Article written by Kate Pfordresher, Coordinator on the New York Labor Committee Against Apartheid. The article says 1987, political violence by Inkatha warlords loyal to Buthelezi against COSATU and UDF organizations has plagued Natal; but in August Inkatha violence escalated to unprecedented proportions and spread for the first-time outside Natal to the townships and hostels surrounding Johannesburg; over 750 people were killed in August alone. The article says COSATU and the ANC now believe that "third force" elements within the South African police and army are orchestrating the attacks at a high level; Inkatha vigilantes have access to highly sophisticated weaponry including AK 47...
Article written by Kate Pfordresher, Coordinator on the New York Labor Committee Against Apartheid. The article says 1987, political violence by Inkatha warlords loyal to Buthelezi against COSATU and UDF organizations has plagued Natal; but in August Inkatha violence escalated to unprecedented proportions and spread for the first-time outside Natal to the townships and hostels surrounding Johannesburg; over 750 people were killed in August alone. The article says COSATU and the ANC now believe that "third force" elements within the South African police and army are orchestrating the attacks at a high level; Inkatha vigilantes have access to highly sophisticated weaponry including AK 47 semi-automatics and R1 rifles. Even "traditional" clubs and machetes are now machine-made. The article says police systematically disarm communities and COSATU members in hostels while refusing to disarm Inkatha vigilantes, even when COSATU and ANC have given the police advance warning that Inkatha was planning an attack; COSATU has documented incidents where police have provided arms, transport and logistical support to Inkatha. The article says the violence has had a serious impact on the trade union movement; COSATU affiliates, including NUM, have been forced to abandon strike plans and settle for less favorable terms for fear that a walk-out would precipitate further clashes with Inkatha; virtually all NUM members live in migrant worker hostels which have been a springboard for Inkatha violence. The article says recent disclosures by the Weekly Mail that Inkatha vigilantes are being trained at secret SADF bases in northern Namibia and in KwaZulu along the Mozambican border. The article says COSATU and the ANC are appealing for concerted international pressure on De Klerk to reign in the police and end the violence; they are demanding that the government immediately arrest, prosecute and sentence all parties to the violence regardless of political affiliation; in addition, the government must be pressured to appoint an independent board of inquiry to investigate police involvement, and to disband the KwaZulu homeland. The article says it's up to us to get the word out what really lies behind "black on black" violence in South Africa. We need to support COSATU's demands and put the blame squarely where it belongs - - on the apartheid government. The article discusses the ANC (African National Congress), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Gatsha Buthelezi, the UDF (United Democratic Front), COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions), SADF (South African Defence Force), Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk, rural Natal, union members on strike, vigilante attacks, Renamo in Mozambique, Koevoet in Namibia, AK-47 assault refiles, and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
