FXI Update -- March / April 1995
Freedom of Expression Diary - March / April 1995
27 March
President Mandela fires his estranged wife, Winnie Mandela, from
the cabinet. Mandela holds the post of Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology. The President does not provide a specific reason for the dismissal,
but Mrs. Mandela has been publicly chastised for criticising the Government of
National Unity for their lack of progress in addressing the needs of the poor.
28 March
National Party (NP) justice spokesman Danie Schutte states that
there is not a snowballs chance' of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation
Bill being completed by the due date, that being Parliament's Easter recess.
Parliament is supposed to debate and vote on contested clauses in the Bill, such
as the Norgaard principles - dealing with the relationship between a crime and
the political motivation for committing such a crime - and the provision for
applications for amnesty to be heard in secret. Justice Minister Dullah Omar
accuses the National Party (NP) of delaying and obstructing discussion on the
Bill within the parliamentary justice committee, while the NP insists that the
Norgaard principles should not be included. Indications are, however, that a
compromise may be reached on the secrecy clause.
29 March
The South African Police Services (SAPS) requests the South African
embassy in London to contact British MP Emma Nicholson about information relating
to the death of an Executive member of the Azanian Peoples' Organisation (AZAPO).
The member, Dr. AbuBaker Asvat, ,was the health secretariat head of AZAPO.
He was assassinated in his surgery by two men, who were later sentenced to death
for the murder. Asvat's murder has been linked to the death of Soweto youth Stompie
Seipei, who was killed by a member of Winnie Mandela's football club', Jerry Richardson.
Mandela was also tried for kidnapping Seipei, and received a suspended sentence.
Asvat was one of the last people to see the youth alive. The request follows
a media report suggesting that Nicholson had information concerning a tape-recording
of a witness at the Mandela trial, claiming to have undisclosed evidence about
the murder. Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi states that the tape
would be studied by police to determine whether further investigations were
warranted.
5 April
ANC Member of Parliament Tony Yengeni accuses the South African press
of being the crack force' of white capital, and was intent on dividing the party
by conducting a witch hunt against popular ANC leaders like Winnie Mandela.
"They've been targeted by the Press, and no-one else. The Press is the voice of
White capitalists, not the poor. It is against the national democratic revolution.
We are not the products of the Press. We're made by our people, the struggle.
The Press will always fail to break the ANC. When the Supreme Court ruled against
a police raid on her home, ...the headline we saw the following day was: She
is not yet off the hook. If they can do that to Mrs. Mandela, what can they
do to me and you? What is the future of human rights in this country? Those
of us dedicated to the fight against abuses of human rights will continue in
that tradition...the role of the Press has to be publicly debated, very strongly.'
6 April
The Weekly Mail & Guardian announces that an environment group, Earthlife
Africa, is intending to take President Mandela's office to the Supreme Court for
allegedly breaching the Constitution by allowing an official inquiry into waste
problems at the Thor Chemicals factory to operate under conditions of secrecy.
The group calls on the President to withdraw the terms of reference of the inquiry
and to set up a new Commission based on transparency.
11 April
Leader of the NP and Deputy President FW De Klerk states that it
Parliamentary caucus was unanimous in its support for the establishment of a
Truth Commission, although the support is not unqualified. He denies that his
party is divided on whether the Commission should be established.
15 April
President Mandela announces that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
will investigate the assassination of South African Communist Party secretary-general
Chris Hani. Two right-wingers, Clive Derby-Lewis and Janus Walus, were sentenced
to death for the murder. This announcement is made at the unveiling of Hani's
tombstone at Elspark Cemetery near Boksburg. He states: 'We believe that his
death was not an isolated incident planned and executed by Janusz Walluz and
Derby-Lewis only. Our nation will never rest until the conspiracy behind his
murder is exposed and destroyed.'
17 April
The Conservative Party (CP) reacts to President Mandela's statement
about Chris Hani by stating that it is ironic that he wanted this incident investigated
while he is silent on the Shell House shootings. The CP is referring to Zulu
loyalist' marchers that were shot outside the ANC headquarters during a march
in Johannesburg on 28 April 1994: the ANC has been accused by several parties,
including the IFP and the CP of covering-up the massacre, and protecting those
responsible from prosecution.
19 April
The right-wing Radio Pretoria is one of 16 community radio stations
granted a licence by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Specific licence
conditions still have to be set.
24 April
It is announced that the date for the debate in Parliament on the
sixth draft of the Truth and Reconciliation Bill has been set back for a third
time, now to May 17.
25 April
A Supreme Court judge, Judge G. Leveson, suspends legal proceedings
against a couple accused of distributing hard-core pornography and refers the
case to the Constitutional Court. The couple are allegedly part of a syndicate
accused of contravening the Indecent or Obscene Photographic Material Act. In
their defence, the accused contend that the Act is in conflict with the Constitution's
guarantees of a right to privacy and freedom of expression. During the hearing,
the court is informed that the charges were suspended for 18 months while the
evidence - 150 videos - were viewed by the police, who then determined that 98
of the videos were in contravention of the Act.
At a hearing of the Press Council of South Africa - the voluntary press industry
watchdog -parastatal arms manufacturer ARMSCOR testifies that it had approached
Transport Minister Mac Maharaj to re-open the State's Commission of Inquiry into
the 1987 Helderburg aircraft crash off Mauritius. This was done in response
to a series of articles in the Weekend Star newspaper claiming that ARMSCOR had
secretly loaded highly combustible cargo on the aeroplane, possibly Red Mercury.
30 April
The SABC confirms that the Government has approached it about the
possibility of organising its own weekly prime-time unedited time slots on television
and radio. Reportedly it wants to have its own version of events broadcast as
it is unhappy with the way it is being represented in the media. The SABC responds
by saying that it will investigate the proposal to establish whether it will
intrude on the editorial independence of the Corporation. The proposal was made
approximately two weeks ago.