EPISCOPAL CHURCHPEOPLE for a FREE SOUTHERN AFRICAECSA.

#23

Phone: (212) 477-0066

BACK INTO ANGOLA

339 Lafayette StreetNew York, N.Y. 10012

16 October 1985

The alarming report in today's WASHINGTON POST, reproduced below, is amanifestation of what has been building up behind the scenes for sometime - the drive to get the United States directly involved in the warin southern Africa. This past summer the US Congress panicked, in. themidst of a welter of ·talk about communism and international terrorism,and repealed the lO-year-old Clark amendment which forbade US involve~

ment in Ango~a. Then a fortnight ago Rep. Claude Pepper introduced in­to the House of Representatives a bill to supply UNITA in Angola with$27 million in 'non'lethal' .aid. Now, the heavy stuff. We must urgent­ly press our legislators not to commit our country ~o war, a bottomlesspit, on Pretoria's side in the African subcontinent.

-5}TilE WASHINGTON ~'T' {

·NewAidTo Angola,RehelsEyedProponents Say u.s.Should Show ResolveAgainst Communism

By David B. OttawayW....1lOII PaM Slaff Wricer

The Reagan administration is inthe midst of a major policy reviewto decide whether to resume- U.S.military aid to noncommunist guer­rillas fighting Angola's Marxist gov­ernment, according to congression­al and intelligence sources.. The· review has touched off an

acrimonious interagency debatethat pits the administration's globalstrategists, intent upon showing:U.S. resolve against the growingSoviet and Cuban military role inAngola, against its "regionalists,·who fear U.S. aid to the guerrillaswill end U.S. efforts to negotiate apeaceful set't1ement to the disputeover NanJibia, or Southwest Africa.

The debate takes place amid ad­ministration preparations for theNov. 19-20 summit between Pres­ident Reagan and Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev, and a numberof policy-tnakers are arguing that'OW is the time for Washington to'Dd a strong message to Moscow'ut the U:S. resolve-not only to\ noncommunist guerrilla forcesngola but elsewhere in the

/

WEDNESDAY. OCroBER 16, 198~ ,-

In,addition, they-are arguing that'GorbacDev is behind recent offen­si~ by Soviet-allied governments­in Afghanistan, Nicaragua and Ethi­opia against noncommunists figbt­ing in those- countries a,d that the­United States must resPond to'DoI­ster its position going into the sum­mit.. At least two National ~tyC.ouocik:haired meetings have beenheld, the latest last Friday. in ad- •dition, a Special National Intel1i­genc:e- Estimate, a· quick in-depth .study by the various brailChes of theintel1igence community, is underway to determine the Soviet role,intentions and prospects in Angola,according to intelligence and con­gressional sources.

At issue is whether the UnitedStates should provide either mili­tary or humanitarian aid to the non­communist National Union for theTotal Independence of Angola(UNITA) led by Jonas Savimbi,whose guerrillas fighting in south­ern Angola have recently been un­der heavy pressure from the Soviet­supplied and Cuban-aided forces ofthe Marxist government. A subsid­

.iary question is whether this aidshould be provided through covertor overt U.S. channels.

Earlier this month, sources saidboth the CIA and Pentagon seemedto favor covert military aid similar

to the assistance being ~~-to-the ~ebela in­Afghanistan.

Also being studied is the possible imposition of a trade embargo, affecting either U.S.exports to Angola, the importation ofAngolanoil, or both, a step being urged on the admin-'

. istration by conservative Republican groupslike the Conservative Caucus and the Amer­ican Security Council.

According to government sources. th&.Central Intelligence· Agency, the Pentagon I Opponents of such a policy'say ;waDd. the NSC staff all stroagIy support mill- U.s. alignment with UNITA will ine.'fitabIytary aid-perba\» even C0gert" assistance- draw Waahington into- a closel- aiIiance

· wbil&tbe StateoDepartment.is said to be-juat.. white-ruled South Africa. UNITA's Is.as vehemently opposing. any shift from the-I portaIIt IOIIn:e of support, and IIIIdermiIie the.c:...'"Yellt U.5. policy of no a_"","" at all. . '. I adminiatratlon's efforts to presaure

"We sti1l don't think· providing arms is the '. to reform' its apartheid system. Southway to. do it,· said a State Department . is preeeatIy the main supplier of arma the-spokesman. adding, "We think negotiations ia conduit for- other outside miJitary aid to

· the way out." He· was referring to U.S efforts UNITA.to resolve, througlrQegotiations the twin .~ Claude Pepper' (D-FIa.).problems of the' widtdrawal of Cuban troops the House Rules Committee; introd b'from Angola-now said to number as many earlier tbja, month autborizing. the U.s, gav-as 35,000, up 5,000 from Iast-year-and in- emment to provide up to $2'iJDiJlion in 00-dependence for- South African.administered manitarian aid only to UNITA, aad Sen. eNamibia. '- . . . . Symma (R-Idabo) is "seriously thinking" about, An administration-decision to ask Congrea sponaoring a Similar bill in tlIe Senate, acmrd-for overt assistance is likely to touch off an- ing to an aide. .other bitter debate' there si:nilar to the one "We're waiting for- word from the White .over U.S. aid to anticommunist forces, known House,· an aide to Pepper said. "We feel

• 31 the "contras; in Nicaragua. I there will be significant deveJopmerita in a:",. A 'debate. over V.S. policy toward Angola 1 matter of daYs."

.. took place in 1975-76 after it was discovered I Savimbi has asked the- United States for­, that the CIA waa.secretly funneling more Imilitary aid, though he baa not submitted any· than $30' million in military and other assist- written request to Washington yet, according'ante to two rebel factions, one of them ' to Jeremias K. Chitunda, UNITA foreign af-UNITA, whicl1 were then locked in a three- fairs secretary. .way civil war and· power struggle ultim;;tely Chitunda said in an interview that tmtTA'swon by the now ruling Popular Movement for top priority right now was antitank and an­t.be Liberation of Angola (MPLA). In January tiairttaft weapons to counter the Angolan1~76, Congrea pueed the Clark amend- government's Mig fighters, Hind helkopterment, which wa. spoaaored by then-5en. Dick gunships and tanks recently supplied by theClark (D-Iowa), banning any further covert Soviet Union.military aid to AngoiaD rebels... He said $50 million in military aid would be

ThatamentfuJent was repeal~ by Con- more useful than $100 million in humanitar­gress last July, opening the way for the de- ian aid. "Humanitarian aaai3tance is just a waybate now going on inside the administration of evading ••• the issue ... , • he added.over whether to resume aid to UNITA. Chitunda ueerted that the Soviets had de-

Supporters of a renewed American-mvolve- livered $2 billion worth of arms in the past 18ment on the side of UNITA say there may be months. but U.S. intelligence sources said itless congressional opposition this time be- was I1lOre like $1 billion worth since Januaryoause of Soviet and Cuban involvement in 1984.Angola and the fact that the United States _

has never had diplomatic relations with theMarxist Angolan government. In addition,State Department efforts to negotiate a s0-

lution to the Namibia dispute, or a withdrawalof Cuban troops from Angola, have been un-successful.

Angolan offensive crushed;' but was it by rebels or Pretoria?

Riddle of Lomba

_ FIghter pilot Matamba, 22 : Taken prisoner

ALLISTER SpARKS

reports on clai~~ aridcouilter-claims after. a

bloody bush battle'·

..

able t1at a mortar or rocketattack by ground troops coulddestroy such a large group ofvehicles and leave them burntout. 'It seems more like an airstrike with napalm,' was thespecialists' assessment.

There is a question, too,about a wrecked Mi-25 heli­copter gunship which we wereshown. The Angolan armyclaims. six of these hugemachines were destroyed in a'South African air raid on 30September.

The UNITA officer whoconducted us around thebattlefield, Lieutenant Colonel

'Paulo Gato, said th~ one wesaw bad been brought down bya l20mm mortar as it hoveredlow to pick up some Russians.

Is it possible to shoot down ahelicopter with a mortar ? Yes,says the military expert, butnot probable. The chopperwoUld have to be very low,about 50 ft, and shrapnel fromthe ground explosion wouldhave to hit a sensitive part ofthe control mechanism.

Savimbi told us he had hopedto be able to put some Russianprisoners on display, but hisguerrillas had not managed tocapture any' because theAngolan forces had gone togreat lengths to remove themfrom dangerous situatiollS withhelicopters.

In the event we saw only twoprisoners, botb Angolans. Onewas the pilot of a Mig-21 whogave his name as Francisco

did not request it, and'SouthAfrica was not prepared to giveit'

When I put Forinigo's deti.ilsto defence headquarter1l inPretoria last week, theydeclined to comment, sayingallegations of South Africanintervention had already beendenied at ministerial level.

It was impossible for thejournalists to judge which sideis teiling the .truth. Theextensive dam.:ige We saw as wedrove about 12 miles actoss thescene of the battle looked tolaymen as though it could havebeen caused either by airattacks or by l'!e 'IT'"guerrillas, wbo have mortars,armour-piercing rockets, anti­aircraft guns ilnd some SAM-3nUssiles.

However, the many unburiedbbdies, and a group of about 20trucks - one with' <I StalinOrgan rocket launcher on theback ~ that had been des­troyed in one place, did suggestthat there was a sudden, large­scale attack in a campaign thathad been going on for nearlytwo months.

Can guerrilla troops on theground destroy 20 trucks all atonce? An independent militaryspecialist to whom I describedthe scene thinks not. He pointsout t1at soft-skinned vehicleslike that would not normally bein the forefront of the fighting,but kept in the rear out of reachof infantry attackers.

He alsO regards it as improb-

Savimbi, a leading Portuguesejournalist was being given Idifferent version by Angolanmilitary commanders a fewhundred miles further north.. Benjamim Formigo, foreigneditor of the respected Lisbonweekly Exprmo, was told thatthe hea~ damage. and casual­ties which we saw had beencaused by a seri~;' of SouthAfrican air raids. ..

A few day's later Formigo and.' 'September and 3 October­I compared hotes on out the same periOd 'during whichseparate briefings by the Savimbi clahns to have won hisopposing sides in' this bitter victory. .. .battle, in a long telephone . Both SaVlmbl ll!Id Southconversation. !f.e gave me Africa deny the in~erventlon.

details of the I.~ reciseJimes " 'There was ~ot i stng.l~ Southwhen the Angoh\:s claim South. African here, SaVlmbi told usAfrica carried ou; six 'dewstat- at briefing dn a,· (orwarding raids o'n' thi'ir' positions' bunker.• W~ did not neednorth of Mavinga between 28 South African assistance, we

IT WAS obviously a majorbattle. The question is, whofought it?

A grim scene awaited a groupof correspondents who flew inlast week in an ancient Dakota,then travelled by truck alongsand-trllcks through the bushof sc;;thern t.ngola to abattlefield on the banks of theLomba River, 25 miles north ofthe shattered town of Mavinga.

The flat bush country wasstrewn with the corpses ofAngolan army soldier.; and theburnt-out hulks of Russian­built armoured cars and troopcarriers. .

Tne rebel UNITA movementclaims to have won a greatvictory the~e over the past fewdays, turning back a deter­mined attempt by the Angolanarmy, under the command ofRussian officers, to drivethrough to Jonas Savimbi'sheadquarters at Jamba, 150miles further south.

Savimbi told us at a briefingin a forward bunker that he hadbeen able to repel the attack bymassing his guerrillas in .thearea between Mavinga and.theLomba.

He claims to have inflictedmore than 2,000 casualties onthe Angolan army and to havedestroyed large quantities ofRussian-made military hard­ware, including 79 vehicles andfive giant Mi-25 helicoptergunships.

But as we were being giventhis account of the battle by

Wreelt of a Runtan MI-25 helicopter gunship, one of five which UNITA claims It shot down

Maramba,22. He said Russians while flying a bombing rlIid on Savi~bi ciai~ed 15 helicop- were strafed on the ground, asand Cubans were helping to fly Mavinga on 3 October. He said ters, including the Mi-25s, and Angola claims.the Angolan air force's Mig- he had not seen any South six other Angolan planes were • Frederik van Zyl Slabbert,21s, Mig-23s, Su-22 ground- African aircraft during the 45 destroyed in the fighting. leader of the Progressivestrike fighten and Mi-25 missions he had flown in the Given the numbers, it seemed Federal Party, South Africa'shelicopters. campaign; although Angolan strange that there were no white opposition, had talks in •

Matamba, who spoke Russ- rlIdar operlltors had told him Russian or Cuban pilots-or Lusaka yesterday with seniorian, said he was shot down by they had seen some on their their bodies - on display. officials of the outlawed Afri-a UNITA anti-aircraft gun screens. Unless, of course, the airCr2ft can National Congress.

-T:hre.e: bla:cks:ale<~iiilde~'."':','::,,'~d''~: ~e':;'ft~~>~e:',t.n'JCO . t"'';:o~~'':'n~j':~;:;='~:;l'~'n;;:';-~~i::;~~~~~,

, .' ' -. . '.' : ,,I,:' : . ::,.:-~~ . ~., ";;1~;~

·.'8'-""0'"u',:",',:t":~-:'~h";";~Af'c~"""':r::'~:~I;:'C":~a;{C,:;.~• ~ • •. ~ I ,~.,.. . . .",(.

it~Dr~trickr;au~en~e~--:,:,'~ . matelyo tlJ'"deatlr" in", detiiIrtiOn,'· ,m' Johanesburg; ,.,,>,••• ,',';,' l~i'~l''''of ,wmch:., we- hayei: seenr- 5!}­

,', r;'Three,i ~black,,;merr, '.from:,.-:t si'n~ tIie'lntri>duction;':of:'d~

· SmaibE' tawnshi~..of; Ginsberg' in: ~~~dtiOynest' 'erolaWaS.y": the. c~IDIDj.~e;

, th-&·. ~stern',' ......pe;:,"the", home' ,..... , ' • ' \ /" --, I, .< ,'; .:;"1. '.

toWIl"'ot 'the- black; consciotis~': '" The-_DESR,_whose.statement-', ness I leader; ·SteVle- 'Biko--,' who· came as.a. judgec-cri: the. :East''''" died:.'}n'·detention in'1977;,have ern--" Cape < Supreme' .'Court,~, dreci,,:,in:,~t.ll$,'I:ast:'five--;:'week:>< issued., an-~""ordeE'..--restrainifug- Wit.liin'nours' Of"thefr--iriest.' po!i-ce"" ftoni.:~ assaulting,,' "de-

t:Th-e:men. ,were:,iill;,',.~~r~; tai.nees. in' two Port' Elizabeth,·or', the.<King:;iWilIiam~s;To.wn prlSC?nsa~all future":~ple:

.-- Youth. '.Lea-gue. '. an. a~liate j of. detain~lf,;: In.''': two-,,',~cts,. :~'- -me anti-apartheid Umted' Dem- ,added -;, :Jiee:an:-: onli< ·fe~ ." ocratic.' Front. :"The.: ,youngest. that more-. su-ehdeath~::~" ill' "r Geor.ge 'Thenrl>a1ak:e; was' onlY' the.: o~g' for a,S' Jong...ClS:- th~/,- 15 when he died: Olli August 16 polIce operate. Wltfi .~c~:lID!brr~,,'in hospiW'tinder police' guard~ dl~ ~w~~;'=~;._~\· :~::,i11!:~~:'~.::':, ,The'last' of'the three: ta- be' . The -l-awyer,:.' acting::;,for-' ,Dr ~',- .:lrrest~' bypolire. MbuyiselaWendy·;;Orr.' the.,yo~mgrdistrict, ," Mbot'y:i,.".died. ' last:· _Saturday,; surgeon-' jri. Po~Ellzabetb'wlio. ".,only .hoUrs"after' his' arrest: OIl wentA~the.:SUpl'eme:'{;oart'-Qn:,.,..~da;y:r~t..:Apost~m-ortem 'be~f\::~:,:¥"",~tainees:,:::'arid: "-

eXaIIl)lI3tion., conducted by the their' ~I-elatives;-'yestel'~ex.­local' district. surgeon" 'showed pressed:. 'concern' . aver.<'·'her·~t:;,he.,died from head inju,..', fUture'; ..~M1;;:Halton;-'CheadltZ·ri~p ..lawy-ers" ~ting. ,for' the' salid,:i.~~IaaIt.·ltPprehensive-;"that:

, M:botya-family. said. yest~y-.__ . ·there: ,':>:', wi:lf..:;'""·,,be~-'-,·l'eprisalS: ;:~:,,_. Mi::iDudle-i_ van., Heerd<!n.- ontagainstr/Dt-'· Om:' an<t'~thatr:she- ;'0,£tI1e;law,y-ers representin~ the- will-: eitne1'" be' ',suspen~'ed'-'LoE'.dead'man's family.: ,said:. '·Hi-s 'di-smiSsed~~" " ,r. '. ""',, i';'··.." ''};',;:' .

, i-amily dispute 'the. police ac-'· Th~: MimsteE·iJr'.~r.aw"'and. count, of~ the events'leading to Order..'·Mr';, 1Aui~: Ie..- .Grange ' .his' ~~ath:':. .-' '. ..' 'yesterdltY:'J±ad:m:i comment- on

',' Ac-cording to ~he>pohce,.Mt t.l1e;'j~4gment':'-'arid,'c:said.he-, ~rbotya ·became ill after- ,beIng would. onl$~·spe:ak:-.afterreading ,·arrested an~ :wa~, taken :first ~o the full court orde~ ~, .. '..,qre~ HOSPItal In King. Wil- '.TI1ejudidarY"'Partl~ularly·inham~.T~and the? t~ .Fr~r,e Natal,. has' recently. becomeHospItaL m. the. neIghJbounn:g 'nl<Jre inclined to check-abusetown' of.~._London.: ~~. vauofpowel" of: security .police. .Heerd-en: ~·saI<f. however., .that, Four Internal SeeuritY'''Act de- .

l the '. f~!Y ~YS he. w~ tai.nees ]iave been. freed-': andI ·~dumped.. outsIde' Grey HOSPI- in:-another.four-cases;' the' Natal

\

tal., 'by poh~ who 'W011ld h,aveSupreme Court has eitherdnv-en ,off; but :were spotted, by stop:peQ poliee: from. ,assaultingnurses. '. '. ; .' detaIIl-ees or.', order-ed.

But for the Detam~es Par- investigations; , " ':.' :',-;; .. ~t:s.Support Comnuttee.· a Proiessor' John Dugard~'the'j ~lVil nghts ,grou:p, these de~ths dire-ctor of It.~e Centre fo~ Ap:- .~ may have, passed UIlJnot~ced plioed.Legal. Studies, sees. these·-aID:1d, ..the- many;· detentions, cases as evidence, of .. growing:~del' em~r,gency, re.gu1atlons concern: by· the, courts at)l?~duc~dm ~ulY~', _ : charges -. af, torture and of' a. .Past,eX~Ienee ll!!s: shown:. desire by judges to uphold. the

that detentIon a:nd ?ohtary con- i-ndepend-enceof the judiciary. .finement leads meVItably to as- . .sault' and torture and ulti-'

'THE GUARDIAN 9

II,

FRIDAY PEOPLE!L2 eM

___..,...._...,..._._'*('ett 3M' WBhSB+¥

DoctoratI.arge,DR WENDY ORR. the young-­South African medical offi­cer who ·has won -an: unprece­dented court ord<!r- restrain­ing, police '£rom, assaultingdetainees in Port Elizabeth'sprisons.., acted' in, secret; fear-<.

, ing: interierenca. .b,y two-:' su'=,peri<>tS. wh!)., h.!.d:, b~en- P,ub-.licly., censured .. after Steve,

, Biko~s' ,death fn-- <;ustody eight, r,eats' ago. " , ' ,

Yesterda;,: , 'she, - was in­structed to' do no furtherwork. or answer telephone

'. calls before meeting a senior, official in, the Port Elizabeth

district'", ,surgeon's office.where she has worked, since'earlie" ~ :iear..~IIer,_ testk

: many on Wednesday, baed· on:her'daily exa:mplinations of

detainees;. elqlosed systemtitic'assault and abuse. ' '

D.. Orr, who is 25, was onthe threshold of a brilliantcaree... Whlle, at school in'Pretoria. s~ was namtld'South Africa's- top ,science'student., She' studied medi­cine at the University, of

· Cape· Town under Professor. Frances Ames" a noted civil

· rights campaigner:After completing her de­

gree she chose to live' inPort" Elizabeth to be nearher father, a Presbyterianminister. .

She· claims, that she- in­formed her superior. Dr, IvorLang., of her concem several

• weeks ago. Dr' Lang;, whom· the- Medical and Dental

Councilfound' guilty 'of eight

r:arJ,~ Sfe~~PB~~~;~:n~u,.1;ordered' her to make ,copiesof detainees- complaints.U These _copi-es were to pro­teet- themselves. against anyclaims of torture," her law­yer Halton Cheadie, toldPeople' yesterday. .. There'was no- question of her tak·ing' actiorr with their consent.The fear was that they mighttake preventative action,"

Mr Cheadle thought she,had weighed' the conse­quences - carefully. .. It wasnot an easy decision, but shehas stuck by. it the whole'way. She is a self-effacingperson- and is not in it ,forthe publicity. But she's verystrong, with a background inthe Presbyterian Church anda, commitment to·' medIcalethics.. She's not <L memberof a political organisation al~though she· has her own

.ideals." - "He believes Dr- Orr's whis­

tle blast is symptomatic at ashift in public mood."People are seeing they canno longer acquiesce. But wefear there's ~oing to be some"form at repnsal. It would bevery foolish' to arrest' her:the international, uproarwould be massive. But welive in a society that is not

, above foolishness." , ' -

THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1985

\'

"

"Significant~~ rulings,:. (1

,

on"ipalice :Ubrutality;~),.~. I,

From Patrick Laurence '. scrIption activists - :were con-In Johannesburg t ~ ':' ij ' .., "sist~nt,.with ,the.. act, ' . .

When the young district sur- Profess?r A!11hony Mathew,s,geon, Dr Wendy Orr, told a of the. Ul1J1verslty of Natal.., saidSupreme Court· judge on t~e, JUdg~ents were very"W d d f" hI' s[gmficant.

~ nes ~y 0 overw e mmg "The police can no longert c::':l. eVIdence of ~ssault on, 8!ld detain people as they wish.,.. abuse ofl deta~nees by pollee under Section 29 It may evenIf '-1" she was breaklOg what South' '11 I'":' > Africa's veteran opposition MP, be more genera y app Icabl~.., ~. Mrs Helen Suzman" yesterday to t~e Internal Secunty Act. I,

".);.~,; 1:1..... .•••• labelled the .. ominous consl>ir- SeetlOn 29, one o~ four clauses ", acy of silence ,I .by civil ser-: i!J. the. Act providlOg for .deten·

.> ' vants on police treatment of tlOn, IS. the most. draco~lan as.: . .. It provrdes for lOdefimte de-'1, Z. detamees.. tention in solitary confinement. . I'

'! til. The chalrmlln ?f .the Law- Apart from' the case inyers for Human Rl~htS\, Mr which Dr Orr was. an urg~t

.- ~., Jules Browde, said,· For applicant, there have been at,E; I ~hose of us ~ho have been least four further judgments

~., 0. lOvolved in oases of .allegations restricting police power, either ,.~: ~ . of ill-treatment agamst police through orders' restraining the'h tI1 teStimony, Dr Orr's Is a very, . , ';,~~" rarE! experience,'1 The scale of .':~ c..: her testimony, referring' to.', BISHOP Desmond Tutu yes­~,~ S dozens of case$ ,of alleged as- 'terday began a 24·hour hunger~ co' sault; was: .unprecedented, he: strike to protest at the use;1 ~ added.' . of soldiers against rioters Inf· t-.'J ~ Mrs Suzman' -- :who In 1976 black townships, At the same'.{, 00\ tried to seek eVidence from time, the army launched a'j..i~ state' doctors for: scores of three-lveek project In Tem­

f, ~',. rep'orts of children beingblsa townsMp, near JohanneS­:-:',' til', ' blinded by shotgun pel!ets '"'7 bourg; to bUII~ sports fields:,; :,. expected that· Dr Orr s ,eVI-' and upgrade roads. - AP."- dence could serve as a catalyst

and inspire similar action from . .the ranks· of .conforming pollee from assaultlOg ~e-'bureaucrats. " \~tainee~, or th~ough orders I,n- '.!

.. Sh' 'h . blazed a path for st~uctlOg magistrates and ~1~' 'I,e as tnct surge!lns to VdSlt

those . who . have previously detainees to mvestigate allega­be~n. dead silent for fear of, tions of torture and report10~lOg their jobs, Mrs Su.z~an back to court.. ,said. Mr ,Browde ,~greed. It· .. P,rofessor John Dugard, (Ii•. \,.Is a IIl;?st important rector of. the centre. for Ap-\ ~breakthro,ugh.. . . plied Legal Studies, saw these '

Dr. Orr s eVIdence ?f torture,' judgments as a sign that the .1,­which led to an mjunction judges were asserting their in­restralndrg police from assault- dependence and as a responseing detamees from two prisons to' criticism that the courts'in Port Elizabe~h, came amid a: have riot been active enoughseries of deciSIOns by the Su- in curbing abuse of power,preme Court ag~in'St the abuse Judges could, however, exet-of power by pollee .in the exer- cise even greater control over-cise of'thelr powllrs of deten- . police power- through 'theirtion' and tr~atment of right to visit prisons and checkdeta,inees. On detainees at first hand, Mrs

In Natal.. the 'Supreme Court Suzman said, She noted thathas ordered the release of four judges in the Transvaal hadpeople detained under Section not .asserted their indepen··29 of 'South' Africa's Internal dence in the 'Same way asSecurity Act. The orders were those in Natal and the Easternmade becau~e the police did Cape. .'. ,not show that the,ir reasons for As Mr Browde saw it', thedetaining the four' - Mrpower arbit~rily.,to detain.E.arhl.y Kearney, Director of peQple leads mevltably to thethe religious, organisation, abUSe of the power and ill­Diakonia, and three anti,cori- treatment of detainees.

Some Had Perlorated EanIrumJJAbout half of them, .he said. said ,

they had been assaulted. The1.r gymp- !toms. she 5ll.id, included perforatedeardrums' an inju.ry cooslstent withheavy blu:..s to the side of the rn.ad.

One man said he had been made to.tand barefoot while a poUcemandropped bric1tll onto his feet. Some, .besald. spoke of a form of torture called"the helicopter," whereby detaIneesare pUJ1lOl'tedly handcuffed with theirhands between their l~ In such a waythat they can be suspended from a pole.spun around and beaten.

Between July 22 and Sept. 16. shesald. she had r'!COrded 286 aIlegatiOtUof pollce ,,-,sault.

In 60 01 tboe<! case, .he 5ll.id, detain­eeS had fada1 inJuries, and another 26had weals and bilsters such as mighthave been cataed by whipping, sevenhad injuries llltely to have been In­flicted while the detainee was being .....strained. she said. and 48 had such.generalized wounds that they could oothave been caused In police action to ar·rest people or dls'perse a mob. Four ofthem she said, had 110 injuries whenthey 'wen! tim examined but "werelater found to have injuries consiteotwith assault." _One man had bruls1ngon Ills genitals. she said:

Another man. she 5ll.id. assert"ll that•he had been forced to drink gasoline.

Police, CGmDuuIder ShIftedThe fOrUler pollce chief In Port Eliza·

beth, Brtg. Chris Swart, has Just beentransferred to Cape Town, apparently ;to stiffen official action there agalnst

~:'courtappearance In Cape Towntoday, three men 01 mixed radal de­scent held on 8.r.!OO charges. were I"&­leased on ball sbortly before their law­yers planned to bring alfldavtts beforea: magistrate accusing the police ofbruta.llty.

Jerome Booylien, aged 21 years, saidthat he struggled with the polie>! andwas hurled to the fiOOt'. "Wblle I wasbeing pinned down." he said in affida­vit "another per:IOO held the Inner tubetightly around my bead and I could ootbreathe."

While he was being treated in thisway, he said. another person stoOd onhis stomach and kicked biro.

Andre Jeftah, aged 21, said he wasthreatened with death and kicked In the

'stomach. The thir<I person. JamesOdendaa1. aged 19 years, said be suf­fered s1.rni.lar treatment. All three saidIn alfldavits that they had been interro­gated by two black pollcemen lIIld anumber of white offIcen.

Earlier the pollcs said a blaclt manhad died in poUce custody in KIng WU­llam's Town. The man, MbuyiseloMborya, was the third to die In policecustcxly there since Aug. 16. He died onSaturday, the police said Sunday, afterbeing arrested Friday on what theycal.led a criminal charge. .

DetaInees 'BnrtaJly AMaulted'"What disturbs me most is that .Ie­

tainees are being taken out of my carefor the Plll'l""'" of Interrogation and,during the~ 01 the1.r interroga­tion, are brutally assaulted." she said.

She said complaints of pollee brutal­ity had been registered "on a vastscale" and said the pollce. made im·mune under emergency-powers legis­lation from legal action against them,were "quite Wlrestrained" in theirtreatment of detainees.

As a dIstrict surgeon, Dr. Orr said.she was obliged to monitor the physicalcondition of detainees.

"An inordinately large proportion ofthem complained to me that they hadbeen assaulted by the police," sbe said."They had symptoms consistent withtheir complaint~, mostly severe multi­ple weals. bru1.sing and swellIng."

In her testimony, sbe 5ll.id that onAug. 16she had examined about 170 de­lainees who had been seized the previ­ous day.

[n Port Elizabeth, Judg<> JohannesEksteen issued ao order today "re­straining" the poUce from assaultingdetainees at two prtsons in the dty, St.Albans and North End. The order ap­plied, he said, to any future detaineesin the areas nf P')rt E1iT."b<!th "n<!Uitenhage, ne.iguoon.ug aUluul0U ....ecenters gripped by recession andviewed as centers of unrest a1Id repre5­sion.

The judge sa1.d h1.s ruling was to beread to detain""" at the two prisons.Sine>! the declaration of the state ofemergency. more than 3,500 peoplehave been detained under its provisions

; and roughly 2.000 of them are believed, to be stili held, over 600 of them In PortL Elizabeth_

Ii Some detaJ.nees In other areas havealso complained of torture.

44 SIBJJed Comp[alnts.The Judge's ruling foll<lW<'<l com·

plaints by a group of 44 people, includ­ing prominent churdlmen and laborunlonlllts, protesting the treatment ofdetainees.

But'the most telling testimony camefrom Dr. Orr, a graduate of the Univer-'sity of Cape Town who has been work­ing since January as a Governmentphysician In the offices of Dr. lvorLang. Dr. Lang, an offldally appointedmedical. officer, ls one of two doctors

.censured In July for Improper conductin the treatment of Mr Biko In 1977.

"The overwhelming evidence p.....sented to me." Dr. Orr said In paperspresented to the court. "convlnced methat detainees were being "Y'!tematl·cally assaulted and abused after theirarrest and before being admitted toprison. and also during the1.r incan:era·tlon." ~

By ALAN COWELLSpeoal to The /'I~ York Times

PRETORIA ORDEREDTO STOP BEATINGS

Judge Finds Pulice AssaultedPrisoners in Port Elizabeth

JOHANNESBURG. Sept. 25 - ASouth African judge tcxlay ordered thepolice in Port Eliza.beth to refrain fromassaulting detainees held under thecountry's state-of-emergency decr~.

The decision represented the firstjudicial acknOWledgement of policebrutality and a victory for a 25-year-<llddistrict surgeon. Wendy Orr. who hadcampaigned against what she calledsystematic assaults on prisoners by thepolice.

The developments also represented .the most comprehensive indictment ofpolice brutality';t1'f~-nl\E!'l1eclarationofa state of emergency in 36 districts onJuly 21. It offered a picture of unseenviolence in police cells that cample-- 1ments that of the more public blocxl- Ished of the nation's black townships IdUring what has become a black upris.ing against white minority rule.

Complal.'!ts of Brutality--'"

..:00 thett release, detainees have ac· :cused the police of unwarranted vio.­lence. but the court hearing tcxlayseemed to offer a far more detailed in­dictment of police actions.

Port Elizabeth has a reputation forharsh police tactics.

Steve Biko. leader of the Black Con­sciousness movement, was interT"O-­gated there before his death in 1977 inpolice custody_ Political activists ac­cused the police of complicity in the :

:. lTl~er of Matthew Goniwe. a promi-

J./ Continued on Pnge A15, Column I I

/- nent anti-apartbeld campaigner. In;

June of this year. ,

I And a report by two researchers atthe University of Cape Town thismonth Identified the poUe>! in the East.em Cape region around Port El1zabethas havln~ the worst record for tortur­ing deta1.nees.

In Cape Town, meanwhile, threemixed-race persons presented afflda-

. vits today saying they had been mis­treated by r.oUe>!men Who, they said.had assaulted them during interroga.Uon.

1 by the fact that police believed they had i';;"'-;;;;ilYin'tenns of the State of Emergency.

"There is always a danger that these things willhappen as long as people can be held without trialand can be beld incommunicado. But the danger isheightened by the fact that the police seem to think

! that the Emergency indemnity gives them freerein," she said..

There was a need for a proper inquiry and areturn to the due process of law, she said.

The DPSC is opposed to current securitylegislation which allows for delention withouttrial. However, if such legislation is to exist, it

I argues that a detainee: should be given access to aI lawyer, relatives, a private doctor and reading

material of his cr her choice.There should also be an effective and

independent machinery for enfon::ing and policingthe treatment of detainees and an enforceable code

I setting out standanls of interrogation.The ucr study recon'Jnended that the whole

Isystem of detention in terms of securiry laws bescrapped, that the rightS of detainees should be laiddown by parliament: an independent body toIwhich police and prison officials are responsible

j should be established, all information aboutdetaInees should be made public, a proper code of

, conduct should be instituted, and evidence fromj interrogation should not be admined into court. until all the proposed measures have been met

Such safeguards may offer some protection, butthere is little likelihood that abuses will stop until

, South Africa's prisons are opened up to the dueprocesses 'of law and the practice of detainingpeople incommunicado is stopped.

But Section 29, the infamous statute ,,'1a~allows

for indefinite detention wilhout trial and withoutaccess to lawyers, '(~mily or independent doctors,IS a key part of the Cl1.'TCnt securiry legislation.Police~ faced with"'.he task of maintaining

control 10 the face of iNnassively disaffectedpopulation, are not going ~art "';ith such legalpowers without a fight. '- _T~nure allegations are therefore likely to

eO!1!;mue,-----------

affidavits ofex-detainees

These memories, and the fear of their retum,often result in the sufferer becoming withdrawnfrom family and friends, unable 10 concentrate,inclined 10 be startled by unexpected eventS andunable to sleep - because of nightmares, a fear ofnightmares, at a fear of not awakening.

The symptoms may be so severe they lead to asense of detachment and unreality.

"Medicines often help relieve specificsymptoms, like difficulry sleeping, but will notcure the condition," notes the' DCS paper.Treatments with lrained psychotherapists haveproved the best cure. Where such treatment is notpossible, sufferers - many of whom experiencefeelings of guilt and weakness - should beencouraged to talk to family, friends and'those .with similar experiences.

"It is possible that under extreme pressure,"notes the DCS paper, "penple may completely loselOuch with realiry and become psychotic."

But most experience an anXiery state known aspost·traumatic stress disorder.

The most common symptom of this disorder isthe' remembrance of traumatic ~vents whichhappened during torture. This can occur at anytime, brought on by hearing a door slamming or ashout, by standing in a queue, or by reading aheadline. The memory of tonure is accompaniedby the fear and dread experienced during tonure.

Affected people will find themselves suddenlytrembling, crying and anxious.

In their ownwor.ds:

THE TRAUMA OF RETURNING TO NORMAL L1.FE'PEOPLE who are detained and tortured suffer awhole variety of unhealthy psychological effectseaused by the traumatic conditions experienced indetention."

This is the view of the Detainees CounsellingService (DeS), a group of psychologists andpsychiatrists who provide free Iherapy 10 victimsof detention.

In a paper' recently compiled on Ihepsychological effccts of detention, the DCS notesthat people who suffer extreme pain, humiliation,degradation and fear; have their sleep, eating andexercise routines disrupted; are deprived ofnormal interaction with other human beings andare kept in a constant state of discomfort anddeprivation are prone to develop psychO'logicaldisturbances. ' .

i2

eForced standing and enforced exercise (SO rules of decency and 'shall not in any way bepen::ent) . assaulted or otherwise ill·treated or subjected to, eElectric shocks to various parts of Ihe bod)' any form of torture or inhuman or degrading'(25 pen::ent) trealItlent"., ', eFood and slee:> derivation. Since then, there have been at least SIX deaths 10

I.•Enfon::ed nak~dness. detention and tonure aHegations have contlnuedI .Shackling (wi,h handcuffs, chains or leg· unabated. Now the allegations have reached newirons) (15 pen::ent) • heightS: lhe cry irom ex-detainees has become a.A few cases of genital assaults and longperiods of intem>gation (three pen::ent) C~~\Jcr report concluded that there was clear

• Psychological forms of lorture, such as i and deflnitive evidence that physical torture wasthreats, questioning at gunpoint, etc. widespread and was a systematic and common

, .Humiliations. such as the use of derogatory experience for detainees.i language ami Lhe wuhhoiding of toil", ra.;ilitios. District Surgeon Orr's evidence 10 the Supreme, .Solitary conf1Oement. Court last week, supported by 42 other affidaVIts,

'Suspension (the "helicopter") described an extensive daily panern of pollceThe 'DPSC report said allegations came from all·' abuse of scores of detainees.

parts of ,he country. The ucr study said there She SaId she had examined an average of aboutwas a higher incidence in the Eastern.Cape and I 20 newly.admitted· dotainees daily since the

I Border areas. , 16 had. The DPSC report said that of 70 cases they begining of August and on August seen

d ,. f about 170 detainees.analysed, 20 involved sleep, epnvauon, some. or "An enremelv large proponion of them

1 ' periods of many days and ntghts. A furtller eIght complained that ihey had been assaulted by the1 1 involved depriva1i.on of toilet facilities, somc_~es

, police," she said. ., leading to- involuntary' urination' and the' The Minister of Law and Order, Louts Ie

THREE events in recent weeks have highlighted, R8ER .... humiliation of cleaning the in=ogation room Grange, told tbe Cape Congress of the Nationalmore than ever, allegations that Security Police By' ANTON: HA ..:~;i,}; afterwards. '. Pany this week that netther he nor theare lonuring detainees. Twenry·eight cases involved enfo=d standing 1 Commissioner of Police, General lohan Coet=,

eTwo University of Cape Town academics' But it·was only this week that it Natal Supreme' . and arduous physical exercises for long periods, would tolerate or condone illegal actions by anyreleased a detailed and extensive study, based on Coun Judge pronounced: "If it is true that 'sometimes days and nightS. lhe exercises included 'policeman. ~

the questioning of 176 fonner detainees, claiming detainees are being assaulted in the custody of,he . holding heavy objects above the_ head, standing The police had a oroud record which could notIhat 83 percent of detainees had been subjected. to police, it is a state of affairs. whicll no civilised , barefool on bricks, press·ups, running on the spot. !I be allowed to pc d.maged, and for this reason, allphysical .buse. nation ... can tolerate, for one momenl:' ._ There'were allegations of being exposed.to cold : cases of mis,conduct should ¥ publlcly

• A dislricl surgeon claimed in the Pan Why this sudden' judicial concern?. 1 through enfored nakedness for long periods in 25 investigated. . . .Elizabeth Supreme Court thaI delainees' were· - First. it is,because there. has never been such ~ cases, sometimes worsened by being doused by However there are few people 'outside of thebeing systematically and brutally assaulted on a' extensive and widely·soun::ed evidence of tonure.: 1water or being made to stand in front of a fan Ot ' National P~ who would accepl this a~ suffu:ientmassive scale by police. The Police and Prison~ Act bOlh shidd the- jan open window. .

.The Durban Supreme Court has heard seven interrogation room from the public eye and act to· Eleven cases involved whaL must be one of-the ~~:n~~~man, PFP spokesperson on justice,separate applications' from the families of prevenlthe emergence of such allegations. most horrifying forms of tonure: what is koowu- said this week that recent events C4l:ed [or a majordetainees claiming Ihey had been assaulted or Furthermore, the very nature of detention as the "helicopter". I inquiry by someone outside the interrogationsuffered serious ill·effectS from their detention. wi'thout .trial, which occurs indefinitely and The DPSC report described it thus: "The" svstem.

Such allegations are not new. For ·example. the without the prisoner being given any' automatic [detainee is handcuffed at the wristS and the ankles, . "It is no good having the policeinquirelinto theirDetainees Parents Support Committee (DPSC) ,access to independent outsiders, makes the and' while in a crouching position, a pole is own system ofinterrogation.lt has lO be ~omeonepublished a report in 1982, based on interviews exposure of allegations difficull' inserted through legs and arms. He is Ihen outSide of the system," she said.with fonner detainees, which detailed widespread Thus it does not necessarily follow that there are·· suspended on the pole between a table and a chair; She suggested that the abuse had been increased ..and systematic malpractices taking place in more allegations now because torture. may· be sometimes for houn on end, while being subjectedinterrogation rooms. more common. It. simpl~ means· that, for one Ito a barrage of questions and sometimes blows.

Over the years, there have been numerous court reason or another, more eVIdence has emerged. . "Other'cases include suspension by the armscases and inquestS that have involved allegations of Never before, hali a district surgeon come Iwhile handcuffed ... causing acute andtorture. . forward wllh ,:vtdence, as was done by Dr Wendy excruciating pain." .

These lend to come more frequently during Orr tn Pon Ehzabeth last week. As a result, there In 54 of the cases, detainees alleged they hadperiods of heightened political activity and has never before been an ord, . as was gIven by _been punched, slapped, lucked, beaten with sticks,tension. There was a spate of allegations after Ihe the Supreme Court.. to prevent the ~llce- from- 'batons, hosepipes. gun buttS and other objects; toes1960· Emergency, after Ihe 1976/7 student assaulung ALL detalOees tn two enuredlsrncts. ; had allegedly been crushed with chairs or bricks;uprising and afler the 1980/1 schools crisis. Never before has there been Ihe kind of eVldence 'detainees had allegedly been dragged by the hair. In 1977, the inquest into the death in detention of presented in the applications made by families of or had their head banged on the wall or the table.black consciousness leader Steve Biko brought a Secuon 29 detalOees (see separate story). Suffocation was reported in 25 cases. mostly by"spate of allegations about the abuse of detainees. And never before l1as an academic institution being hooded with a bag made of canvas or plastic,Similiarly, in 1982. the inquest into the death of attempted a systematic and scientific studt.~orwith a wet10weLtrade unionist Neil Aggen heard many witnesses former detainees as the University of Capel0\\'ll t Electric shocks were alleged in :22 instances,.claim to have been severely tonured during has done. i invariably while the detainee was hooded. Anotherinterrogation by the Security Police. . The evidence of each of these sources ; 14 cases involved genital assaults.

All of these were widely published. Some caused corroborates the eVidence In the other sources'. The panern of allegations in the PE court case·more of a stir than others. For example, the Cape Town study, the DPSC and the ucr study were broadly the same. •

A 1981 unpublished UniversitY'of Cape Town report and the ucr press study all report the same In December 1982, the Minister of Law andIhesis looked at the frequency of allegations of forms of torture and list them in the same order of Order published a code to govern the treatment oftorture published in the press. It found that frequency. .. Section 29 detainees. . ,between 1975 and 1982, the press reported 161 Roughly speakIng, they Itst the most common He said: "A detainee shall at all urnes be treatedseparate incidents where' torture was alleged, allegations of abuse as (in order of frequency): in a humane manner with proper regard to themostly during the political trials of former .Beating and general physical abuse (75 pen::entdetainees. of respondents in the Ucr study)

WEEKLY MAIL,. October 4 to October 10, 1985

A succession of detainee_.

The iolJowing d::;y. ~ftcr two hours ofintcrrogJtion at Louis Ie Grange Square,he- said, a Sgt F4iku told him to sing ·aXhosa frt:ednm- song and do the loi-(oi ­a dance don-c to freedom songs and thechanling of political slogans. He said herefused until Sgt Faku threatened toassault him.'Faku then questioned me· abuu:

meelings I addressed in lhe township.Whenever I gave him ::tn answer he didoltlike, he would hit me with a clenchedfist. I was hit on both sides or the faceand gi"en an uppercut which caused mytop lip to start bleeding.

"At one stage he grabbed me by thecollar which had the effeci of chokingme. He forced me up against the wall andthen kicked me with his knee in mystomach. I fell to the ground. When theIpain had'subsided I got up and was again

Ihit by Sgt Faku in the face. ""He then hit me with a blow directly on

the nose. My /lose began to bleedprofusely. There was blood on the Ooor,on my clothes and on the walis. Fakuordered me to clean the Ooor. I refusedand he hit me on the side of mv face..

• "I:e threatened that if I did oat cleanjlhe Ooor I would have a bag. put over my,head and be given the helicopter. I haveIheard from other detainees whal the'helicopter means. The victim is lockedinto a permanent crouch around a stickand then suspended from :he noor andspun, making him disorientated and

applications

.__ _ '~_ • ..;,. .J,. •••

"Then Tungal;) .. 3nolhcr sccurit),'policcmnn, C:l1nc in and .ordercd me tostand as if I was cmbr3cin~ a metal filingc3binet. He began punching me in the

"Police dropped my brother off far kionc.vs· from behind and h ... mmcring mefrom his house .and .beat him with on my shoulders wilh two-listed blows.sjamboks. uter they stopped :3 car with :J "!Ie bc~t m} C3.S \\:U, open :;;HH.lS. lIe:couple in it and sprnyed tC3rg:as through threw me onto the noor and askf.'d methe window. This ::le( seemed to be questions while kicking me.without justirit:ation bcc~use lht "Two other policemen entt'fcd thepolicemen bughed and drove off IC;;l:\"ing room and assisted ~ wilh lhe general"the car b~ind. At one stage they stopped assa_ult which !":lstcd about h.olf an hour.at a house and ""3ntonl)' broke :111 the Tung:1l3 ancLthese two policemen thenoutside lig:hts~!l took me to' the room next door and hC:lt

Mr George said he. was taken from the me with their fists and upen hands until Ipolice station to St Albans prison~ A hegan sc..·reaming.week later he was t.aken to Louis Ie "Two or three white policemen thenGrange Square police headquarter:; in C:lme into the room and one of .the threePort Elizabeth where a Sllecial Branch brought a wet towel which was placedpoliceman asked him his name. "When I tighlly around my face and head whilegave it to him he immediately struck me the towel was suffocating me. The,- be:Jtacross my face. n me then they removed the towel from my

Two policemen identified as Strydom face and throltled me: .and Niewoudt questioned him about. 'After a severe beating they took medocuments confiscated- in the' search at: back to the room from which I had come.his house, he said. My shirt was in ribbons from the be:lting

"Thev made me sit on the noor with mv and pulling around~"

hands 'handcuffed behind my back and Mr George said he was then rclurned ·toforced -my legs open by beating the Sl Albans. Two days ·later he wasinsides of my thighs with sjamboks. Th~y examined by a (em:a'e doctor whothen attempted repeatedl.y to kick me m prescribed medication on his rele:.se. Hismy private parts. lprivate doctor told him he had swollen

"They asked me if I had seen Denis leardrums.Neer I said I had and that he had a \ Mr George was arrested again onbrui;ed ·face. They said t~;at if I did not :September 3 under the emergencylell the trulh I.' would end up like Denis. re,~ulatlOns,. .

"Thev then beat me wilh'a sjambok on I spent 14 days m St Albans prison andmy back and chest and smashed my toes allh,:,ugh I was not assaulled I lived inand head with a short wooden stick. They cont.JOual fear that I would be taken totook me intc' another' room and four LOUIS ie Grange and Interrogated onceblack policem~n forced m" to do' physical again."exercises until I was exhatlSted. Mr Ihron Rensburg, a Port Eli7.abcth'

"Then they made me hold up a 'chair phar.~acist, writes of the fear, pain andabon the heads of other detainees while' humlhatJon he allegedly suffered at theI was forced to cr')uch in' an hands of the police al Louis Ie Grangeuncomfortable pusition. During this time Sq.uare, police headquarters. in Portno questions were ask "d. Elozabetl>. He says JO an affidant lhat he-- '.-m_ was arrest~ in terms of (he emergency

regulations·.on Jul,y.23 at 3am and laken1to St Albans prisons where he occupied a "·cell Wllh 30 others. . __. ---

slick."• "Four black policemen forced me

·10 hold up a chair above Ihe heculs ofthe detainees while I was forced ·cocrouch in· an uncomfortable posi-tion." " .THESE are the words_ of former:emergency detainee Mr Vusumsi George01 Motherwell, Port- Eiiz:lbeth.

lIis affidavit and others in support oflast weekcs Supreme Court-' applicationbrought by. Dr Wendy Orr, a PortElizabeth district surgeon/and 43 others.persuaded Mr" Jusiice Eksteen to 'gr::mt :aninterim'lorder restraining the police fromassaultmg . detainees in Port Elizabethprisons. ,

Mr George is' not alone. Detainees who'share St Albans prison cells with him'~de similar claims which in lurn wereendorsed by Dr Orr who told ihe courtthat detainees were systematically andbrutaJly assaulted on a vast sC:Jle bypolice. ' ...

In his affidavit Mr George tells of hisarrest on July 22 about 2,JOam afterpolice allegedly gained entry to his homeby breaking a window. .'. "Two' plainclotbes policemen entered·

my bedroom where 'my wife and I were'sleeping•.My wife was nine months,pregnant· but the police nevertheless beat.her and myself with quirts."

Mr George said that after his house was I

ransacked he was 'a!iS3ulted again by apoliceman before he was taken to a'police'vehicle- in which his brother and olherswere locked en route to the 'Algoa Parkpolice stalion. _

• "THEY forced mv legs open hvbeating tht: inside of /1/)' thighs with

, sjamboks and attempled repeOled/y./0 kick me in m), private pans."• "They beat n~ whh a sjamhoJ.: onIII)' back and chest and smashed m)'toes and head willI a short wooden

WEEKLY MAIL REPORTER,DURBAN

In Nair's case, he was taken to a specialist for

I h · d treatment for a perforated eardrum and a.n t elf O"U Tn war ,..., damaged eye. He was spott=<!atthcdoctors' roomsIN THE last two months the Durban Supreme VV . ~ ••• and later-rn.?l1aged to send out a nOLe to his wife.Courr has heard applications on behalf of seven The two mast recent cases' differ because theSec-jon 29 detainees. .' From PAGE 13 applications were brought on psychological

Tne applications ',l,-'c:;e brought by relatives who dizzy. I h:ld no choice but to ·st:lrt grounds.claimed the detainees had been assaulted or had deaning the noor and walls." Relatives of Sirish Soni said he had claimed hesuffered other serious ill effects in detention. After this Sgt Faku told him to sign was assaulted "only twice". The family has applied

The su=sion of such applications led this week forms he' had not read. lie said" I signed for his release bc;cause of the lllClltal damage he'to a futl bench of the Supreme Couet being bec:luse 1 fe3red ror my life.. I was in has suffer-....d in solitary confUlemeru..convened in Durban for the Iirst time in the great pain and did nol want to be A similar claim is being mad.: 00 behalf of Drhistory of the Naw division. assaulted again." Farouk Meer, presently being treated in Pretoria's

Three judges heard an application on behalf of Mr Rensburg recalls seeing t ra de H F Verwoeni HospitaL He was moved to PretoriaNatal Indian Congress executive member, Bilty for interrogation after being detained. in Durba..,~Nair: unionist Denis Neer at the- prison I:Jtcr The wives of both Soni and Meer claim their

After the judges made a consent a rder that week. husbands are suicidal and very d.:pressed. Bothrestraining the police from assaulting or II His arm was in a sling with band:Jg:es. have lost a great deal of weight, SpeciaJistsunlawfully interrogating Nair, the Judge around the furearm. !lis face was swollen sign a form indemnifying the prison anending the two have said they must no longer bePresident. Judge John Milne. whQ presided, made and there were ahrasions and bruising on department. inlerrogated and that there is a grave risk ofa statement pointing out the concern of the bench his face. lie walked stimy and slowly. !Ie "Apart from being approached with the permanent menw damage if they ale not releasedat the allegations of assaull. and recommending, told me he had been brulally assaulted by indemnity, nG one approached' me io from detention.that a senior member of the attorney general's members of the security POHCe-:t'0 had prison for the purposes of investigating Pending the hearing-.-of their applications,staff preside over an investigation into :-.l'air's put-him through lhe hclkopter. e·· told the charge of assau1t~ Other detainees relatives in both cases have been given a.;1

claim of assault. me that h.e had been rcferred to .. spital.' also laid charges' of assault and they also undertaking by the police that the d.:t.ainees canHe concluded. "If it i, true that detainees are "I alsu remember- seeing several complained that the charges were not have "privileges" which soften the effect of

being assaulted in the custody of the police it is a detainees return· from- intcrrog:1tion being investigated~ soliury confinement _ they may have lightstate. of affairs which no civilised nation,. and injured in one wa v ur another~" l'It appeared to me that the prisons reading nwerial, a tape recorder and cassettes and.7particularly one which professes' to follow Mr Rensburg s~'id that after hehad I~id department and' the oolice were may also have daily visits by theirwiv.... Neithez:Christian~- principles. can tolerate for one 3, complaint of :l:is::wrt with (h~ sister in dciibcr<.i.lety turning .1 b!ind eye '(0 the is- to be moved from hospital unless their doctors"!:;oment," . charge of the prison hospi,al and the systematic assault - on detainees by· approve the move.'

The Natal "assault" orderS made by the courts doctor who e,,~mined him. he agreed to members of the SA police." Similar claims of the disturbing- effectS of'differ from those in other provinces because of a '- ....J solitary confinement have also been made infull bench ruling in ¥ay in the case of detainee several of the cases brought on behalf of the otherAlfred Mkhize. In tIlat case, the three Natal judges oath; Nair said he had already made a report of bis behalf of brothen Yunis and Mo Shaik by their. five de-.ainees. Billy Nair claimed he. W3£ allowed.ruled that in addition to an interdict restraining the. assault to the: same rnagisU":l!e: father~ detained at the same tim.e as his SoTlS~ but not even a BihIe.police from assaulting or unlawfully in~~rrogating "1 showed you the injury [0 my eye when you subsequently released. He claimed Yunis had been The cases of ~eeT and Soni are particularlya detainee~ the court could- request a magistrate visited me last week. I also told you of the injury stripped. hooded a..."d tortured,. and that both 'important as they could produce COUlt reaction onmd 1 district surgeon to visit the detained person. to my ear. I requested that you bring this to the brothers were suffering psychological problems the use and e[fects of solitary eanfUlemcnt. oftenEach must infonn the detainee that he has come at attention of a judge and you said that you were nO( which. in the case of Mo, had result=<! in his being described as .. lllClltal <orttm:" and allegedly usedthe request of the Supreme Court: The magistrate in'a position to do so. You said that you could only hospitalised. by police to "break." detainees or to "produce-must ask whether the detaioee wishes to make' a ieport to the director of security legislation. I fUld Rclatives of two young students brought the next satisfactory statements'. . .statement under oath. When the district surgeon~ myself in a helple.. position in the hands of the two appiieations. Baih had ended up in hospital for Mr Justice Milne indicated the stroog feelings ofvisits the detainee he must make a detailed police,: he said. treatment for injuries they had allegedly sustained the court about the subject when he said in hisexamination. Section 29 cuts off all communication between as a result of polia assaults. coinrnents afu:r the Nair order:

Both reports are then made available to the court detainees and the outside world. so relatives have. One telephoned his mother from hospital and "Il is nO( inappropriate to remind the. police-that.as well as to the detainee's family lawyers. to rely on a number of chance factors for told her he had a broken jaw with suspected it is their duty, indeed there,is an obligar.on on the.

In tlie case of N.air in panicular. the reports information an which ~o base an' application: So fraetllreS of his slwll and both forearms. The other state to ensure that the Oetainee is, (in the words ofhighlighted the lack of safeguards for detainees far these have included notes smuggled out and was cbscved inhaspiw afu:r a tip-off. There was an Appeal Court judge as long ago as. 1964) 'at the;under the present system. surreptitious telephone ca.lIs. massive swelling of his head' and mouth and 'the' end of his detention released with his physical and

In his statement to the magistrate. made under The first· of the recent· applications was made on rest of his body was under a hospital cradle. mental health unimpaired':

~is 'pamphlet :'8 meant to help pecple' in cOm.r;).Uni ty organisa "t:ion~, Jlemoers6 of -';r2.deunions, youth groups etc, who in their' political struegles and day-to-day lives willsuffer harrassment a.~"often physical inj\L."'YU !.mdar repressive st~.te action. Thispamphlet outlines the dangers of various fOr!ll8 "of ',..reapcnE'j used by polioe to deal ',d-shpeacefull protest and what emergency messures one should take if anyone is injured.We know that ueoule are often automatically a=rested if they b2ve gunshot wounds.The resUlt is- th~t many p~ople do not go tb a doc tor or to hospital. As far aspossible,this pamphl-e.t '/lill help people·'.... ith minorin:JUriesto doctor tbeiz:- woundswithout baving to z:-isk arr~st at a bospital. If you feel that.something saated inthis pamphlet is not true; or your experiences bave been different'to what we say,please give su feedback so that we can change this pampblet. In this way it canoeof mne lise to others facing similiar si tua tions.

TE..:illGAS :

1~.T.ightp,es.s of. '!;.he .chest and a feeling of. paQ,icc Tbis is ver-J. important•. '

Z.: Irr:Ltat±on.of.tbask~n and )ow'ate.ring.of. the eyes (Conjunc·tivi.tis) •.

3. I.f'>thi!l'own into ,an in&losed.. rooII;, ten-gas mayS1,lffocate you •.

4....$om~: peb'pl.e .can get. lOIig .. te.DIl ltmg com'Qlica tions from inhaling teragas.. . ~ , . '. . .

5. Varniting•.

TEARGAS CAN CAUSE DEATH EVEN THOUGff THIS MAY BE RARE-.

Some peo1l1e are saying that the police are using a new type of tear gas in a red'.

canister that is more dangerous than the old one in. blue cani~t~rg:~ ±hene~ we.. " - ~:. :: . .:., . ",."

. <;Jf tear gas makes YO:IJ. sta:r.t vomiting imIDediately and cannot be treated wit~-"'{c. :...... .:'-:'" :': . _': . '. •. :.: '.' ;' . ..-.,':

vaseline or oil.0- :. ~•• ,

.TREATMENT:;"

. L Wash with lots of water. Use rmming ,..ater .if: possible .•

•• R~m~ve clothing contaminated by tear gas and" '..ash dJ~SughlY., •. 'Do not apply make-up Or vaseline.

~..''-

4 .. 'If you want to throw tne 'canis ter .away " pIck" ft up-'wff:li- 'ac'ioth

because it is very hot when releasing gas •

.SJAIWJK!Q;UIRTS:

Almost all. sjambokwoumds can be:lookedafter in, thaccmmunity. Keep the wound

;,~J;e,an. an~_ dry, "use' an .ari:ti~eptic and wasb wi t1;l.sal tiNater ..'. -. '

. ,':' ..

These are small lead pel1e~s~"ItPe~etrates ine·· skin but can 'cause more serious

injury if hit in the .. eye or groin. Bucksbot are bigger' pellets thctt also'

penetrate the snin but that sometimes penetarte deeperand cause more serious injury.

Because of this danger, even though it is rare, we sugges t that people hi t by.,

pell~fu··ae:·S'een by-a-aoctor. HO\,;ev:z:-, if you have been bit by pellets more t..'1an two

days ago, and you are other,..rise well, it is very unli..1<:ely that anyiE;h1ng serious

. will have b-een injured, so that you can look after these wounds easily on your.own.

~----------------------------------'

.. ' ~'::''''~..... , .~ .: ._'

1. Clean with salt water an~ wash out di±t and bits of clothing,

';:j:~ ~ri.J~p.ir1~·~T~s't~#=~i.~~·~w~ih.·~~t~:~r~ssmg',.- 3: 'Aiiplf:ffi1tiS:sptiC8~':;.""

~:: :;.f. .>~,; :~ .:.'.: :....~; '.. 'i..; ':: - .. ,.: : '.. :. _ oJ. _ •

•~ .•,Ir;~ .,:.~,~".01~~~~§::J5~~" ;: .. _:.~:~ :;:';'. ":.,.,. C"· .•' ,___ " ~- :'.•, ::'.':.::."::

:,DONO~'REM~:PE1J.JETS WIT1r'KNryES .:NEEDLES' OR..AIITSRARP::.INST4DMENre;.;~· TRE;J1ETAL,:;t; :-;':'.•._::.." ~"'1;..,: ~: ":.~ .. ·::.;,.,i~>_!::: ,,:, _1.:' .,. T· .. · .' : :.~.r"l· """"1:';" .:._....;.~ _•. '_ ":",' ,... •..•.•,_

,.,·PEL1El'S rARE.jNOTc THEMSEL'\l'El.DJWGEROUS. .'Only i~ :the' wnuiid':bec ornes'lnfe'b ~ ted'will it... _......... ~- .. ~ ...... ··~~_~:.:-·--·~v~ .. - ..-"'-'.~'-." ".._.... -~:..;.. '... ,,::...._:.-. :_'..i..::'~':"')'. ",:,;'::- ~'::.L::~_ .:~.'

, ,',)a:D:se'i3: ~:p:ro'iilem~ ",:It "can caUse" more·:pxoblems to rem'ove pellets .than..:; ,1;0: le,ay~. them.~:'~'...~ ~';.:,',"t: ...•.. ; :' •.-':Y;~ .I I...i...t.> '~:':'~i(:' ",# .. ~ .:'~ ':':1~' ,: ~::.. ;"( ," " ... ;'(. :,:,,!:.--: .... _ : ~"';"'"",!".,.~ ,"' ~

,- Y§)U 9a.rl w.alk around'wj, t~:metaJ._p~llets under YQur' skin ·fOr'ye$.rs·at1d~~n-O'th1ilgwill"- .... ··.1•• _ ".-- -_., . :::... •• ; .: :~~~ •. ",', >....... :l.;:' ".:.~ .:. ': ...l~· ~ :;:.." ~ ': ::'

happen to you. .__ ' ,--'

# ._c. ~ ..:.

RUBBER BULLETS:

Rubber bullets are large hard missiles fired from a special gun. They-a~£ not soft

and rubbeify:.a.s;·· the. n·ame,., rirlgb t sugges,t... ,,· Tbey, can c~~e ~k·: g;re§.t <:j.eq.J. 9f 1 oc-~l damage

to oycut] -tissu-e"~.;\''-Sometimes rubbe:;o bulJ~.t$': cqn ca~e' 0p,en wc,un1:;is ,;:3,.a: :W.bi~!1 9ase

you mus t ti-ea..'ti.:t,t.c as-..:~Y:' ¢the1;'~ open w..ounA'~": ,,":I:l):p,1aJ.~y, ~bher h~+l~.:t~,~ 9--°: ~~ ~age

your skin, but can·:.cail:cause lots of-.,~,.sY{e:1:1~K'211~brJ?is-iI1g.,..,.~T:,;. ' .

. ;.: ~'.~i.;4'.j ]3y1;a.p.p1y-ing, a~ bag of ice,:,:to;:, t.h~:.' j,.nj~ ,'.:tlfg or th,:ree, times ~.d,e.y.,.. ., -:. . .... ........ " :..

2. Bandage the injury to reduce swelling.

- I .: .... .::--,.

"GW~kO~S~OONn'S:":- ,:,..::-<":.z.. . ._-....:., ':,,"".-,.,,; .:.;- "';"~ ..C(,-,,·, ~ .'::.......;~.. ' .,~=-.:

"Alt~~~hotS'~/btAas;tnusi/ be:'~ee-rF tt/by-3 ra,: d6<'H:or~(;'13U11-e-<ti3 t:tavel' much:- fa~l:iter:j,~an

peii~ts:~;-:- 'trtba'~' mti6h;I10~"rot6~: ~tbilli-:-'1'~ii-~t~·;:a.ndk.s~ a' res'Ult=-catises.much-" rMlxe

damage. If, for 'example, a,bullet passes through your leg, tbk~woundon~1hevside·:~f·······.··.· .:. ~ ~'" .. ~',(" ...-:~;....~ ':',"..•. : ,.~ ..~1. .

of ~ntry-is' 6rteri' very"'small.,-, bu:t the wound. on the,; s.id~ w~exe;ithe b]~lL~.:~; £~e out,

is'i'v~t:Y)1)tg;rb'k61t.s~;~of>the 'fo~ce. '.' , .FIRST=AID FOR SOMEONE HIT BY A GUNSHOT: ....,

-~.~ . 'st'o{'iiliybie'-~din~~' appiy' gen1;l~"but Tirtn· pressure-' tothewo1md area. Cover the

wound till the persotl';'gets~to a.doct6r·~ . "

"2-;-·K-e-ep--tile-~......aa:m..· .

3. Splint the leg Or arm if it might be broken. Use a piece o'f.\of:o~d\OJ;',~,.;o~ed-up

~·;i~;piece.:,b£ ne,wspaJp1l?r·k·JrThis.,,~rtOjl.!3 the :pro,ke,-q .p01l1~s;; f:!'OJlb~?:v,~,f3:Ud; fe~,uge.$;. !,ai?:~. - ,. .... - ......- ". ~

4. If the p~rson is,1.lIl.e·Wlc.i,o.~,;ge.i; the.m ,tq, the· hosp,i,tal·DIMEDIATLY•.', Rem,em-he~ that..•.. .• ••.• •• _" ."_\. . •• ._.... ~ ~ •. _l ! '..;~ .. - .

.a person who is unconscious cannot control their'breathing and can suffocate, ,.if theix

~~~;-is-~l~~~~d~---Y~~-~~t-t~~-~~t-th~i;-fai~'~~t~e-th-,-transport-them--on'-tHeirside... _._.... :

.-~p,}ry,_ ~t.~_ n;ak~.,.s~.e,:t~f.;t.l~~:r ;a:~:e ,breathing e~si:'y.• ~

!I;j

, ...;..~

...' .,~ -.;.

. .. ;...- .';.., ... :..::"'..

'. ~- .": !; • -~ .. ~.

.- ..~·~;I:":-:; '~'.(: ~.

.. I.. ,,' .... ".'\ coh~'~"'pke

-\. " "'1.. • •.~ ::. _."J .

'it-

.~..3~" •••••• ~...~ ..

',' \ - .....

,'. '.. " ..';; '.. ;:.; \:'..::::" ..:. ~:._..... ':'. ~ , .-..... ::. .:-.~, :':~ .'.' ';' ,

WHEN MUST THE INJURED PERSON BE TR!NSPORTEIl STRAIGHT TG rn;SBlTAL:

1. IF THEY ARE ~~~CONSCIOUS, get them STR~GHT TO HBSPlTAL.

2. If they obviously ha~ a broken bone, there is li±tle a doctor alone can do for

the injured person. The person will have to be taken to a hospital for an X-Ray

and traa tmen t.

3. If a person is injured and there is air or blood inside the Chest, squashing the

lungs, this can be a serious condition. Take the person straight to a hospital

if they have the following three or four warning sings:

A) They have been injured in the chest or back.

B) They are short of breath and gradually finding it harder to breath.

(especially with a gunShot)

C They have pains somewhere in the chest that gets worse if they breath

or coueh.

D) They start coughing up blood.

WEO MUST BE SEEN TO BY A DOCTOR:

1. All persons with gunshot woumds.

2. All persons with birdshot or buckshot wounds less than 48 hours old.

3. All persons with eye or groin injuries,

4. Those persons hit on the head by rubber bullets or by repeated sjambokkink and

who:.----

* Have/a bad headache

* Are geeting more and more drowsier/-"

* Start vorni ting

* Start seeingdouble

* Ears s tart leaking

5. Anyone that starts paasing blood in their urine.

6. Any other symptoms you feel must be seen to be a doctor.

WE C.AN SEE THAT THE MOOT IMPORTNAT THING IS TO DECIIlE: Whether an inju..-y is serious

or not, and if it is serious, whether it must go straight to hospital. Often, it

is not easy, even for doctors to tell if an injury is serious or not. But this

pamphlet has given some guidelines ... __Simple wounds can be looked after in the

community, using basic cleaning andantisepfics .... Remember that Birdshot and...~--

Buckshot ~O NOT have to be removed. - But there are serious injuries that have to

be treated in hospital.

IF YOU ARE ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL, YOUR ORGANISATION 'y/ILL FOLLCW TOU UP. TRY TO.

INFORM YOUR ORGANISATION T1ffiOUGH YOUR FAMILY, ABOUT YOUR ADMISSION.

R.EMEffi3ER, THE HOSPITAL IS THE PLACE WHEEB YOU CAN GEr THE BEST MEDICAL CARE POSSIBLE.

II

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339 Lafayette StreetNew York, N.Y. 10012

ECSA

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