 dead.
The same has happened with many
oilier campaigns where undesirable
elements took over and this led to
campaigns and organisations being
discredited.
It is now happening in Boipatong.
Youths arc assaulting residents,
forcing them to observe the stayaway
launched Iasi Tuesday. ■
This is undemocratic and unaccept
able, for people musl decide of their own j to observe slayaways. This is what
democracy is about
Also, (his is counter-productive. IIow
far will people who have been sjamboked
be willing to support the next campaign?
Instead, elements opposed to the ANC,
PAC or Azapo are able to quote these
examples as the norm, and these will find
it hard disowning activists who they
know did sjambok people.
Lastly, we arc always Filled with
repugnance when we see children
sjambok their parents. A weekend
newspaper published pictures of a
woman being sjamboked.
Where has respect gone? On what
basis can a child assault his parent?
The Broad Forum, an alliance of ANC,
PAC and Azapo formations in the Vaal,
must stop this rot.
Thankfully, the stayaway is off. But,
we need to instil discipline in our youth.
Pundits forward sinister reasons for Codesa’s collapse,
"3 b" 6|t K- p V
writes H ugh Roberson
A N C ’s mixed
LIKE aficionados of the daily crossword puzzle, Africanists in Washington’s thinktanks, private founda
tions and multinational companies sit down each day and try to make j sense of the maddeningly elusive j clues from the ANC that may, or may not, point to its current thinking
The right answers, or what seem like the right answers, are energetically pursued and there are frequent exchanges of information, views and gossip. But rarely, if ever, does the private sector come up with a completed puzzle and it is widely believed the same frustration afflicts those in the corridors of power.
Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that the ANC is run by a com-! mittee, with sometimes disparate forces seeking to shape its policies. Or it may be that the organisation’s doings and sayings are analysed to the point of absurdity.
Either way, the ANC remains an enigma in the United States. While Americans readily accept
its accusations of complicity by present or past members of the security forces in the Boipatong atrocity, they are stumped by the ANC's subsequent actions. But stumped though they may be, they have pencilled in some answers on the crossword grid — and some of them are answers that, one hopes, the ANC will be quick to deny.
The State Department, for instance, implicitly interpreted the ANC’s withdrawal from talks with the Goverment, and from Codesa, as a victory for those murky forces in South Africa that are determined to wreck the negotiat
ing process.
It is argued that there can be no mystery about the objective of those who oppose Codesa. Such groups have said time and again they will resist moves towards full democracy with all the force they can muster. Thus, the reasoning goes on, irrespective of whether or not past or present security force members were involved in Boipatong, the intention of the massacre probably was to wreck
the negotiating process.This reasoning is given momen
tum by the timing of the Boipa-i tong killings — at the critical* point where the ANC was already! threatening to change from nego-1 tiations to mass action because of its deadlock with the Government on the issue of minority protection in a new constitution. The massacre, fms, was seen as a deliberate o , .age aimed at pushing the ANC over the brink. I
But to accept this rationale, some cognoscenti point out, one must first conclude that the ANC is astonishingly naive and easily manipulated. Why else would they allow themselves to be induced to do precisely what the opponents of ■ Codesa and of a new South Africa would want them to?
It is at this point that some thinktank analysts differ from the conclusion that the ANC merely did what the powers of evil manipulated them into doing.They begin, instead, with the as sumption that the ANC is not easily pushed around and that its history has shown it to have as much
capacity for ruthlessness as any other political organisation.
Armed with the knowledge that the ANC decided veil before Boipatong to play its only trump card— its ability to mount mass action— a different and more sinisterscenario is advanced.
It starts with the widely held belief in the US that mass action probably would be doomed to fail after an initial, short burst of enthusiasm. Having failed to achieve its objective - changing the Government’s mind on minority protection — the ANC would be humiliated and discredited and its most powerful weapon would be shown up as a paper tiger.
Furthermore, as some Washington analysts have argued, it would be difficult to defend mass action merely as a device with which to influence an opponent in negotiations. That smacks more than faintly of mob rule, of a willingness to sacrifice talks for a more muscular and bullying approach to the problems of the country.
So, the argument proceeds, the decision to seize upon Boipatong
as the reason for breaking off negotiations with the Government, rather than the deadlock over minority protection, was an astute decision P,r>i.ed at sanctifying mass action on the one hand, and utilising the emotional build-up of the moment to give it momentum.
Was the ANC that cynical? And is there not a perfectly reasonable explanation for its Codesa decision — that it has in its ranks impatient young people, many badly educated and with an incomplete grasp of the complexities of negotiations, who can see no further than the horror and bloodshed of the moment? Or, perhaps, that there was indeed reason for anger at President de Klerk’s inept handling of the security situation?
Americans have no illusions about the malevolent forces at work in South Africa, and they are more than amenable to the ANC's allegations of a conspiracy. Like many South Africans, they are appalled by the inability of the police to end the violence.
But if the ANC sends out mixed signals — that it wants mass ac
tion and an end to talks because o the deadlock in Codesa but ther instead, because of Boipatong that it wants to end negotiation, but remains committed to the ne gotiating process, that it can ex change letters and insults with tht Government but needs the Unitec Nations to get negotiations bact on track — it cannot blarru
| Americans for being confused.And its current rhetoric is no’
enough to refute the theorists whc suggest that what is happening might all be part of a political exercise aimed not at expressing outrage so much as weakening Mr de Klerk’s position in Codesa anc eroding Government insistence or, minority protection.
If the police themselves bring the perpetrators of Boipatong to justice and Mr de Klerk accepts the presence of foreign fact-find- ers and observers, the ANC would be hard-pressed to convince Americans that there is good reason for not negotiating. As it is. there is little sympathy here for mass action when reasonable alternatives are on hand. □ •
" 5 W G | - f ( f 2 . p ^ .
International role in peace
AT THE heart of the political crisis— and bedevilling the whole route towards a peaceful constitutional settlement — is mistrust of the po
lice.The continual questions about the SAP’s
impartiality and effectiveness will not go away until the force is restructured under the control of an interim government, a prospect at present receding into the middle distance.
Meanwhile, demands continue for mechanisms, preferably with some international involvement, to monitor police actions in the volatile townships. By no means do these demands emanate only from the ANC and its aligned organisations.
Last week, as the political atmosphere grew thick with accusation and counteraccusation, there came encouraging pointers that the Government’s response to Ihis clamour was indeed starting to take concrete form.
After Boipatong, President de Klerk had suggested that a jurist “of international repute” join the Goldstone Commission’s inquiries into the massacre. Very soon afterwards Judge Richard Goldstone invited a former Chief Justice of India (who has already joined him) and an English law academic to help evaluate police investiga-
. tions of the killings.| This move was followed by the judge’s , announcement that two senior British de- | tectives would assist with the investiga- ■ tions, and his appointment of a multina- i tional panel of experts to deliberate on
representations received about mass demonstrations.
Wh. ...er by coincidence or otherwise, the SAP’s own pursuit of the Boipatong killers seemed to take on greater purposefulness last week.
I Now that the first step has been taken towards outside monitoring of our policing, perhaps the next one — an international
j role in peacekeeping operations — will not seem so unthinkable to Pretoria after all.
h i p X - iHasten slowly• - ■ ■ • i •; $■; • ; - •
THE Boipatong massacre has once again raised cries in the townships for the
closure and even the demolition of hostels. But shutting down or breaking down these structures w ill exacerbate rather than solve the associated.problems” .
- Professor Lawrence Schlemmer foresees that precipitant action against the hostels will result in the ejected occupants clustering together in squatter camps. If the underlying causes of the strife between hostel and township residents are not removed, the conflict will simply assume a new and perhaps bloodier dimension: the bivouacking former hostel men will turn their new quarters into an armed camp and the problem will start all over again.
The Transvaal Hostel Residents’ Association warns there w ill be “chaos and conflict”, if hostels are closed or demolished. The dispossessed people will, it pre-' diets, simply occupy township houses ant generate new resentments and hatreds.
The answer is not closure or demolitioi but upgrading of hostel accommoda*io and integrating their residents into towr
. ship life. That is necessarily a slow pri cess, requiring money and patience. A soli tion cannot be imposed on hostel peopl Their co-operation has got to be won. Tl real problem and challenge is the alien tion of most hostel people from the cor munity in whose midst they live.
S ' o v.Artyi^^\ £ !
Monday July 6 1992 SOWETAN_____________________ ___________ _____________________________
• Barbaric slaying of Boipatong residents • Alleged policy
etfitorPolice are a
block to peace
WE are all emotionally touched by the appr.:.,..g slaying of innocent people in the Vaal township
of Boipatong. 'This barbaric act by mercenaries of death is not only
deplorable but deserves the strongest condemnation.' These senseless executions must stop. People must learn
to live happily and in harmony so that sanity can once more prevail. The killing and slaughter of more that forty people is by no means a joke but clearly indicalcs how deep-rooted
insanity has bccomc in our socicty.1 It , is an organised ..crime, a well-orchcstratcd terror campaign in full view of the hapless police and Government. In my opinion.'it seems the Government is enjoying black-on-black violence and is colluding with the murder
ers.■ I am battling lo find any logic in the police’s inability to respond limcously lo this disturbing crime. Reports of police complacency in this gruesome and despicable deed
arc by iarge degree substantiated.It is not allegations or hearsay evidence as chief policc
liaison officcr Major Ray Harrald asserted. It is brutality worse than the Trust Feed massacre, a cold-bloodcd manslaughter reminiscent lo the Sharpcvillc shootings.
It is a mere half-hearted atlempl by the Ministry of Law
and Order lo Ihink that hostel confinement of KwaMadala hoslcl inmales will bring perpetrators to juslice.
The ( .•’lice have got enough evidence lo arrest and courts have got fair reasons to convicl those responsible but they
choose lo ignore the trulh.Why cordon off hostels instead of gelling ihc true facts
from eye witnesses?A few hours response time to any ki lling spree on the part
of the policc is unacceptable and tantamount lo gross
incompclcncc in the maintenance of order.The whole inci ’cnl smacks of policc vested interest lo
this brutal saga.Police involvement in violence is a major stumbling
block lo pcacc. Allegations on the part of policc superiors lhat the ANC’s sustained mass action is lo blame for the
carnage arc unfounded.'1'''II is sheer genocide by while rulers of this country
inflicted on blacks and it seem to highlight Ihc police’s inability and indifference in curbing violence in our town
ships. - 1 0 .% •v; ■’■ Two weeks ago the policc received a standing ovation after confiscating dangerous weapons from Inkatha men
and iwo days later Ihc cops handed back spears and stickslo Ihc owners. This clearly shows policc partially in dealing
with violence.It is fallacious and almost a crimc for policc forensic
experts lo be conducting tests on weapons confiscated from KwaMadala hostel to determine whether they were used in Boipatong atrocities while on the other hand some Inkatha men at George Goch were handed back Ihcir weapons of
terror.In handing back slicks Ihc Slate was trying to justify its
myth of non-lcthal traditional weapons.THABO TSEKI
Vosloorus, Boksburg
to the pointIT hurls lo sec black people killed while Ihc Government is busy preaching pcacc. IfSoulh Africa hada true government, the policc would slop these killings. Il seems policc aresiding with
IFP but Ihc ANC is loo powerful lo be weakened. There arc always more kill
ings, bul the policc cannot bring the killers lo justice. What happened in Boipatong is clear policc arc hclp- ing IFP. Why did they tcargas dcfcncc units patrolling Ihc area?
MARTIN MASHIA Hammaoskraal,
Bophuthatswana
Collection Number: AK2672 Goldstone Commission BOIPATONG ENQUIRY Records 1990-1999 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012
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