New Nation - Govt-Inkatha clash looms
- New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Authors: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Date: Dec 1992
- Subjects: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112906 , vital:33675
- Description: clash is looming between the National Party (NP) government and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) following this week's unveiling by kwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of a constitutional blueprint which envisages a kwaZulu/- Natal state. Following the unveiling of the document this week, state president FW de Klerk, warned that kwaZulu’s constitutional initiatives had the potential of escalating violence and of bringing the kwaZulu government into "direct confrontation" with Pretoria. An urgent meeting between De Klerk and Buthelezi is expected within the week. And sources in the government have indicated that senior NP leaders were disillusioned with the IFP and were looking for the "best way to ditch Chief Buthelezi". The sources said that although the NP recognised that Buthelezi was a factor in finding a solution to South Africa's political conflict, the party was disillusioned with the IFP and felt that the government had been misled into believing that the organisation commanded the support it claimed. The NP leadership, as well as their strategists, now believed that the De Klerk government should rather direct all its energy towards striking a deal with the ANC - provided such a deal secured a future for whites. The ANC's newly adopted "Strategic Perspective" document - which envisages powersharing between the ANC and the Nationalists from the transition phase up to the postapartheid era - is viewed as a positive signal which justifies the need for closer ties between the Nats and the ANC. There is also concern within the NP that Buthelezi's latest moves - of steering a conference of right wing parties and this week's constitutional proposals - are "driving" whites away from NP to the Conservative Party (CP). The CP is one of the parties KwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi that has welcomed kwaZulu's constitutional blueprint and said it was in line with the CP’s vision of the "self-determination of nations in a commonwealth of independent states”. Meanwhile, Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament for Umhlanga, Kobus jordaan, who was among those involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba plan in the mid-1980s, said there was no comparison between that initiative and this week's constitutional proposals. "The Buthelezi that was involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba, is not the same Buthelezi that we have today," said Jordaan. "He had a national approach, and never spoke about secession. This proposal smacks of secession ," added Jordaan. Scholars of Natal politics have argued that Buthelezi’s undertaking to test his proposals of a kwaZulu/Natal state in a referendum were logisti- cally impossible. The calling of a referendum was also described as "legally impossible", especially now that De Klerk has poured cold water on the initiative. KwaZulu would have no powers to call a referendum for people who live in Natal. Records of the kwaZulu interior department state that only 770 000 people - in a population of 3- million - in the homeland had registered for the 1988 elections. It is suggested that people in the province would either refuse to go to a referendum or Buthelezi would simply lose it. They have pointed out that the Inkatha leader might be over estimating his support. Economists said Natal alone could not be economically viable. The region comprises of about 25 percent of South Africa's population, but it was responsible for only 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: Dec 1992
- Authors: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Date: Dec 1992
- Subjects: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112906 , vital:33675
- Description: clash is looming between the National Party (NP) government and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) following this week's unveiling by kwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of a constitutional blueprint which envisages a kwaZulu/- Natal state. Following the unveiling of the document this week, state president FW de Klerk, warned that kwaZulu’s constitutional initiatives had the potential of escalating violence and of bringing the kwaZulu government into "direct confrontation" with Pretoria. An urgent meeting between De Klerk and Buthelezi is expected within the week. And sources in the government have indicated that senior NP leaders were disillusioned with the IFP and were looking for the "best way to ditch Chief Buthelezi". The sources said that although the NP recognised that Buthelezi was a factor in finding a solution to South Africa's political conflict, the party was disillusioned with the IFP and felt that the government had been misled into believing that the organisation commanded the support it claimed. The NP leadership, as well as their strategists, now believed that the De Klerk government should rather direct all its energy towards striking a deal with the ANC - provided such a deal secured a future for whites. The ANC's newly adopted "Strategic Perspective" document - which envisages powersharing between the ANC and the Nationalists from the transition phase up to the postapartheid era - is viewed as a positive signal which justifies the need for closer ties between the Nats and the ANC. There is also concern within the NP that Buthelezi's latest moves - of steering a conference of right wing parties and this week's constitutional proposals - are "driving" whites away from NP to the Conservative Party (CP). The CP is one of the parties KwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi that has welcomed kwaZulu's constitutional blueprint and said it was in line with the CP’s vision of the "self-determination of nations in a commonwealth of independent states”. Meanwhile, Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament for Umhlanga, Kobus jordaan, who was among those involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba plan in the mid-1980s, said there was no comparison between that initiative and this week's constitutional proposals. "The Buthelezi that was involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba, is not the same Buthelezi that we have today," said Jordaan. "He had a national approach, and never spoke about secession. This proposal smacks of secession ," added Jordaan. Scholars of Natal politics have argued that Buthelezi’s undertaking to test his proposals of a kwaZulu/Natal state in a referendum were logisti- cally impossible. The calling of a referendum was also described as "legally impossible", especially now that De Klerk has poured cold water on the initiative. KwaZulu would have no powers to call a referendum for people who live in Natal. Records of the kwaZulu interior department state that only 770 000 people - in a population of 3- million - in the homeland had registered for the 1988 elections. It is suggested that people in the province would either refuse to go to a referendum or Buthelezi would simply lose it. They have pointed out that the Inkatha leader might be over estimating his support. Economists said Natal alone could not be economically viable. The region comprises of about 25 percent of South Africa's population, but it was responsible for only 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: Dec 1992
New Nation number 618 - Another peace pledge
- New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Authors: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Date: May 1991
- Subjects: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112945 , vital:33679
- Description: The ANC’s May 9 ultimatum is effectively over and the organisation is unlikely to make any further demands of the government, at least until its July National Conference. At the same time, no major shift is expected in ANC policy between now and July. There now seems to be general agreement that government undertakings aimed at ending township violence this week addressed the ANC’s most important demands contained in its open letter to FW de Klerk in early April. A meeting between ANC deputy president Nelson Mandela and De Klerk this week further confirmed that agreement had been reached on key demands made by the ANC. Mandela told a group of the ANC’s Women’s League, who had occupied the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday in a campaign to support the ultimatum, that the government had met two of the organisation’s key demands. These included a ban on all weapons except assegais and sticks and the closure or conversion of hostels into family units. Attacks On the eve of the ultimatum, law and order minister Adriaan Vlok went further and announced plans for “Operation Stabilise” to end the violence. The new measures ban open air gatherings in unrest areas from May 9 onwards to May 22. Some of the bloodiest attacks on township residents have followed mass rallies of Inkatha supporters. Rallies could still be held in areas like George Goch near Johannesburg, where Inkatha has a strong presence. Vlok said permission to hold rallies in townships declared unrest areas could, however, still be obtained from police in the areas. Inkatha rallies were planned for Soweto and Tembisa yesterday. Vlok also announced stricter enforcement of curfews and the deployment of more troops and police in areas hit by violence. Areas covered by Vlok’s announcement include Soweto, Mead- owlands, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Alexandra, Tembisa, Thokoza, Katlehong and Vosloorus. Townships around Johannesburg and the city centre remained tense despite Vlok’s announcements to curb violence. Terror Reports reaching NEW NATION indicate that heavily armed men had been deployed in various parts of the city and townships in what appeared to be part of the planned terror in the run up to the May 9 ultimatum. Residents in at least one block of flats in Central Johannesburg, occupied mainly by ANC supporters, were reported to have left in anticipation of an attack. There were also reports of unknown men searching for activists in various flats around central Johannesburg. The armed men, residents claim, were deployed some time before Inkatha central committee member Musa Myeni warned that his organisation was ready to commit 250 000 armed fighters in defence of its members on the Reef. Johannesburg’s city centre, which has not been declared an unrest area, is not covered by Operation Stabilise and Inkatha supporters remain free to brandish their weapons, now effectively outlawed in the townships. There is also evidence that many of the fighters currently in township hostels are paid mercenaries, who are otherwise unemployed. Some of them claim to have been brought in from Natal to fight township residents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: May 1991
- Authors: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Date: May 1991
- Subjects: New Nation - SA's Biggest Independent Weekly
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112945 , vital:33679
- Description: The ANC’s May 9 ultimatum is effectively over and the organisation is unlikely to make any further demands of the government, at least until its July National Conference. At the same time, no major shift is expected in ANC policy between now and July. There now seems to be general agreement that government undertakings aimed at ending township violence this week addressed the ANC’s most important demands contained in its open letter to FW de Klerk in early April. A meeting between ANC deputy president Nelson Mandela and De Klerk this week further confirmed that agreement had been reached on key demands made by the ANC. Mandela told a group of the ANC’s Women’s League, who had occupied the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday in a campaign to support the ultimatum, that the government had met two of the organisation’s key demands. These included a ban on all weapons except assegais and sticks and the closure or conversion of hostels into family units. Attacks On the eve of the ultimatum, law and order minister Adriaan Vlok went further and announced plans for “Operation Stabilise” to end the violence. The new measures ban open air gatherings in unrest areas from May 9 onwards to May 22. Some of the bloodiest attacks on township residents have followed mass rallies of Inkatha supporters. Rallies could still be held in areas like George Goch near Johannesburg, where Inkatha has a strong presence. Vlok said permission to hold rallies in townships declared unrest areas could, however, still be obtained from police in the areas. Inkatha rallies were planned for Soweto and Tembisa yesterday. Vlok also announced stricter enforcement of curfews and the deployment of more troops and police in areas hit by violence. Areas covered by Vlok’s announcement include Soweto, Mead- owlands, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Alexandra, Tembisa, Thokoza, Katlehong and Vosloorus. Townships around Johannesburg and the city centre remained tense despite Vlok’s announcements to curb violence. Terror Reports reaching NEW NATION indicate that heavily armed men had been deployed in various parts of the city and townships in what appeared to be part of the planned terror in the run up to the May 9 ultimatum. Residents in at least one block of flats in Central Johannesburg, occupied mainly by ANC supporters, were reported to have left in anticipation of an attack. There were also reports of unknown men searching for activists in various flats around central Johannesburg. The armed men, residents claim, were deployed some time before Inkatha central committee member Musa Myeni warned that his organisation was ready to commit 250 000 armed fighters in defence of its members on the Reef. Johannesburg’s city centre, which has not been declared an unrest area, is not covered by Operation Stabilise and Inkatha supporters remain free to brandish their weapons, now effectively outlawed in the townships. There is also evidence that many of the fighters currently in township hostels are paid mercenaries, who are otherwise unemployed. Some of them claim to have been brought in from Natal to fight township residents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: May 1991
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