ECSA #138

EPISCOPAl. CHURCHPEOPLE 10r a FREE SOUTHERN AF~lCA

339 l.afayett. Street. New YorX, N.Y. 100'2'2725(2'2)4n-0066 FAX: (212) 979-1013

10 July 1993

Mandela: 'We will have to overcome'~ 0/ l'fdIon ldaftdt14 On

rece{vitll the Ukrt1 Med41.Master of~... HonOr'3blc

8W CtintOD •••It will hive *lied ttrange \0 some

that two South Ah1cInI. with J'C!lP»tlve Illstones .. 4i1Terut as thO'C orthls}"elr"$~ £bouJd sh.1'¢ tbobooor of re<elvlDg the tD:LInent Phlb­delpbla Ubcrtr~.

Equally, It wUl ~ lIe4!med$trIU:Ige to ~e that we. as fighters1'0:' libel'llt1on. 8t'e - tOSetht'r with1h0ll8 ..110 haVe been the eat>tains of'pl\J'lh~ - ~\'uIved 1n pr~~ng to the 4elllOCl'lltlc t1'll)Sfor.JllIuon of Sooth I\frkL_e who bow have also made too

potut that tt was~. 200 rears.' that tbo8e who deaigDed theworld., nrst democratic COnstitutionin thLor~ dty IhoIlJ4 h8~ pmnit·

: ted the~ or sJ.very to COntinUe.StraD&e tbo1tP all these thitIgs~t be. mad~ oC dilI~t~thf1~_t1pcU toODe is$lJC; 'lbt11pMk to the dnra!>U.tty of the glortotd~ thaI gavebirth 110 the lnd~ af thisClOUDtry IIDd to tile ODitt4 Stales Con·

·st1tut1on.1bt!)' .mna dae CO«fOeUleSS atId

lDvtnclbiUtY or the trutbs al)d the&deals or llllerty. equalIty aDd the.,u.rsvJt of Ituman bapp1neRs CIOn­\ai.Qed l.Il that hfstortc document 8!1"'ell as tbe DcdaratioD of lDdep£nd­el)Qe.

Jt I$, Ulm1orct.91th • deep IiIImW ofhllm.Ulty that we ftazw!~ today to~TC • me481 whkh bestows on US'- a lD4i\'1dall., as • movement andas a people - the~ of the

. fouDdtag 1aUlers "'bo ~d )'OVrCoD!t1tution.

Thl! great Afrlaul ~t'k:aJ... Froa­«1ek DougllR. trpokie in Roc:h~er,

N.Y.. OD JUly S. 18S2. on the topic "TheMeuiog Of JUlY Fourth for the! Ne­cro·"~ 11 IOlDe or wtl.at be Snid;"Fellow ett1zeoa, r am not wantit1&

1 ~ I'tSpect for the flltbm 01 \hiS ~publiC... , They ",ere ~t men, too- gr~t eoough to sive 'he fr. me to agrtAIt -te.... Jo tbclr admlrZlUon ofUbtrty. they lost a1gbt of att olberlnter~. ... Their statesn'3n~lp

Jooktd bey~ the PISSlD2 mom~t~ StnlCbed ...~ 10~ 1%Itothe 4iSt8.nt fUt1lre. Tbq sciud UpOnctmW pnDdples aDd WI • gloriousatmple in tbel.r ddeme."

11 would be • rare boDOf to tJ10Ilewoo will cinlw up oW' own CODStltu.tton that tM1 rboQl4 thus be de­:!IC1'ibfd br the demOCtltie cotDmftlta·tors ond freedom acdvim of our ownege And of the future. .

It is • moviag thing for us - thlltwe. wbo ~nt forol!8 that beY(!still to proclaim that freedom's c.U.y~ Wl:OC. tII1: todar being hand@d thebatoo hI tbe~ to Ubtny. at Whosestarting poi~t 111. ~1phia stOodthe greet men or whom the tNlE!dslave Frederick Douglass spolee wtthsuch ",armtb and elw1ty or tpirtt.

But we would cot be~ to FMder­fet Douglass It "fe &cS not recallother thtnp~ tb1s great mtcl1Mand fighter for b:eecSom .4 In thelame 1Id~ 1411elU'S II!O-

Frederick DoqI.ass asked. thepo1pant qllMdon:

"An the er-t ~lesor poUtS­C8l frMdOlIl Cd l\atunil JUItioe. em·~~ that Dec1aMion 0( JDde.~, exttD4ed to us?"

SU'uek by • I1moIt P*JpebJe crter.be went OD to sq;

"The neb mherltlDCe or jusdoe.Ubmy.JI~aDd ID6epeDdeDce.bequeathed \)17Our rathers.1! sbero4by you. not by me ••• TbJ.s FO\lf'lh 1001u1y b~ SlOt m1De. Yon mayrejoice: 1 mllSt IIllOV1L

"Fellow ddJeDs. .boTe roar DO­doul. t1lm1lItuou Joy. I bt8t thtmoarnfuJ ....U of 1I11Ui<>bll. , •• M1",bJC(t. tbtc.D. feuow ddl.ens.1I Amet'­lean slavery. 1sha11 see this~ andtts popularc~ from theslave" point of Tie"f,"

This 11 perbapfJ tbe ,",,1est dll1­len~ we !ace • ",e~ tor thenew birth or frwdom: that !lOneWilhin OUt COQ21uy .hould in {thelnlture proclaim that J1aSt1oe. Ubertyand prosperity ~ DOt .hanod by1hem, as did ~riekDodgJMS, the\)1~1(enslaved aDd tbe WQmetl of thIsCIOtltl try.

I1l the stf11Ule for real charlt' anda just pca<x. \tAl will have tu ~r·

COIl'l~ tbE' tt'l'rlble heritage of tbe in·

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER 5 July 1993

¥ THE INDEPENDENT SATURDAY 3JDLY 1993

The following is a chronology of

the main events highlighting the rise

and fall of apartheid in South Africacommitment to end violence intownships.

August - ANC agrees tosuspend 30-year-old armedstruggle. ,"1991: 5 June - Parliament~s .mjdential ~tionand laws that rcaerve 87 per centof land for 14 per cent whiteminority.

17 June - Parliament dropsmandatory race classification.

Sept - Anti-apartheid move­ments and government lignpeace accord.

20 Dec - Power-sharing talksbetween government and 16anti-apartheid groups, namedConvention for a DemocraticSouth Africa (Codesa), open.1992: 18 March - De Klerkwins 70 per cent in referendumto test support among 3.3 mil­lion white voters for refonns.

23 June - ANC and 10 aUiesbreak off bilateral talks andCodesa negotiations in protestagainst 17 June massacre of atleast 39 blacks at Boipatongtownship. ANC blames Inkatha.

26 Sept - De Klerk andMandela meet to break,deadlockover negotiations after· Ciskeittoops kill 28 ANC supporters,sign "record of understanding".

27 Sept - Inkatha quits de­mocracy talks, accusing govern­ment and ANC of seeking tomatlinalise Zulu nation.1993: 5 March - Multi-partytalks resume with 26 politicalgroups, including pro-apartheidConservative Party and radicalPAC.

25 March - Governmentmoves to desegregate education,last remaining social corner.­stone of apartheid.

29 April De Klerkapologises for apartheid., 7 May -' Main political.Jro.ups IIl'ee to hold ill-raceMections by end of April 1994.~t·wiDg whites form unitedfront to CIDIpaign for Afrikanerautonomy.

2 July'- Democracy negoti­ators agree on 27 April 1994, asdate for first all-race elections.

SOUTH AFRICA'S negotiatorsyesterday set 27 April 1994 as thetarget date for the fint all-raceelections. Here are some of theimportant milestones along thelong road to democracy:1948 - National Party electedpledging separate dev.eJopment..1950 - Government adopts keylaws underpinning apartheid.

I 1960 - Police kill 69 people dur­ing anti-apartheid protests atSharpeville. African NationalCongress (ANC) and Pan-Af­ricanist Congress (PAC) banned.1961 - South Africa declared re­public, leaves Commonwealth.Underground ANC launchesguerrilla campaign.1964 - Nelson Mandela and se­nior ANC associates sentencedto life in prison for resistingwhite rule.1976 - More than 600 blacksdie in year-long black uprisingtriggered by Soweto' pupil pro­tests on 16 June.1983 - South Africa adopts newconstitution giving limited par­liamentary powers to Indian andmixed-race voters.1984 - Power struggle erupts inNatal province between ANCand Zulu-based Inkatha Free­dom Pany. Country-wide politi­cal violence claims more than15,000 lives by June 1993.1985 - Government imposespartial emergency rule to quellblack uprising. Foreign inves­tors start disinvestment drive.1986 - Full emergency rule de­clared. US Congress passes com­prehensive sanctions againstPretoria and many other West­ern governments follow suit.1990: 2 Feb - F W de Klerk,who replaced P W Botha as Pres­ident in 1989, repudiates apart­heid, legalises about 30 prohib-

.. ited political groups, including'ANC.. .Jl Feb - Mandda ,releucd '

Jiom prison.. May - ANC and governmentmeet for fint time, agree to re­move obmcles to nqotiation:release of political prisoners, in­demnity of political exiles, joint

.Pretoria's longmarch to theend ~of an era

y. THE INDEPENDE~T_W£D~ESD;AY,7JULY)993

John Carlin reports from Katlehong onthe human damage in South Africa's

worst night of political violence this year

THE YOUNG man in the blue andI white striped pyjamas SlIt upright in· his bed blowing bubbles.1:lot through

his mouth bllt through·his neek. Thiswas Ward Eight at Natalspruit Hospi­tal, Kadehong, where he lay yesterdayamong 34 other patients, all of themshot or stabbed, all of them furtunateto hue survived the worst night ofpolitical violence any South African

; township has seen this year., Between sunset on Monday and· sunrise yesterday 45 people were

killed in Kadehong. In the previous· 36 hours another 24 had died here· and in Beighbouring Tokoza. The to­: tal of' politieatly-related deaths re­• corded nationwide since the weekend; stooct lilt ·nightat 113., The young man in the blue andt white pyjamas had a· 3in-long tube, sticking our of his throat, just above~ his Adam's apple. The hole into, which the tube had been fitted was: made by a buUtt. He was breathing,

gufiling, through the tube, Hence thebubbles, Light pink, blood bubbles,, Next to the anonymous victim lay

Linda Shweni, who had been shot inI the thigh, the face and the nape of the, neck. He ~as in pain but was able to

talk. He Slid he was 17 and at school.· He had been in a car with threei friends . driving not far from; Kadehong's Kwesini single-men's

hOltel, an Inkatha stronghold, when agrOup of men opened fire on them.

"Three of us were lucky. We were: wounded and brought to hospital. I· don't know what happened to our, other friend. He waa wounded but he

has disappeared, like the car. Maybethey took him into the hostel. Theyo(ttB liP that,~ they kill the peo-

, pie,"Outside Kwesini hostel yesterday

evening, the neighbourhood was de­serted save for a handful of peopleseeking to salvage what they couldfrom their burnt-out homes, An oldlady was uamping across a dusry fieldpushing a wheelbarrow piled highwith clothes, Two mcn were cartinginto a van chairs, beds, charred tablesfrom a house whose windows were allsmashed, whose inside walls, oncewhite, had been blackened by fire,

Two army trucks and a dozen sol­diers in bullet-proof vests stood by.Alben Faji, the owner of the house,had persuaded them to escort himback to fetch his things,

"Two weeks ago we decided toleave our houses because the hostel­dweller:; said they we.-e going to at­tack,'" SlIid Mr Faji, 38. "Yesterday atSam we heard from people that theyhad burnt down all the houses here.So we came to take what was left ofthe burning. We found they stole theTV, the video, the hi-fi, the fridge, allour clothes."

Mr Faji, who is a fitter, said he be­longed to no political ofilDisation."I've never been to school," he said,in what sounded a bit like a stock re­ply, "so I don't know about politics,"

So why all the violence? As far asMr Faji was concerned, the hostel­dwellers' motives were principallycriminal. "MOlit of them are unem­ployed, you know," Two dozen otherpeople interviewed yesterday inKadehong offered no more sophisti-

cated explanation, Save, unani­mously, to blame the hostel-dwellers,

It was an ANC official in Johannes­burg who offered the most balancedvefliion of events. Roben McBride,whose job is to monitor and preventviolence, said Kadehong and Tokozahad witnessed a cycle of revengekillings since April, when the ANCleader Chris Hani was killed. Whileplacing the original blame for theproblem squarely at Inkatha's door,he said that the latest round had beeninitiated by "ANC-aligned guys whowent on the offensive".

That was on Sunday night. OnMonday night the hostel mencounter-allacked, "The thing is get­ting comple(eiy out of control," MrMcBride said. "The only answer is forthe police to do their job. Which· theyare not doing at all."

As was evident yesterday. A spokes:man for the Minister of Law and Or­der, Captain Craig Cotzt, told aJohannesburg radio station yesterdayafternoon from his office in Pretoriathat the police had adopted a policy inthe two townships of"saturation cov­erage", BUl between noon and 5pmyesterday, spent mosdy zig-zaggingbarricades, I spotted just one policecar and, in the distance, two policearmoured vehicles. After Mr Faji hadpacked up his things, the soldiers es­coning him hurriedly, ·nervously,evacuated the Kweaini area, It wasnearly nightfall.

THE GUARDIANWednesday July 7 1993

Township stunnedby savage night

Eyewitness

Rich Mkhondoin Katlehong

THE smell of roastinghuman nesh hung in theair. A crowd of 20 with

spears, axes and slones ~ath­

ered rnund thre!' burningbodies lying hehind refusebins. .

"Sil,itholill' lzinja, Si~a·

7.itshisa," tb,'y ehanl~d, "Wefound th,' du'gs and we areburning them."

"Vi-·a, I\NC Viva".

Thl' \·ictims, IWo Ill!'n and a Iwoman, wer!' Suppo'1ers ofMan~f)5uthu /luthe!el.i's zUlu'1based Inkalha Fn','dum Part~·,

Shots and scn'llms ind i·cat!'d mon' killings nearby,lThpH' WH~ flO sign of policl'.

I have lin'd in the town, ,ship of Kall!'hon~ fur "II my36 years. but I have ne\'erseen su('h snnlgt."·y as I wit·nessl'd on J\Ionda~· ni~bt andyesterday nlOrnin~ as J wentto rescue my sisler. who wastrapped in tiel' home dl'ep inthe batlle wnl',

It is impossible to keep Itrack of casualties in Katie,hon~ and nearh~· ThokOl.a,Polkl' sa~' 69 h'l\'" died inthre!' days, Hesidents speak Iof hundreds,

To !:et through the carna~l'

; I often had to pll'ad with1 _

,armed youths, many no morelhan 16, who wanted e\'u\'­thing - my car. money aridpetrol to make bombs.

"Tell Ihe world there isalso a Sarajevo herl'," saidonl' when I told him I was ajournalist.

"II is a shaml' that we aremadl' to go through this." mYsister said when I "eachedher. "This country boastssome of I\frica's most en·Iig:,tened Il'aders, but whereare they wben people die likenips?"

Violencl' exploded in thetownships npCll Johanllcs·burg foll"winl-: last Friday'.sallllOUlll'emenl of!tn electiondale meant to-liberate blacksfrom :J~O n'ars of whit" dom­ination,' The immediatecause appl'ars to ba,·e beenthe ambush of a funeral pro,cession wben it passed a bos·tel populated by Inkatha sup­porters on Satul'day,

BUI thl' political tensions'building ahead of ~~tI\pri!'s elect inns are s'uchthat it needs only a spark toi~nite a cOl,nagration,

Black lead,'rs like Nl'l"'JI1Mandel" blame ap"rtheid formuch of the ,·iolenee that hasclaiml'd 9.000 Ih e< since thl'whitt' tninorify govcrnmenthl'gan dismantling raciill seg,rl'gation in J99lJ,

Residl'nts sa~' the policeha\·e dom' nolhinJ,: to hall thekillinl-:<. Th!'y abandon thetownships as darknes< falls,and only return at dawn tocoll('ct the hodi,'s.

Rich 1\f);!1()1/r!'j i.t:. (f Rt'Ulrrs cor·I n'spunclt'f1[ ff1 .C,iu/Jl!l Afnca.

Africa. expires In Novemberand there is a real danger ofit being cut as demands forfinancial assistance mount inRussia and Eastern Europe.

In addition. Weslern gov·ernments need urgently toreview the conditions at·tached to IMF credit. Theconditionality imposed onAfrica up to now has been in­nexible and damaging. Thereis a vivid contrast betweenthe short· term denalionnylargets. encompassing crip·piing interest rates andcredit controls. imposed onAfrican governments and theexpansionary measures theG7 leaders instructed theIMF to accept lasl April forRussia. Many African gov·ernments are urging the G7to assel·t a similar degree ofauthority over the IMF andWorld Bank to press theminlo sponsoring long·lennrecovery in Africa.

The G7. In thinking morebl'Oadly aboul Ihe BretlonWoods institutions. couldconsider the lalest UN Devel·opment Programme 1993Human Development Reporlrecommendations aboutthem. The report calls forthem to become accountableto an Economic SecuritvCouncil within th(' UN with11 permanent and II rotatingmembers.

II suggests thaI the penna·nent membership should in·c1ude Ihe five permanentmembel's of the SecuritvCouncil. plus Germany anitJapan, and the most popu·lous countries from fourregions. Egypl, India, Braziland Nigeria.Kevill \-\Ia/k;m ;s 0 policy ad·viser Wit/I Oxlatll.

rescheduling operation.which means the carll' 1!ll!Osfur many Afriean counlries.Less than a quarter of zam­bia's onicial debt is eligiblefor reduction.

Many countries will needwrite·offs of 80-100 per cenltu have a realistic prospect ofr·ecovery. The argument stillcun-enl in the German andBritish Treasul'ies againstmore comprehensive debtreduction is that it wouldconstitute u a moral hazard."rewarding those who do notpay their dehts. This was notlhe logic which guided theirdecision to provide a massivedebt relief package for Hus·sia or to write off a largechunk of the debls of Egyptand Poland. II also ignoresthe stark fact that Af"ica'sdebt. apart from imposingenormous human costs, isunpayable.

In addition, there is theproblem of multilateral debt.which is not tackled by theTrinidad terms. For acounlry such as Uganda,which owes more than halfits debt to the World Bankand the International Mone·tary Fund. Ihe British pro·posal docs not go nearly fal'enough. Even after resched­uling; full}' servicinl( Ugan·da's debt would by 1996requIre 12 per cent more for·eign exchange than thecount!"\' earns.

At IiiI' heart of an effectivedeb I package for Africa therewill have to be a commitmentby Ihe G7 10 write off multi­lateral debl and 10 providemore concessional funds.The IMF's Enhanced Struc·tural Adjustment Facility, itsmain source of funding for

from a brutal civil war andn'Current famine, is shack­Il'd with an annual debt billwhich absorbs more than athird of its export earnings.

Sub·Saharan Africa's lolaldebt is $183 billion. a smallsum in terms of the econo·mies of its crediturs, butmore than three times thelevel in 1980. E"ery year. thedebt stock is increased as thearrears mount - only halfthe scheduled payments arcbeing met.

Three years ago JnhnMajor, Ihen the Chancelh,r.unveiled an Initiative aimedat breaking the previous pal·tern of the G7's policy of in·consequential write·offs andannual rescheduling. Hisplan - known as the Trini·dad terms - envisaged a two·Ihirds reduction in part ofthe stock of debt owed tocreditor governments. Onlylow-income countriesfollowing adjustment pro·grammes approved by IheWorld Bank were eligible.

The Bush administrationwas opposed to the plan andhad it subslantially watereddown. This year. with theClinton administration hav·ing announced the write·offof half the debl ofth(' poorest18 countries in Africa, the G7has a real chanc(' 10 adopl theoriginal Trinidad Terms.This would be a starl to whatneeds to be a far'I'eachingprogram 011' to reduce thedeb I and ease repayments.

In particular. the Trinidadterms will need to make allofficial debt elil(ible forwrite-off. Under the presentrules, countries arc notallowed debt relief un creditaccumulated after their first

disintegrating. and childmalnutrition, which alreadyc1aim~ 4.5 million younglives 'e"e,'y year. is on theincrease.

Foreign debt, owed mainly10 G7 governments or theBrelton Woods institutionscontrolled by them, con tin·ues to fuel this vicious spiralof economic and social de·cline. beyond the control ofAfI'ican governments.

Europe is not going to beimmune to the consequencesas economic refugees fromacross Afriea try to squeezeinto Fortress Europe.

The United Nations secre·tar·y·general, Boutros Bou·tros·Ghali, said recenlly:"External debl is a mllisionearound the neck of Africa ...easing the continent's debtburdl'n musl be a priority forthe international commu­nity." Removing that mill·stone is vital for recovery.

Africa is considerablymore debt distressed thanLatin America, where exter·nal debl is 37 per cent ofgross national pl·oduct. ForAfrica it is over 100 per centon a v('rage, and for somecountries more than doublethat. M07.ambique, for exam­ple. faces post·war recon·struction with a foreign debtfour times its national in·come. Elhiopia, !'merging

Kevin Watkins and Victoria Brittain onthe crisis among developing nations as someof the world's poorest economies face annualinterest bills of $10 billion from the richcountries represented at the Tokyo summit

TWENTY years ago, Ju·lius Nyerere of Tanzaniaasked: "Must we starve

OUI' chilclren 10 pay ourdebts?" Successive summitsof the Group of Seven haveeffectively given the answer"yes" to African govenl-

1 menls who are paying out

I,$10 billion annually, or aquarter of their expOl; earn­Ings, in debt sel·vicing. Willit be diffe"ent Ihis time inTokyo?

Africa is the only part ofthe developing world inwhich economic slagnalionIs leading 10 increasing pov­erly. As the Bnll1dtland Com·mission observed five yearsago. povl'rty is leading to en·vironmental degradation.which leads in turn 10 evengrealer poverty. In onecountry afl(',· another theeconom ic eollapse is part ofthe process erocling thestate's power to hold nationstogether.

The moves lowards Ihe de·mocracy so slrongly encour·aged by the West arc beingundermined by the economic:crisis in countries such asZambia, Tanzania, M01.am·bique, and Ethiopia. Post·in·depencll'nce gains in healthand education, under Ihreatsince the mid-1980s, arcbeing eroded by the day. Eco­nomic infrastructures arc

David Beresford in Johannesburg talks to the neo-Nazi who joinedthe ANC and the black guerrilla who became a National Party activist

lion uf the lov; lov; was a lJiI his pn·scllt elllployers. III 19tt4, "It luuk allotll lour IIHmlhs,"sllaky. it was 1.L·c;uis<· she' was on Mr Chncnyalle IIL.I Soutll Africa Mr Cllul'nyalle says 01 his Ill'dthe ltith day of a IIl1nl:er slrike to avuid arrest li,r PAC activi· sion to juin 1111' Natiunalists."in sympathy willi theopprCSS<.,1 tics. Aller heinc trained in But he believed II", JJarly hadI......ple uf Buphulhatswana". China. he funl:ht Ii ... the PAC. tht· experience a,"1 capacily tu

SOUTII AFI{ICA is pulilical parlies a ... · likely tu be sermons un the snb·llnmau Politically. she is a IIassionate aluugside l{ulJcl1 MugalJc's Zion· deliver democracy. lie a,huils ilr('l'l('t(' wilh curiusilies vcr}' .lilT,'rclIl in IIvc years. "nulIl·IN.·Olll,·" were In·e.:t.lell hy womau.ller I,assiun al:ainsl the hahwe African Nalional Union. is luugh I:clling IIw lIIessal:ein this time uf polilical whell Sonlh Africa's "lInal" the n'n'nlunial shrt,ldinl: of the "wickl..1 laws" uf Buphulhals· al;ainst Ian Smilh's rt'\lime. lie acruss to hlack SOl,th Alri,·a.t ransition. ~·ew. cunstilutiun is dne to cume into Bihle. the ,Iewish "IJt,ok oflies"; wana is fuelled by the fact Ihat was wuunded and. while rccnv· lIis house has been allacke,l.

thuu!:h. arc quite as curious as em,ct. C,(Jnsillerinl: the recenl or lJcinl: told Ihe Third Heict. her husband. Grallam - an air· ering from his injuries. discov· his car has bccn run oIl' II'"the sil;hl of an Afrikaner wilh phiiOSOllhical juurneys uf Petra was nut defeat ... 1, In,t went intu crart technician - was fired ered the PAC had dC\,oeneraled road and he has be"n shot at.the IJOuting iiI'S of a Ilrigille Burrill and Ilavicl Chuenyane. lactical retreat in submarines from the homeland's airline for iuto squabbling factions. Tht, IIarly has yel to stal:l' aBardul and blonde tresses cas· he has a cugent point. lJcnealh Ihe pular callS. where iI trade union adivilies. He abandoned the slruggle rally in Sowelu. Before canvass·cading tuwards her waisl danc- Ms lIurrili was. unlil pr('IIares li,r ils renaissan"e Ms Burrill predicts the righl for furlher education in Cau- ing. Ihey survey the area 10 as·ing Ihe 10.1';'/0.1'; -- the soldiers' recently. a .Iarling of some of ailIL..1by smnl'IIlaows whidl the will bring further violence to ada. taking degrccs in educa· scss how dangerous it will be.dance of the African National the ",orld's loonier righlwing il:norant world calls unidenti· the country. "It doesn't malter tion and electronic engineering. Bul he claims Ihe lIarly hasCongress - in Pretoria's Ma· extremisls. A poller livin!: a lil,1 flying ohjecls. to them whose hllXKI is spilt. lie sct up a busincss in Wash· III per cellt supllorl in SOWI'lomelodi townshi". Or Ihe expcri· felV mill'S rl'lJlII Johannesbul'l:'s She broke with the ri!:ht aftel- Terrehlanche will want to die a inglon BC and marrietJ all an,1 is fast making inroadsenc(' of walking inlo till! omces World Trade Cent. c. where tht' discovering their "huntin!: ex· hero." she says. •....he National American. with whom he has among Ihe y(JUth. The ANt. willof the ruling National ParI}' lIIulti'I,,~rly I:Onslilulional lalks p,.'<Iitions", in which Ihe quarry Party is making a majur mis· three children. In 1991. he vis- win Sonth Africa's lirsl '"11"and bein!: we!come.I by a seniur arc lakilll; IIlaC('. she IVas an ell· is a randomly-chosen black. take by not immediately having itt..1 South Africa to sec the racial eh:ctiun. he mnced,'s. hUIhla"k onidal who fluunls his thusiasti!' slll,porll:r or Eugene She will not talk ahout iI "lJc- au electim. ami giving power to reality hehi,"1 President ~'. W. Ihey willnoll;el r~) per cellI andtime as a "terrorist" fighlinl: Terrd.lanche·s nell·Nal-i Afri- cause it muld elldanger my IIeople like IANC general seere· de Klerk's reform promises. Iht· Nationalisls will lorm aunder Ihe banner 01' Ihe mili· kaner Weerslamlsheweginl:. Iii,,". tary. Cyril) Hamaphosa. They The answer was a job as the stronll opposition.1;n,1 Pall·Africanisl Congress. Iler striking "Aryan" apllear· Ms Bnrrill is now a memlJcr uf arc the only tines who can nill it National Parly's first organiser What arc his amhitiolls'l "'I'"

The I:overnment's chicI' nego· ance gave her an enlree inlo the ANC and was a I:uest of hon- in the bud." in Sowetu. lie is now a member gu as far as I can -- 10 "e!'llloetialor. Huelf Meyer. eXl,lains his even wilder reaches uf higolry. our al a Mamdodi rally last On Ihe olher sil:e of the rence of the parly's Transvaal execu- Ihe Ilresi,lent uf Stluth Africa."parly's abandonment of en· She recalls twr "eth,cation" hy week prolesting against the from Pelra lIurrili is L>avitl live and of the national man· A hlack National Party (lresi·Irenched power·slwring by the right: al services of the l'L'Celll AWIl asS:tnlt un Ihe ChueuY'IIll!. Ill" still I"ars II,,· al:emenl commitlcc. which dc- dent' "It's 11Ossihh: '''''''.'' the I'

IKlinting oul Ihat Ihe country's "Church of 1111) Creal or". where World Trade Cenlre. Iflll'r rendi· scars suJli"ul in a WiU' al;ainsl vises ils dcetion slrategy. une·lime "Ierrorist" grins.---~---- ----- ---:...-==.....,..--~_ .. - .~==-::;:-::- -='"'='"::;:;-.:0--=.=:-:.--=--=..;=_. -~_:O==-~=:="~=-~~:_..:=~~:=-;::-;;,-:-:-:::.,....,_-=-'='"'-=---=== . ... - .

ICh;ef Buthe1ezi is the greatest threat to South African democracy, argues John Carlin

Dangerous myth of the Zulu warrior

Chief Buthelezi: support among whites is growing

I F SOUTH AFRICA ever re-enters theCommonwealth, and if the Prince of

Wales ever becomes king, a good numberof black South Africans mav demand anexplanation from him. What possessedthe heir to the throne to dignifyMangosuthu Buthelezi, Inkatha leaderand Zulu prince, with a pri"ate audienceon I May at his Highgrove home'

\l, hat would the two princes havetalked about) Conversation must haveturned to the last recorded encounter be­rween members of the British and Zuluroyal families, at a luncheon Queen Vic­toria hosted in 1882 for King Cetshwayo.The Zulu king was defeated by the BritishArmy in 1879, but immortalised in cellu­loid - in a part played by ChiefButhelezihimself - in the film Zulu. King Cetsh­wayo, who stayed at a rented' house inKensington, proved enormously popularamong Londoners, attracting flocks ofsightseers.

Hthe Zulu warrior m\'th retains to thisday a hanoless hold on -the minds of cer­tain Britons, it is the legacy of that visitand the preceding war. !'io less surprising,but far more dangerous, is the degree towhich the myth still captivates whiteSouth Africans. The latest opinion pollsshow that Chief Buthelezi enjoys as much- and indeed dramatically growing ­support among the white population as hedoes loathing among the black.

It is all a question of which side ofChief Buthelezi vou want to see. Machia­velli, speaking of pr_nces, set out thechoice: "A certain contemporary ruler ...never preaches anything except peace andgood faith; and he is an enemy of bothone and the other, and if he had everhonoured either of them he would havelost either his standing or his state manytimes over."

A member of F W de KJerk's govern­ment, the leading figures of which havefinally seen through Chief Buthelezi's pi­ous preaching, recently confided that hisgreatest fear for the future lay in the pros­pect ofInkatha and right-wing whites tak­ing up arms in defiance of the new con­stitutional order. The African NationalCongress shares that fear. Talk to anyieader of the far right, teB him that hispeople are too outnumbered to imposetheir undemocratic will on the majority,and he will reply, with a knowing smile,"The Zulus will do the fighting for us."

Without "the Zulus", at least 50 percent of whom abhor Inkatha, the threat todemocracv in South Africa becomes re­duced, at' worst, to containable levels ofsporadic right-wing ,·iolence. In such cir­cumstances, the South African miraclewill have worked. The miracle, in theteeth of opposition from Chief Buthelezi,is that today the South African govern­ment and the ANC, once the bitterest ofenemies, are expected to consecrate a his·toric series of negotiated compromises

~ THE IND'EPENDENT

when they ratify a date for the country'sfirst democratic elections. Mr de Klerkand !'ielson Mandela, who will jointlv re­ceive a peace award from President Chn­ton in Philadelphia on 4 July, haveachieved a remarkably sane degree of con­sensus on the need for the country to berun bl' a government of national unity forfiq, "ears after the election. It is a dealthat ihe people of Bosnia and the re,t ofthe world's turbulent nations can onh'marvel at and env\'. .

Inkatha is South Africa's potential Serbfactor. But it is a factor that can bequashed The degree to which ChiefButhelezi will be in a position, first, toplunge the election campaign into bloodychaos, and second, to lead his warriorsinto battle - as he threatened last week- against the govern;nent of nationalunitv sought by the De Klerk governmentand the :\!'iC, is in proportion to the sup-

port he is able to muster among whites.Alone, without the support of whitesand - by extension - the security forces,the Inkatha threat will be rapidlyextinlruished.

W'hy are whites flocking to Inkatha'Because they judge that power in the fu­ture will be contested berween black po­li:;caJ organisati"ns and hav'e decidedpragmatl;ally to opt for what they per­ceive to be Chief Buthelezi's protectivemantle.

The ANC, they have been taught to be­lieve, stands for recrimination, restitu­tion, redressal of past injustices. Inkatha,whose leaders like to dress in what oneZulu journalist calls "the postcard Zulu"style, nostalgically re-enact in whiteminds an c!d colonial order. whereblacks, noble but vanquished warriors inthe manner of King Cetshwayo, knowtheir place. Or, at least, may be entrusted

PholOgraph: TJ Lemon

not to interfere with white privilege.Never mind that the majority of the

black population knows that, withoutInkatha's complicity, the intelligencebranches of the securitv forces wouldhave been unable to unleash on the town­ships in recent years the worst slaughterthe countrY has seen since the Boer War.~e\'er mind that, after General JoshuaGqozo of the Ciskei homeland ordered histroops to open fire on ANC demon­strators last September, killing 27, ChiefButhelezi held a banquet in the general'shonour complete with praise-singers andbare-breasted dancers. /l;ever mind thatChief Buthelezi has now entered into apolitical alliance with the pro-apartheidConservallYe Party against the govern­ment and the ANC. He might be a son of abitch, is a prevailing white view, but he isour son of a bitch.

The truth, as the vast majoriry ofblacks- and some whites - know, is rather dif­ferent. A National Party MP who onceshared in the conventional white wisdomon Chief Buthelezi admitted earlier thismonth that he had been \\Tong.

"What we white South Africans havealways perceived as the greatest terror isthe notion of our country going the tyran­nical wav of much of the rest of Africa,"he said. i'What I know realise, but not allmy colleagues yet do, is that Buthelezi isthe classic African despot." JonasSavimbi, who went to war when he lostthe general election in Angola last year,immediatelv comes to mind.

The policy of the British government,which did not discourage PrinceCharles's meeting with Chief Buthelezi,has been to persist in constructive engage­ment - not to alienate, but to persuadefrom within. Much the same goes for therest of the European Community, theUnited States, Canada and other Westerncountries.

As for. Mr de Klerk, he dare notantagonise him for fear of losing votes, inthe short term, to the right. The ANC, forits part, dispatched a reluctant NelsonMandela yesterday to appease the Inkathachief, Chamberlain-style, with little pros­pect of an}1hing other than notching up asmall public relations victory.

The question that all these people mustask themselves is whether the time hascome to burst the Buthelezi bubble. Ev­eryone knows that the chief is mad, badand extremely dangerous and that thedesperate faith of whites in him reflectsthe uncertain tv of the times.

That faith, and with it the threat to theSouth African miracle, will evaporatewhen the truth is exposed. Once whitesupport fades, so will the perception ofstrength on which his black followingrests. All it takes is for sufficient people todeclare, in a loud enough voice, that ChiefButhelezi is no democrat, no peace !o\-er,no man of good faith.

THURSDAY 24 JUNE 1993

Killings highlightSA police inertia

THE GUARDIANFriday June 25 1993

The gunmen, the _driver and randomdeath in S Africa

from his employers. He thenborrowed a van .nd drove toa police itallon, only to betold he was In the wrong ju­rllcllcllon. He w.s sent to an·other station.

He was on his way therewhen the killers fired onwhite motorists nearby. Inwhat became known as the"Elkenhof massacre", amother and her t,,·o teenagechildren were shot dead.

It was not the end of theitory for Mr Vayise. A weekafter the killings, five police\'ehicJes picked him up at theshack where he Jives anddrove him to the town ofVanderbiljpark.

He was beaten up on theway, suffering a perforated.eardrum and other Injuries,.nd kept the night in thepolice station, manacledhand and foot to a chair.

The next morning he wasInvited to make a statement.For the first time.• Gunmen with AK-47 rlOeskllled three men and a worn·an in Johannesburgyesterday.

Three men walked up tothe cars of two white menand a white woman. whowere about to begin work inthe Alrode area and openedfire. A black passer·by wasalso killed.

Davlcl ",••fordIn .IoMnneabur.

PROPONENTS of thecock-up thec.:~' rna)' findthe sorry tale of Madala

V"yise gives them an ad,·an·tage over the conspiracytheorists when It comes toexplaining the endemic polit­Ical "iolence in South Africa.

Lawyers representing theblack driver, llged 60, have.sked the Goldstone tnquiryInto political violence to lookInto Mr \'ayise's story of howhe tried, .nd failed, to pre­vent a massacre of whites., Mr V.rise ..ys he ....sdriving a PMW to work onMarch 19 when he was hi·Jacked, south of Johannes·burg. b)' four men wieldingAK-47 assault rifles.

Arter being driven .roundfor about two hours, he wasthrown out of the car, buthad heard and seen enoughto figure out that his abduc­ton were members of theAzanian People's UberationArm~' and were ptanning arandom massacre of",.hites.

Mr Vaylse managed to Oagdown a police vehicle. onh' tobe told they could not helpbecause he did not have theBMW's registration number.

So he hRiled a taxi andrushed to the datry where heworked, to get the number

in which an armoured van wasused 10 smash through a glassfacade - was witnessed andfilmed by police.

Police spokesmen forlornlyexplained they were having dif·ficulty tracing the perpetratorsbecause they had given falsenames and addresses and usedfalse registration plates.New.spapers yesterday demandedthe sacking of the minister oflaw and order. Hernus Kriel.and the police commissioner.Johan van del' Merwe.

Nelson Mandela at the week·end described the investigationas ridiculous. "There is clearlyconnivance between the rightwing inside Dc Klerk's partyand the ultra·right like the Afri'jkaner Weerstandsbeweging andthe Conservative Party," theAfrican National Congressleader said.

There is speculation that theviolence at the Trade Centrecould destroy the Cosag alii·ance (Concerned South Afri­cans Group). between right·wing whites and conservativeblack homeland leaders. Thekey figure in Cosag. Chief Man·gosuthu I3uthelezi. yesterdaycriticised the rightwing extrem·ists over the incident. butwarned that it demonstratedthe importance of placatingwhite fears.

Meanwhile, pulice announcellvestenla\' that thel' were hold·lng three constables for thedeath in custody of a detaineeat Koster police statio:} in theWestern Transvaal.

D.vld S.,••fordIn Joh.nne.burg

ANOTHER South Africantownship massacre atthe weekend. coming on

top of Friday's rightwing as·sault on the national negotiat·ing forum. has once againraised the question of whetherthe country's future is beingsubvertell by a police conspir·acy. or merely by their monu·mental incompetence.

The killings took place onSaturday night. Twelve bodieswere discovered in the town·ship of Sebokeng. south of Jo·hannesburg. and witnesses saidthey had been shot by gunmenfiring at random from a cruis·ing car. using assault rines.

The killings were carried outin a manner identical to a mas·sacre in April when 17 peoplewere shot dead at random inSebokeng. It is difficult to con·ceil'e of any motive other thanpolitical destabilisation.

The inabilitl' of the SouthAfrican police 'to deal with po·litical crime was underlined atthe weekend as ridicule washeaped on them for their inepthandling of rrida~"s invasion ofJohannesburg's World TralleCentre. where the multi·partynegotiMions \\'ere taking plilce.

By yesterday no apparentaction hall been takC'n againstrightwingers for crimes inclnd·ing assault on delC'gates andpUblic violence. This I':as de·spite thC' fact that the attack -

THE WEEKLY MAIL, June 25 to July 1 1993ITHE scope of the reopened Goni­we inquest widened this week as

I lawyers raised questions aboutseveral more high-profile politi­

cal murders.On Wednesday, there was drama in

court as a senior security policemanrefused to answer questions about thedeath ofSteve Biko as it might incrim­inate him.

Speculation is now that there arehard links which may yet be exposedbetween a wide variety of previouslyunsolved political killings, and that onegrouping may have been responsiblefor many of them.

Prime suspects are the securitypolice, particularly those with a back­ground in the now-disbanded policecounter-insurgency unit Koevoet andthe JXllice's V1akplaas hit squad.

The side-show ofconflict within thesecurity forces continued, with SouthAfrican Defence Force counsel AntonMostert introducing all the new cases,and hammering a sua:.ession ofsecuri­ty JXllicemen who took the stand.

Although Mostert has accusedpolice of involvement in some of thesemurders, and hinted at it in others, hehas not yet produced evidence.

...

The securi.ty police emergedas the prime suspects in awide range ofWlSolvedpolitical killings at the

Goniwe inquest this week.LOUISE FLANAGAN reports

This week Mostert referred to theMay 1985 disappearance of the"Pebco three", Port Elizabeth BlackCivic Organisation (Pebco) activistsSipho Hashe, Champion Galela andQaqawuli Godolozi, who vanishedweeks before the Goniwe murders andstill have not been found.

Mostert said that two decomposing,bowxl and burnt bodies were fowxl onJune 16 outside Port Elizabeth, verynear the spot where the Goniwe victimswere found. He speculated that theywere two of the Pebco three and, whilestopping short of accusing police ofki~ling them, suggested police copiedthis method for the Goniwe murders.

1be discovery of these two bodies isnot new information, but no link withthe Pebco three has ever been shown.

Then Mostert accused police ofinvolvement in Durban activist VictoriaMxenge's murder. Mxenge addressedGoniwe's funeral and 10 days later, onAugust I" was herself murdered by

unknown killers in Durban.Police captain Dirk Coetzee previ­

ously claimed that Mxenge's husband,Griffiths, was murdered in 1981 byV1akplaas members.

Last week Mostert accused thepolice of killing four of their own col­leagues in a limpet mine blast inDecember 1989 in an attempt to stopinformants talking about policeinvolvement in the Goniwe killings.

Former Koevoet member and 1985Cradock security police chief ColonelEric Winter and 1985 Port Elizabethregional security police chief ColonelHarold Snyman both gave evidencethis week and denied police involve­ment in the murders.

Snyman was named in the inquestinto Biko's September 1977 death indetention as the policeman who hadled the interrogation team. He refusedto answer questions on the issue thisweek, on the grounds that he wouldincriminate himself.

like previous witnesses., Winter andSnyman rep--..atedly said they could notremember things. According toMostert, Winter replied "I can'tremember" at least 135 times.

Snyman did, however, recall thatGoniwe's file - allegedly destroyed inmid-1~ - contained information onhis involvement in illegal WldergrouIX!activities. Snyman is the first securityforce officer to acknowledge that heknew ofGoniwe's involvement in sochactivities. Lawyers have been pushingfor such admissions, as they would indi­cate a JXlSSible murder motive.

1be ilXlleSt ends today and resumeson August 11, when policeman MajorDo )11 Nieuwoudt is expected to take thestand to answer allegations that he wasinvolved in the December 1989 limpetblast murders of police. - Ecna

¥. THE INDEPENDENT TUESDAY 15 JUNE 1993

Search for new agenda on ending apartheid in South Africa begins with humour

Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, President ofthe Anti·Apartheid Movement (seated), who celebrates his 80th birthday today, with (from left) SirShridath Ramphal, the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Julius Nyerere, the former president ofTanzania. The men were at an international conference in London yesterday entitled South Mrica: Making Hope a Reality Photograph: Brian Harris

.~\ /

unloved countryAcryforhis

I

last, live·year stinl in his he·'loved couiltry as ArchbishlJlllJf,the Indian Ocean.

His birthday finds him "ex·.tremely lit but not hursl ingwith energy" and looking for·'ward to the future promised inthe title of his communitv, "I do,feel it's not going to be loilg nO\\'1before I'm reunited with Olin!r.Tambo Ihis lifelong friend who,died in April) ami all the olhers.They're the people I care about.'There arc v('ry few lell on this;side but I still)!)"e the young". '

The South African ~O\'(,I'Il-t

ment has I:iven him two' earlypresents. It has repealed his old.enemy, the Bantu Educal ion'Act, which crippled the school·'ing and aspirations of !:elH~ra·'tions of blacks. And - aller he·latedly realising he was e\'enmore of a menace ahroad thanin Sowetn .- it has just rcn!kl'c1the prohihit('d iml11ilP'anlstatus it slapped on him in I!'!il;,

"Bul it was South Africa thatmatured me," says Huddleston."I knew about what was thencalled the colour bar but what Ifound· was the total destructive·ness of apartheid in preventinggifted, brilliant people fromfulfilment. "

Thc Community and Africabecame his family. His recallfrom Soweto to traill novices inBritain in 19r,5, with Naught forYour Comfort receiving hugeworldwide advance publicity,was "Ihe toughest bit of obedi·ence I've ever had to face up to.II was a terrible bl'reavemenl. Inever thought I'd gel back toAfrica. I'd given up hope. But itworked out incredibly betlerthall I had expected".

In 191iO the African churchelected him Bishop of Masasi,Tanzania, where he slJent eight

.yl'ai's training a hlack succes·sion. III 1970 he returned to beBishop or Stepney. Then came a

THE GUARDIAN~onday .June 14 1993

treme right wing. It is thecrunch point. I wouldn't be a bitsurprised to wake up tomorrowan() see there's been a militarycoup d'etat".

One of the conference's aimsis to forge a new form of inter·national solidarity. lIuddles·tone hopes it will agree tu pressorganisations such as the UN,the EC and the Organisation ofAfrican Unity to announce ahuge monitoring exercise forthe election. "And that mightconvilll;e the younger genera·lion that something is going tohappen".

When he was first posted toSouth Africa 50 years ago, itmeant little more to him thanan escape from dreary wartimeBritain. I\ft('r Oxford Univ('rsi­ty he had joined a religiousorder, the Communitv of theHesurrection at Mirfieid, whichwas left wing and based in in·dustrialtowlIs.

no longer patient now, thankGod".

That impatience is crucial tothe agenda of Ihe conference,which opens today. For by a co·incidence which haunts Hudd·lestone, his birthday is also thedemlline for the end of a consul·tation process in which SouthAfrica's parties arc expected toagree a form of transitionalgovernment and the dale for ageneral election, provisionallyApril 27 next year.

"And yet they've got to comeup with something", Huddles·tone says. "Otherwise theyounger generation is going tosay Enough is Enough - asthey said aller the Uoipatongmassacre. The CommonwealthEminent Persons Group said in1911G that unless apartheid iselided Quickly there will be theworst bloodbath since WorldWar Two. I think the crunch isnow.

"Mandela has to be patient ifhe's to suslain his position as agreat international figure. He'sgol 10 be a diplomat. But he'sleading a revolution. It's a verydifficult combination. Alld it'sshown itself with the youngergeneration saying 'Look, it's1I0W three and half years sincede Klerk declared apartheiddead and buried and we stillhaven't got the vole and we'renot going to get the vote - onour terms - unless we take it.They've simply said, if youcan't deliver give us the guns.

"Hope was the operativeword there when I wcnt outthere for .the first ANC meetingon African soil. Now it's threeyears later, umpteen massacreslaler and lnkatha and all therest of it and de Klerk with hisendlessly delaying policies, try·ing to hold together his own ex·

consequences of apartheid deadbefore I am",

Archbishop HUddleston, thetitle with which he retired 10years ago, will be 80 tomorrow.A host of his African friendshave killed two birds with onestone by arranging to be in Lon·don that day for an interna·tional Anti·Apartheid Move·ment conference aptly calledMaking Hope A Reality. Theyrange from ex·President Nyrereof Tanzania to Archbishop Des·mond Tutu, whom Huddlestonknew as a tubercular child 45years ago, to Chinkie Modiga,once one of the hundreds ofchildren who used to tug at hisvestments in his parish of Or·1l1lldo, now Sowclo.

"We had the largest primaryschool in the country, two thou·sand kids", he recalls. "The dayI arrived happened to be Thurs·day, the day we had a ceiebra·tion in the church, and thisflood of black kids came pour·ing out. And I thoughtI'll neverget to know you all but, ofcourse, one did. If Africa takeshold of you that's it, you've hadil. It was the physical demon­strativeness that took me, Ithink, Ihe warmth - and the~('nlleness.

"What I think has been thebll'ssing ami the curse of hlackAfricans is thai they have amagnanimity in oppressionwhich is unbelievahle. I justcan'l imagine how they've heenso pal il'lIl for so long. They're

Archbishop Trevor Huddleston wouldn'tbe surprised to wake up on his 80th birthdayto hear the news that there had beena military coup in South Africa

John Ezard

IN TilE early finles an ob·scure priest In his earlyforties wrote in a bookfrom a black slum districtof Johannesburg, "That

there is no time to be lost intweaking the present govern·ment I am convinced. And ­unlike many whose opinions Igreatly value - I believe that todo this the whole weight ofworld innuence ami world opin·ion should he hrought to bear.The Suuth Africa I love, theland to which I give all the loy·alty that can be demanded, isthat which is built on a sureranrl more permanent founrla·tion than white supremacy. It isa land which at present existsin the hopes, perhaps only inthe dreams, of a few".

Within a decade thi~ auda·cious and lonely project, parllyhegun and unrelentingly pur·sued by Father Trevor Iluddles·ton, had managed to driveSouth Africa from the Com·monwealth. The book wasNaught For Your Comfort, oneof the most influential in mod·ern history. Uut did IH~ ever ex·pect the rest of the job to takeso long'!

.. No," he says penit('nlly,"hul I've always said I want tosec apartheid dl'ad b('I'ore I am.. so they've got 10 get a mow'on. It is still a malleI' of hopl'.lIut I don't exp('ct to sec the

. . VOL. 49, NO, 5. JUNE 1993

BULLEllNTHE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS

SOrTH ,.\FRICA

Acurious conversionBy DAVID ALBRIGHT

Will South Africa's nuclear program be a model for military conversion?Russia has Chemobyl-contaminated areas too, and many of the residents are fearful;

Russia admits it dumped, and will continue to dump nuclear waste at sea

In 1981, Arrnscor completed twobuildings at Kentron Circle, a mainmanufacturing building

and an environmental test facility.The main building manufactured andstored nuclear devices. The environ­mental test facility was involved intesting the reliability of the deviceunder real-world conditions. This ca­pability was particularly importantbecause the weapons were expectedto be reliable without the benefit offull-scale nuclear testing.

A completed nuclear device, made

by the AEC and loaded with highlyennched uranium in 1979. was trans­fen'ed to .-\d\'ena and ~tored, ,\ccord-ing to ,-\rm~cor. the .\EC de\'ice wasnot considered a "qualitied" de~iV1.

which meant that there wa~ not 'anadequate uegI'ee of assurance that itIl'ould detonate as intended or that itI\'ould not detonate accidentalh-.

Acl\'ena manufactured its fi~t nu- Iclear device in April 1982; the delav 'probably renected the problems ;t Ithe Y-Plant. But e\'en this second de­\'ice was considered a "pre-qualifica­tion" model. Design refinements and Ifinal qualification took another two to I

three years, after which the design, was "frozen" for production. When the

program was canceled in ~ovember

1989, Ad\'ena had six devices storedin its security vaults .

Because of the design's simplicity.because redundancy was built intothe device whenever possible, and be­cause Advena had an aggressivequalification program, Arrnscor wasconfident that the device would work'o'ithout a full-scale nuclear test.

Kalahari desert, But after Westernand Soviet intelligence discoveredtest site preparations. South Africaabandoned the project and sealed the jtest holes, (Why :South Africa would Ic~nduct a cold te~t of a gun-type de- I\'Ice underground I~ unclear; perhapsthe test wa>: intended to take place onthe surface,)

The next year. still lacking ~uffi­

cient highly enriched uranium. the I

AEC built a second. smaller gun-typedeVice that could be tested rapidly Ionce It had enough material. Bv I~ovember 1979. the AEC had pro"- Iduced enough highly enriched urani- IIum at Its ¥-Plant at Valindaba. The¥-Plant had begun producing highlyennched uranium in January 1978,but technical problems forced its clo­sure from 1979 until 1981.

In fall 1992 .vuclear Fuel identifiedBuilding 5000 at Pelindaba as the siteof early nuclear weapons manufactur­ing, and it is now believed that thefIrSt device was prepared there. OnMarch 26, 1993, the Sunday LOlldonTImes published an interview 'o'ith aformer South African nuclear scien­tist '!vho was involved in th~ weaponsprogr.un until the mid-I97Os. He saidthat when he worked at Pelindabathere were about 30 scientists work­ing on the bomb. He said they workedin secret in Buildings A and D, whichwere in a high-security compound lo­cated well off a road leading to therecreation area at the facility.

In October 1978, the governmentdecided to shift its emphasis frompeaceful to military devices. Armscorwas given the responsibility for man­ufacturing, with the AEC providingthe uranium. Personnel were trans­ferred to Armscor, although the AECcontinued to provide theoretical andhealth physics support to the Arms-cor weapons operation. I

Arter the government abandonedthe nuclear weapons program in 1989.Ad\'ena was com'erted to a commer­cial facility offering high-tech prod­ucts for the aerospace. mining. medi­cal. and other industries, Advena hasbecome an experiment in the conver­sion of nuclear weapons-related exper­tise to the commercial production ofsophisticated metallurgical. explosive.electronic, and pyrotechnical prod­ucts for domestic and export markets.

Following his March 24 announce­ment, de K1erk invited the Interna­tional Atomic Energy Agency (lAEA)to inspect Advena and other nuclearweapon sites, and the IAEA respond­ed immediately. In response toqueries from the Bulletin and .Vucle·onic8 Week, Armscor said that non­nuclear-specific equipment used atAdvena for non-nuclear commercialpurposes will be available for IAEAinspections. One IAEA official said heexpects Advena to be placed on thelist of South African facilities that willbe inspected regularly.

According to Armscor, which hassupplied an abbreviated history ofthe South African nuclear progr~lm,

in March 1971 the Ministry of Minesapproved research work on "peace­ful" nuclear explosives, which wereconsidered potentialIy useful to themining industry.

Until the late 19708, the SouthAfrican Atomic Energy Corporation(AEC) was responsible for the devel­opment and production Of nuclear ex­plosives. A.first test device was com­pleted in the middle of 1977, but theprogram lacked a supply of highly en­riched uranium. A.rm8cor said thatSouth Africa planned an August 1977"cold" (without uranium) test in the

Following President F. W. de K1erk'ssurprising March 24 announcement­that South Africa had built and thendismantled six gun-type nuclearweapons--Armscor, a government­owned company, revealed that it hadoperated a, see::et nuclear weaponsmanufactunng Slte--originaJly knownas the Kentron Circle facility, nowknown as Advena-25 kilometerswe~t of Pretoria. Many analysts hadbelieved that South Africa's nationalnuclear research center at Pelindabawas the country's nuclear weaponsmanufacturing site.. Advena had extensive capabilities

auned at building a highly reliable

gun-type nuclear weapon deliverableby aircraft. The device was designedto ngorous specifications in order toavoid the need for a full-scale nucleartest. One long-time observer of theSouth African nuclear program saidthat it made sense that South Africanscientists and engineers would havedesigned the "best crude gun-typedevice." However, he added, "Whatdoes not make sense is that theywould have stopped there."

Built during the 1980s, Advena hadmanufacturing capabilities apparent­ly sufficient to produce more sophisti­cated nuclear weapons if South Africahad decided to do so. Although there

i~ no evidence that South Africa pro­duced more weapons than it de­clared. Ad\'ena's competencies implythat South Africa was working onmore sophisticated designs, includ­ing implosion-type weapons, If built,

, these weapons could have been de­ployed on advanced delivery sys­tems. such as ballistic missiles. whichSou:h Africa was also developi~g,

[t is somewhat difficult to under­stand why it took so long to "qualify"a device based on simple gun-typeprinciples. But. Armscor said. Adve­na had to "develop everything in­house due to the security require­ments of the program." The deviceand subsystems were studied careful­ly to insure that they would be highlyreliable and exceed safety require-

I ments. With everything done at Ad­! vena. and with stringent specifica­I tions. it could easily take several

years to accomplish the task.Although a successful gun-type de­

vice is easier to build than an implo­sion-design weapon. it still presents

I demanding mechanical and metallur­, gical challenges. For example. the

barrel must be able to \\;thstand thefiring of a high~ensity uranium plug,which is about ten times denser thana nonnal artillery shell and generatesten times as much pressure on thebarrel breach. Even with specializedgun barrels supplied by the navy, theManhattan Project took a significantamount of time to solve tlus problem.

Armscor has stated that Advenahad problems in the early years inachieving repeatability of projectivevelocity and repeatability of the sym­metry requirements when the projec­tile is shot into the other subcriticalmass; in determining the density ofneutron reflectors; and in attainingadequate reliability of the arming and:'afing de\'ice:"

.\d\'ena \\'a:' expanded in the mid­191"%, ,.1,.ddit ional oifices and laborato­lies were built to accommodate morepersonnel. But .\rmscor :'ay~ no nu­clear material e\'er entered thesenew buildings, An .\rmscor ,.pokes­man says that .\dvena not only madenuclear de\'ices. it pro\'ided otherproducts and 'en'ices to other Arm­:;cor di\'isions.

When the nuclear weapons pro­gram ended. Advena employed about300 people. Within a year, that num­ber was reduced to about 110, whichis the current level.

On April!, 199'2. Advena became adivision of a new commercial group,Denel (Pty) Ltd.. which took over 23of Armscor's 26 subsidiaries and facil­ity companies, (Armscor remains theprocurement organization for SouthAfrica's defense ministry and con­tracts with Denel for military equip­ment.) Denel rents Advena fromArmscor. whi.ch has retained owner­ship of the bwldings.

Denel was created in reaction to se­vere cuts in South Africa's defensebudget following peace agreements inthe region. The cuts led Annscor, thenthe tenth largest arms exporter in theworld, to make massive layoffs andscrap a number of projects. One o(Denel's aims is to find civilian applica-

I tions for Armscor's development andmanufacturing infrastructure, therebymaintaining strong technical capabili­ties. A key part of this strategy is tokeep Armscor's highly skilled work­force from leaving the country. An im­portant goal of this policy is to reducethe likelihood that highly skilled per­sonnel with seMitive know-how willsell their services abroad,

According to Gert Enslin, Advena'sgeneral manager. the transition tocommercial status gained impetus"when it became clear that a termina­tion of the weapons program was in­evitable." When Advena suddenlylost its major product. its survival de­pended on how rapidly it could devel­op commercial products. Enslin ex­plained that the overhead costs asso­ciated with fixed assets and a highlyskilled workforce. customized to theweapons program, were not "con­ducive to a competitive price struc-

ture needed for rapidcommercial marketpenetration." The dif­ficulties of conversionhave also been aggra­vated by the globaleconomic slump of thepast few years.

Enslin said that thescientific and technicalmindset had to beconverted from "tech­nology driven" to "mar­ket driven and busi­ness oriented." In turn,a new culture had to becreated that wouldsupport a market andbusiness orientation.An important part ofthis process. he said,was the creation of newcareer opportunities.

Despite the interna­tional embargo onSouth Africa. Advenadeveloped an extensivearray of nuclear-weap­ons manufacturing ca­pabilities. By the timethe program ended. Advena had ex­tensive capabilities in high explosives.theoretical calculations, metallurgy.high-speed electronics. environmentaland reliability testing. and ultra high­speed diagnostics.

Advena seems a good deal more ca­pable than a gun-type device wouldhave required, According to one nu­clear weapons expert, the type oftechnology and high-explosive capa- Ibilities at the site are "not normall.\·ass( "iated "ith gun-type bombs."

There is no evidence that more so- Iphisticated weapons, such as implo­sion-type nuclear weapons or minia­turized devices. were ever produced.But Advena personnel appear to havebeen working on those types of wea- ,pons, Whether an.\· parts for such de- 'vices were developed is unknown at Ipress time.

Advena\ current product line in­cludes sophisticated hilZ'h explosi\'csfor mining and other applications. Ad­vena could make specially ,.haped ex­plosive charges for implosion weap­ons, AccordinlZ' to one of it,. ad\'ertis­ing brochures, Ad\'ena can customdesign high explosives to produceshaped shock wa\·es. According to theDecember 4, 1992, Engilleerillg .\'el.l'.~

(South Africa). Advena's Cone-Pak"is easily applied. requiring nodrilling. It produces little fling rockand is suitable to be used near under­ground services,"

Other specialties include explosiveshaping of metals and explosivewelding of metals normally consid­ered incompatible using conventionalwelding methods. One C.S. official fa­miliar with these proce,.ses said thatexplosi\'e welding and forming i,."tough to do," and it implies a hill:hdegree of knowledge about using hi!rhexplosives.

Ad\'ena has full.\· instrumented te:'tfacilities that can handle indoor deto­nations of 10 kilograms of hij<h cxplo­sives. and its em'ironmental test facil­ity is licensed for component:' andsy,.tems containinj< up to an equi\'a­lent of :10 kilogram" of T:\T.

Accordinj< to Ellqil/PI',-ill{/ .\'Pf/''',Alh'ena maintain:, clean room, forthe product ion nf uitra-rt'liahlf' t'1t'c­t""nie ml,dult':' I','ml'lt·nwnt",d hy (-n­\'ironmental tt':'t falilitie, that can"imulate a \I'ide ranj<e of \'ihrat ion.temperature. humidity. and pre,­:,ure cundition:" l'on:,ultatiIJn onelectronic and :,tructural d""ij<n isal,.o a\·ailable. Alh'ena ha:' a te:'t

I oven that can simulate humidity andpressure at 50.000 feet, with a tem­perature range from -60 to 1~0 de­grees centigrade,

Ach'ena also has extensi\'e metal­lurgical capabilities. [ts com'entional­l~' formed thin metal plates and:,heets require little finishing, It alsoha,. powder metallurgy capabilities.And Advena i,. the sole source oftung"ten composites in South Africa.(Thngsten was used as a neutron re­flector in the gun device.) Advenaalso has a hot isostatic press that cancompact castings into high integrityproducts. The pre,.s also ~hapes met­ab that are hard to fOl'ge and ca,.tcum'entionall~', (Such a pre"s can beused to form beryllium metal andtunj!"ten carbide into reflector" fornuclt'ar device:'.)

The "ite abn produce:, permanentrare earth maj!net:'. \\'hich cuuld hE­u:,tful to IlranluJn centrifuge pro­J..'Tam" Tht· majo!' tYl'e. cobalt samar­ium mag!wt '. an' u:,('d in the tupmagnetic Iwal'lll)! or it eentrifu.'!e,Iraq', :'Pt'l't'l uraninm ct'ntrifulle pm­l1Tam itequin't1l'ohalt :'am:llium mag­net:' from Eurollt'an :,upplier",

The fiteility al", prot!uees pyro­technical product:' that can producedetonation-driven automatic decou­piing, activating. and safeguardingdevices, as well as "strategic pyro­technical products."

• South .\frica invested heavily inAlh'ena when it was a nuclear weap­ons manufacturing "ite. Its presentmanagement is working to de\'elopattractive commercial products.

Athena's output-particularly itsexports-needs to be scrutinized toinsure that it does not contribute. di­rectly or indirectly, to another coun­try's nuclear weapons program. Inaddition. the South African govern­ment needs to insure that fonner or

I current pmployees do I.ot pr;-l\';'le~en~itive know-how or 'en'ices tolither nuclear weapons pl'Oln'am~.

.\t a minimum. the l.-\EA -houldperiodically in"pect Ach·ena. and the ISouth African j.(o\'ernment :,houldjf]in the :\uclear Suppliers (;roup !and agree to abide fully hy its )lUide- Ilines for exports lif nuclear and "dual­use" technology, equipment. andproducts, •

David Albl'1ght, the prp.~ident of fheII/,~titllte for Science alld Intel"la­tiol/ol Security ill W",'lhlllgtOIl, D,C"i.'! a Bulletin cOlltribllting editor.