END CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN · A t t e n t i o n : A to t>& O m a r~ A brief history of the End Conscription Campaign. ... rights, religious, student and womens organisations opposed

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A t t e n t i o n : A to t > & O m a r~

A b r i e f h i s t o r y o f t h e End C o n s c r i p t i o n C a m p a i g n .

I n tro d u ctio n .

T h e End C o n s c r i p t i o n C a m p a i g n (ECC) w a s c o n c e i v e d in 1983 a f t e r a call by t h e B l a c k S a s h f o r an e n d t o c o m p u l s o r y m i l i t a r y service. T h e s p a c e f o r s u c h a c a m p a i g n had been c r e a t e d by the e a r l i e r s t a n d s o f w a r r e s i s t e r s : b o t h t h o s e r e c o g n i s e d C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r s w h o s e r v e d p e r i o d s in jail and d e t e n t i o n b a r r a c k s for r e f u s i n g t o d o m i l i t a r y ser v i c e , and t h e t h o u s a n d s of " i n v i s i b l e o b j e c t o r s " w h o f l e d the c o u n t r y o r s i m p l y f a i l e d to r e p o r t for m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e e a c h year.

ECC w a s f o r m e d as a c o a l i t i o n s p e a r h e a d e d by t h e e x i s t i n g C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r S u p p o r t G r o ups, and c o n s i s t i n g of h u m a n rights, rel i g i o u s , s t u d e n t a n d w o m e n s o r g a n i s a t i o n s o p p o s e d to c o n s c r i p t i o n a n d m i l i t a r i s a t i o n , a n d c o m m i t t e d t o w o r k i n g for a j u s t p e a c e in o u r land.

E C C ’s o p p o s i t i o n to c o n s c r i p t i o n is b a s e d on t h e f u n d a m e n t a l b e l i e f t h a t no p e r s o n can be f o r c e d a g a i n s t t h e i r will to t a k e up ar m s a nd to t a k e life. In S o u t h A f r i c a t h i s b e l i e f h a s had a special u r g e n c y b e c a u s e of t h e role a n d a c t i o n s o f t h e S A D F in d e f e n d i n g and u p h o l d i n g t h e a p a r t h e i d s y s t e m b o t h i n s i d e a n d o u t s i d e S o u t h A f r i c a

In A u g u s t 1988 ECC w a s b a n n e d f r o m p u b l i c a c t i v i t y . T h i s ban w a s l i f t e d in F e b r u a r y 1990 a l o n g w i t h t h e l i f t i n g of the b a n n i n g o r d e r s on t h e A N C a n d o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s .

In 1993 m i l i t a r y c o n s c r i p t i o n f o r all w h i t e m a l e s is still in o p e r a t i o n . ECC c o n t i n u e s t o s u p p o r t t h o s e w h o d e f y t h e system, and is a l s o i n v o l v e d in t h e d e b a t e a r o u n d a n e w v o l u n t e e r / p r o f e s s i o n a l a r m y to r e p l a c e t h e SADF.

S ome o f w e c a m p a ig n s undertaken b y E C C o ver the y e a r s .

J u n e 1984.F o c u s o n N a m i b i a . T h i s w a s the f i r s t p u b l i c campa i g n . S W A P O m e m b e r A n t o n Lu b o w s k i s p o k e at p u b l i c m e t i n g s in C a p e T o w n a n d J o h a n n e s b u r g a n d t h e c a m p a i g n a l s o e n t a i l e d e d u c a t i o n on S . A f r i c a’s illegal o c c u p a t i o n o f N a mibia, a nd t h e role of t h e S A D F there. P a m p h l e t s , c o n c e r t s and c h u r c h v i g i l s w e r e p a r t of t h e Focus.

O c t o b e r 1984.T h e p u b l i c l a u n c h o f ECC in D u r ban. J o h a n n e s b u r g a n d C a p e T o w n . T h e " D e c l a r a t i o n t o End C o n s c r i p t i o n " w a s p u b l i c i s e d a t e v e n t s i n c l u d i n g p u b l i c m e e t i n g s in C a p e T o w n and Durban, a n d an o u t d o o r S p r i n g F a i r in

J o h a n n e s b u r g .

J u n e 1985.“St o p t h e c a l l - u p " P e a c e F e s t i v a l in J o h a n n e s b u r g . T h i s w a s a n a t i o n a l e v e n t a n d a t t r a c t e d s o m e 2000 p a r t i c i p a n t s . T h e p r o g r a m m e i n c l u d e d an a n t i - c o n s c r i p t i o n c o n c e r t , a n t i - w a r films, panel d i s c u s s i o n s a n d w o r k s h o p s , a P o s t e r s f o r P e a c e e x h i b i t i o n , a f o c u s on C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r s and a p u b l i c m e e t i n g w i t h o v e r s e a s and S o u t h A f r i c a n s p e a k e r s . O n e o f t h e i n v i t e d s p e a k e r s , C a r d i n a l A r n s f r o m L a t i n A m e r i c a , h a d b e e n r e f u s e d a v i s a a n d w a s t h e r e f o r e u n a b l e to come. O n t h e e v e of t h e Fes t i v a l the P o r t E l i z a b e t h c h a i r p e r s o n , J a n e t C h e r r y w a s d e t a i n e d by th e S e c u r i t y Police. A n d d u r i n g t h e w e e k e n d n e w s w a s r e c e i v e d of t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c e of C r a d o c k a c t i v i s t M a t t h e w G o n i w e a n d t h r e e o t h e r U D F m e n in t h e E a s t e r n Cape.

S e p t e m b e r 1985." T r o o p s o u t o f t h e T o w n s h i p s " c a m p a i g n . T h i s i n c l u d e d a 2 1 - d a y p u b l i c f a s t by t h r e e m e n (in Durb a n , J o h a n n e s b u r g and C a p e Town), and e v e n t s s u c h as s t r e e t t h e a t r e and e d u c a t i o n a l w o r k s h o p s . T h e c a m p a i g n d r e w c o n s i d e r a b l e m e d i a a t t e n t i o n a n d a l s o s u p p o r t f r o m t h e t o w n s h i p c o m m u n i t i e s . L a r g e r a l l i e s w e r e h e l d in t h e t h r e e c e n t r e s at t h e e n d o f t h e fast, w i t h t h o u s a n d s o f s u p p o r t e r s in all r e g i o n s j o i n i n g t h e f a s t on t h e la s t day.

April 1986.W o r k i n g f o r a J u s t P e a c e . . T h i s w a s a n a t i o n a l c a m p a i g n f o c u s s i n g on t h e n e e d f o r a l t e r n a t i v e n o n - m i l i t a r y ser v i c e , C o n s t r u c t i o n n o t C o n s c r i p t i o n . P r a c t i c a l p r o j e c t s w e r e u n d e r t a k e n w i t h p e o p l e f r o m t h e c o m m u n i t y in v a r i o u s regions, i n c l u d i n g b u i l d i n g a c r e c h e , p a i n t i n g a s h e l t e r for s t r e e t c h i l d r e n , l a y i n g o u t g a r d e n s at a school f o r t h e h a n d i c a p p e d etc. A t a p u b l i c m e e t i n g in t h e J o h a n n e s b u r g C i t y Hall C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r P h i l i p W i l k i n s o n (one of t h e s p e a k e r s ) w a s f o r c i b l y a r r e s t e d and t a k e n t o D e t e n t i o n B a r r a c k s .

F e b r u a r y 1987.A n a r t e x h i b i t i o n " P r i s o n e r s of Wa r " o p e n e d i n J o h a n n e s b u r g as p a r t of E C C ’s f o c u s o n t h e g r o w i n g m i l i t a r i s a t i o n of S.A. so c i e t y .

O c t o b e r 1987 to F e b r u a r y 1988.C a m p a i g n t o p u b l i c i s e t h e s t a n d o f Dr Iv a n T o m s , on trial f o r r e f u s i n g t o d o a n y m i l i t a r y camps. T h i s c a m p a i g n w a s lin k e d t o a call f o r a l t e r n a t i v e c i v i l i a n n a tional s e r v i c e f o r t h o s e o b j e c t i n g o n g r o u n d s of c o n s c i e n c e to m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e . In F e b r u a r y T o m s w a s s e n t t o P o l l s m o o r p r i s o n to s e r v e a s e n t e n c e of 18 m o n ths.

J u n e 1988.

C a m p a i g n in s u p p o r t o f C o n s c i e n t i o u s Ob.iector D a v i d Bruce, f a c i n g a p r i s o n s e n t e n c e o f six y e a r s f o r r e f u s i n g to do a n y m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e w h a t s o e v e r . T h e trial r e c e i v e d h i g h m e d i a a t t e n t i o n b o t h l o c a l l y a n d in Europe, as B r u c e’s o b j e c t i o n w a s b a s e d o n t h e p o l i t i c a l role of the S A D F in u p h o l d i n g racism. D a v i d B r u c e s t a r t e d to s e r v e his s i x - y e a r s e n t e n c e on J u n e 25th, a m i d p u b l i c out r a g e .

D e c e m b e r 1988

A l t h o u g h ECC w a s b a n n e d by now, ECC m e m b e r s h e l p e d run a c a m p a i g n in s u p p o r t o f 1 8 - y e a r o l d C h a r l e s B e s t e r . a l s o r e f u s i n g t o d o a n y m i l i t a r y ser v i c e . C h a r l e s w a s al s o s e n t e n c e d t o six years, w h i c h he s t a r t e d t o s e r v e i m m e d i a t e l y . H i s trial t o o r e c e i v e d w i d e p u b l i c i t y both in S o u t h A f r i c a a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e UK w h e r e he had s t r o n g s u p p o r t , m a i n l y f r o m C h r i s t i a n groups.

M a y 1989.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n s c i e n t i o u s Ob.iector D a v o n M a y 15 took S . A f r i c a n C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r s f o r its focus. A c a m p a i g n to p u b l i c i s e t h e C . O . s s e r v i n g jail s e n t e n c e s , t o link t h e i r s t a n d w i t h o p p o s i t i o n t o a p a r t h e i d , and to c a m p a i g n f o r t h e i r r e l e a s e w a s run by t h e C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r S u p p o r t Group, w i t h h e l p f r o m ECC m e m b e r s . T h r e e i n t e r n a t i o n a l v i s i t o r s u n d e r t o o k a s p e a k i n g t o u r of the c o u n t r y ; t h e y i n c l u d e d a C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r f r o m H o l l a n d a n d o n e f r o m the US (a V i e t n a m W a r o b j e c t o r ) .

M a r c h 1990.

R e l e a s e O b j e c t o r C a m p a i g n , o r g a n i s e d a f t e r t h e u n b a n n i n g o f ECC. C a n d l e - l i g h t m a r c h e s w e r e h e l d in v a r i o u s c e n t r e s in a c a m p a i g n to f r e e D a v i d B r u c e a n d C h a r l e s B e s t e r w h o w e r e still in jail, a n d in C a p e T o w n t h e r e w a s a m a r c h on the S t a t e P r e s i d e n t’s r e s i d e n c e w i t h a box full of s i g n e d p e t i t i o n f o r m s d e m a n d i n g t h e i r release.

D e c e m b e r 1990.

S a f e R e t u r n C a m p a i g n , o r g a n i s e d in c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h C O S A W R (the C o m m i t t e e of S o u t h A f r i c a n W a r R e s i s t e r s in E n g l a n d a n d H o l l a n d ) , c u l m i n a t e d in the a r r i v a l of ten c o n s c r i p t i o n e x i l e s at J a n S m u t s A i r p o r t . A t a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e t h e y r e - s t a t e d t h e i r refusal t o do m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e if c a l l e d up.

J u l y 1991 a n d D e c e m b e r 1991.A c a m p a i g n to End R a c i s t C o n s c r i p t i o n and End C o n s c r i p t i o n N o w f o c u s s e d a t t e n t i o n on t h e c o n t i n u a n c e o f t h e w h i t e s - o n l y c o n s c r i p t i o n s y s t e m in s p i t e o f the repeal of t h e P o p u l a t i o n R e g i s t r a t i o n A c t a n d t h e m u c h - v a u n t e d d e m i s e o f A p a r t h e i d laws. In c e n t r a l D u r b a n ECC

m e m b e r s c e r e m o n i a l l y " b u r i e d c o n s c r i p t i o n " in a m o c k f u n e r a l p r o c e s s i o n , a n d p a m p h l e t s w e r e d i s t r i b u t e d n a t i o n a l l y . T h e c a m p a i g n s w e r e t i m e d to c o - i n c i d e w i t h the t w i c e y e a r l y N a t i o n a l S e r v i c e intakes.

1992.

An o n g o i n g c a m p a i g n o f N o n - c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e C a l l - u p w a s a i m e d at t h e c o n s c r i p t s t h e m s e l v e s . A R e g i s t e r of n o n - c o - o p e r a t i o n w a s s e t up, a n d in D e c e m b e r s o m e of t h o s e w h o h a d r e c e i v e d i n s t r u c t i o n s to r e p o r t for N a t i o n a l S e r v i c e in J a n u a r y 1993 s t a t e d p u b l i c l y at a C a p e T o w n p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e t h a t t h e y w e r e r e f u s i n g to serve, a n d w e r e w i l l i n g t o t a k e t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a p o s s i b l e jail s e n t e n c e .

April 1993

T h e C a m p a i g n o f N o n - C o - o p e r a t i o n . .. c o n t i n u e d w h e n a g r o u p of 13 m e n ( r e p r e s e n t i n g a b o u t f i f t y o t h e r s ) w h o h ad be e n c a l l e d up f o r c i t i z e n f o r c e c a m p s m a d e t h e i r refusal p u b l i c at a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e in J o h a n n e s b u r g , and f o l l o w e d t h i s up by m a r c h i n g to W i t w a t e r s r a n d C o m m a n d to h a n d in t h e i r a r m y kit.

J u l y 1993

E C C ’s 10th a n n i v e r s a r y P e a c e Festi v a l .

ECC’s STYLE OF WORK.

F r o m its e a r l y b e g i n n i n g ECC r e c o g n i s e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e of i m a g i n a t i v e a n d p r o v o c a t i v e media. T h e s e i n c l u d e d n u m e r o u s posters, p a m p h l e t s , n e w s l e t t e r s , T - s h i r t s , a D i a r y a n d C a l e n d a r , a re c o r d a n d t a p e of anti w a r m u s i c ( e n t i t l e d F o r c e s F a v o u r i t e s ) and an a n t h o l o g y o f a n t i - w a r s h o r t s t o r i e s a n d p o e t r y as well as an i l l u s t r a t e d b o o k l e t a i m e d a t t h e c o n s c r i p t s - " K n o w y o u r r i g h t s in t h e S A D F " .

In t h e c a m p a i g n s l i s t e d a b o v e i n n o v a t i v e i d e a s w e r e used, s u c h as a fun run, pi c n i c s , b u i l d i n g a s a n d c a s t l e in t h e s h a p e of t h e C a p e T o w n C a s t l e on C l i f t o n beach, f e t e s a n d o t h e r o u t d o o r events, c o n c e r t s , an a r t e x h i b i t i o n , as well as m a r c h e s . T h e r e s u l t w a s t h a t ECC a c h i e v e d a h i g h p u b l i c p r o f i l e and a t t r a c t e d n e w m e m b e r s as well as t h e ire of bo t h t h e S e c u r i t y P o l i c e a n d t h e SADF.

ECC a l s o m a d e use of t h e c o u r t s t o a d v a n c e its a n t i - A p a r t h e i d s t a n d .

* In 1987 w h e n t h r e e c o n s c r i p t s in C a p e T o w n w e r e s e n t e n c e d to p e r i o d s in d e t e n t i o n b a r r a c k s f o r r e v e a l i n g t h a t t h e S A D F h a d be e n r u n n i n g a s m e a r c a m p a i g n a g a i n s t ECC, ECC f o l l o w e d t h i s up by a p p l y i n g f o r an i n t e r d i c t (which w a s g r a n t e d ) r e s t r a i n i n g t h e S A D F f r o m i n t e r f e r i n g w i t h t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e ECC.

* A f t e r t h e Repeal of t h e P o p u l a t i o n R e g i s t r a t i o n Act in 1991, ECC a p p l i e d t o t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t f o r a rul i n g on t h e c o n t i n u e d p r a c t i c e of c o n s c r i p t i n g "whites'', a r g u i n g t h a t t h e D e f e n c e A c t u s e d a d e f i n i t i o n in the r e p e a l e d P o p u l a t i o n R e g i s t r a t i o n A c t f o r c o n s c r i p t i o n pu r p o s e s . T h i s a r g u m e n t w a s h e a r d by a b e n c h of t h r e e j u d g e s in P r e t o r i a in S e p t e m b e r 1992, a n d w a s r e j e c t e d by t h e bench. ECC w a s r e f u s e d l e ave t o appeal a g a i n s t the j u d g m e n t . H o w e v e r t h r o u g h p u b l i c i t y a r o u n d t h i s c o u r t ac t ion, m a n y c o n s c r i p t s had b e c o m e a w a r e o f t h e a n o m a l y of the p r e s e n t s y s t e m o f c o n s c r i p t i o n in t h e “ne w S o u t h

A f r i c a " .

* A l t h o u g h ECC as s u c h w a s n o t r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e legal a c t i o n s u r r o u n d i n g t h e t r i a l s of C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r s and t h e a p p e a l s w h i c h f o l l o w e d , it w a s a b l e to c r e a t e p u b l i c i t y a r o u n d t h e s e a c t i o n s , w h i c h c u l m i n a t e d in an Appeal C o u r t r u l i n g in M a r c h 1990 w h i c h o v e r s e t the o r i g i n a l s e n t e n c e s of O b j e c t o r s Ivan T o m s a n d D a v i d Bruce. It is s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t no o b j e c t o r s h a v e b e e n s e n t to jail s i n c e t h e r e l e a s e o f C h a r l e s B e s t e r in A u g u s t 1990, a l t h o u g h t h i s p e n a l t y still s t a n d s in t h e Act.

ECC has w o r k e d w i t h o t h e r a n t i - a p a r t h e i d o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t its e x i s t e n c e . T h e s e i n c l u d e d t h e c h u r c h e s , t h e UDF, o t h e r n o n ­g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s s u c h as t h e B l a c k S a s h a n d C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r S u p p o r t Group, and s i n c e F e b r u a r y 1990, t h e ANC. F r o m the b e g i n n i n g ECC h a s a l s o b u i l t a n d m a i n t a i n e d a g o o d r e l a t i o n s h i p

w i t h t h e press.

Th e g o v ern m en t ’ s r e s p o n s e to the E nd C o n s c r ip t io n C a m p a ig n .

ECC s u f f e r e d t h e s a m e f a t e as m a n y o t h e r a n t i - a p a r t h e i d o r g a n i s a t i o n s in t h e 1 9 8 0’s. A t its v e r y f i r s t n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e in J a n u a r y 1985 t h e S e c u r i t y P o l i c e r a i d e d t h e venue, i n t e r r o g a t e d p e o p l e and c c o n f i s c a t e d p a p ers. F r o m t h e n on t h e r e w e r e h o u s e s e a r c h e s , t e a r g a s a t t a c k s at m e e t i n g s , h a r r a s s m e n t of i n d i v i d u a l s i n c l u d i n g d e a t h t h r e a t s , t a p p e d t e l e p h o n e s , petrol bombs, d e t e n t i o n s w i t h i n t e r r o g a t i o n , a n d i n d i v i d u a l r e t r i c t i o n orders. In a d d i t i o n t h e r e w a s t h e wel 1- o r c h e s t r a t e d s m e a r c a m p a i g n run f r o m the C a p e T o w n c a s t l e ( m e n t i o n e d ab o v e ) a n d o f c o u r s e the o r g a n i s a t i o n w a s i n f i l t r a t e d by s p i e s bo t h f r o m M i l i t a r y I n t e l l i g e n c e , t h e S e c u r i t y P o l i c e and e v e n the J o h a n n e s b u r g C i t y Co u ncil S e c u r i t y D e p a r t m e n t . Books, s u c h as t h e " Know Y o u r R i g hts' book a n d the 1987 D i a r y w e r e s e i z e d a t t h e p r i n t e r a n d c o n f i s c a t e d , and po s t e r s , p a m p h l e t s and o t h e r m a t e r i a l w e r e c o n f i s c a t e d f r o m

m e m b e r s ’ h o m e s .

A rival o r g a n i s a t i o n V e t e r a n s f o r V i c t o r y w a s s e t up t o d i s c r e d i t

ECC, w h i c h it did t h r o u g h a s o p h i s t i c a t e d n e w s l e t t e r and a f a i r l y h i g h p r o f i l e f o r its “fo u n d e r " an e x - m e r c e n a r y of A u s t r a l i a n origin. T h e r i g h t - w i n g A i d a P a r k e r N e w s l e t t e r a l s o d e v o t e d o n e of its e d i t i o n s s o l e l y t o c a m p a i g n i n g a g a i n s t ECC, w h i c h it d e s c r i b e d as p a r t o f t h e C o m m u n i s t O n s l a u g h t . A n d in its t r a i n i n g o f N a tional S e r v i c e m e n t h e S A D F i t s e l f i n c l u d e d a n t i - E C C p r o p a g a n d a .

ECC w a s t h e r e f o r e b a n n e d in A u g u s t 1988, a f t e r h a v i n g p r e v i o u s l y be e n p r e v e n t e d by t h e E m e r g e n c y R e g u l a t i o n s f r o m c a l l i n g f o r an end to c o n s c r i p t i o n . T h e b a n n i n g u n d o u b t e d l y w e a k e n e d t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n , t h o u g h s o m e b r a n c h e s c o n t i n u e d t o m e t c l a n d e s t i n e l y and in A u g u s t 1989 t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n " u n b a n n e d " itself, t h o u g h o f f i c i a l l y it r e m a i n e d r e s t r i c t e d until F e b r u a r y 1990.

Th e c u rren t s it u a t io n .

C o n s c r i p t i o n of w h i t e m a l e s in t o t h e S A D F is still w i t h us in s p i t e of t h e " r e f o r m s” of F.W. de Klerk. A n d at h i g h s c h o o l s 1 5 - y e a r o l d " white" bo y s a r e still b e i n g i s s u e d w i t h r e g i s t r a t i o n f o r m s for t h e i r f u t u r e m i l i t a r y d u t ies. A l a r g e n u m b e r o f c o n s c r i p t s c o n t i n u e t o d e f y c a l l - u p i n s t r u c t i o n s , a n d a f e w m e n a r e b e i n g p r o s e c u t e d a l t h o u g h it is c l e a r t h a t t h e S A D F n o l o n g e r h a s t h e will or the m a n p o w e r to e n f o r c e t h e law in e v e r y case.

ECC c o n t i n u e s to call f o r an e n d t o c o n s c r i p t i o n , a n d until t h a t h a ppens, f o r a m o r a t o r i u m o n p r o s e c u t i o n s r e l a t e d t o t h e call-up.

File: E C C H I S T .1.

"e CC ' 10TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL

1. In troduction

ECC is an almost unique phenomenon in recent South African history. Rooted

in the white community, it has nevertheless been accepted as an integral

and significant part of the anti-apartheid movement. It has retained, with

some difficu lty at times, a non-aligned stance over the years: it has also

' proved that successful single issue campaigns are possible in South African

politics. It has successfully challenged the might of the state-by the

sacrifice which con sc ien tious objectors and activists have been prepared

to make, and by the sheer audacity of its behaviour and appeal to the

humanity of its opponents.

ECC deserves to celebrate and to be celebrated.

j ^ Broad goals

(a)to celebrate the end of conscription in South Africa;

(b)to celebrate the achiev em ents of ECC and the anti-mi 1 itarism movement;

(c)to ensure that these achievements are recognised, now and in the future;

(d ) t o examine the issue of civilian control of any future South African

defence force;

(e ) to ensure that conscription and rights to conscientious objection are

adressed in the negotiation process-both in the constitution and any

bill of rights,

(f)to examine the appr op riatene ss of the formation of a peace movement, in

South(Southern) Africa;

(g )to develop links with anti-war groups in Southern Africa;

fh)to express solidarity with the anti-war move me nt internationally;

3 .Specific goals

by selective invitation of guests representative of the following

or ga ni sations/communities:

(a)international donors and support or ganisations so as to acknowledge

their support to the anti-apar theid struggle;

(b)South African org an is ations such as the Black Sash, SACC, SACBC and

legal firms-again to acknowledge their inspiration and support;

(c ) re presentatives of communities directly attacked by the SADF, inside

and outside South Africa

P a g e

Programme

(a )Conce r t

Street Pa rt y-Yeoville

Pl ays-already written

(b)Lectures/workshops:

for e x a m p l e - ( i )on broad goals (a),(b),(c) and (e): keynote address;

(ii)broad go,als (d)>(*£) and (f) separately in lectures or

workshops;

(iii)on the use of court action by the ECC;

(iv)on no n-sexism in ECC and related organisations;

(v)on ECC-how to run a successful single issue campaign;

(vi)on ECC-black perspectives; and

(vii)on ECC-the con tribution of artists.

(c)Church service-ecu me ni cal

(d)Publication

(e)Display of posters/etc.

Practical Details

(a)Budget for-staff member (March to August)

-office space (ECC office)

-comm unication costs

-st ationery costs

-ad vertising costs

-travel costs for guests

-venue booking costs

(b ) F u n d - raisin g- donati on s from existing o r ga n is at ions"bu dg et s (E C C ,C O S G ,C A S )

-donations from existing South African sources (SACC,SACBC

Qua ke r s )

-donations from overseas donors ( £2000=R9000/R10Q00)

(c )Staffing-one person in Johannesburg (at least mornings)

(d)Time-3uly University vacation

-3 days Friday (part),Saturday,Sunday

(e)Venue-Wits campus

-f riendly,large enough,varied facilities

Alternative venue-Sacred Heart CoLlege campus (August?)

/F*r>act’ical details contd.

( f)Scale-large rather than small

-participants to find own accomodation (except out-of-town guests)

(g)Resour ces-individuals

-organisati ons

OBJECTOR:The mailing list is still in Johannesburg. We suggest that it remain there until the future of conscription (and the future of Objector) is decided.

ECC PROPOSAL:We enthusiastically support the proposal of a 10th anniversary festival. We agree that a staff person should be assigned to this task. Additional suggestions:% hold a reunion of COs, particularly jail, exile, and alternative service objectors.ff- invite Archbishop Desmond Tutu to be a keynote speaker (he addressed the C0S6 conference in Durban which called for an end to conscription).t display ECC media and photos of past events.

Dates: please note that there is to be a Gandhi Conference in Natal from 10—14 July and many of our people will be participating in that conference.

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MO T I V A T I O N FOR E C C ' S T E N T H A N N I V E R S A R Y F E S T I V A L

A l t h o u g h t h e End C o n s c r i p t i o n C a m p a i g n h a s be e n r o o t e d in the w h i t e c o m m u n i t y , it h a s b e e n a c c e p t e d as an integral and s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t of t h e a n t i - a p a r t h e i d m o v e m e n t . T h e End C o n s c r i p t i o n C a m p a i g n has r e t a i n e d a n o n - a l i g n e d s t a n c e h o w e v e r we r e m a i n c o m m i t t e d t o t h e p r i n c i p l e s of n o n - r a c i a l i s m , n o n ­sexism, d e m o c r a c y and peace. ECC has s u c c e s s f u l l y c h a l l e n g e d the m i g h t of t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t by t h e s a c r i f i c e s t h a t c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t o r s and ECC m e m b e r s h a v e be e n p r e p a r e d to

make.

T h e a i m s of t h e f e s t i v a l a r e two f o l d : f i r s t l y to c e l e b r a t e the e n d of c o n s c r i p t i o n a n d t h e r o l e t h a t ECC a n d t h e a n t i ­m i l i t a r i s a t i o n m o v e m e n t h a v e p l a y e d in a c h i e v i n g t h i s and s e c o n d l y t o p r o v i d e a f o r u m f o r d i s c u s s i n g h o w t h e ECC can c o n t i n u e t o w o r k f o r p e a c e a n d j u s t i c e in S o u t h Africa, p a r t i c u l a r l y a r o u n d the i s s u e s of v i o l e n c e a n d t h e m i l i t a r y . At the f e s t i v a l w e will look a t t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a f u t u r e p eace m o v e m e n t w i t h l inks w i t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n t i - m i 1 i t a r i s a t i o n

m o v e m e n t s .

The Fes t i v a l will be o p e n to all people, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e p e o p l e and o r g a n i s a t i o n s w h o a r e i n v o l v e d in t h e a n t } m i l i t a r i s a t i o n field. We e x p e c t t h a t a m o n g t h e p e o p l e w h o will be i n t e r e s t e d in t h e f e s t i v a l will i n c l u d e p e a c e m o n i t o r s f r o m i n d e p e n d e n t p e a c e m o n i t o r i n g o r g a n i s a t i o n s a n d t h e N a t i o n a l P eace A c c o r d s t r u c t u r e s , p e o p l e w h o a r e (and p e o p l e w h o w e re) a c t i v e in the ECC, i n t e r n a t i o n a l d o n o r s a n d s u p p o r t o r g a n i s a t i o n s ^

C h u r c h o r g a n i s a t i o n s .

W o r k s h o p s will be p r e s e n t e d o n v a r i o u s i n t e r n a t i o n a l m o d e l s of p e a c e k e eping. D i s c u s s i o n s will be h e l d on t h e s u c c e s s e s of local p e a c e i n i t i a t i v e s in c u r b i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l v i o l e n c e t h a t has r a v a g e d S o u t h Afri c a . V i s i o n s f o r t h e i n t e g r a t i o n of t h e d e f e n c e f o r c e will be shared. E x p e r t s will e x a m i n e the p r o b l e m s that c o u l d f a c e the r e s t r u c t u r i n g of a f u t u r e d e f e n c e force. D e b a t e s will be h e l d on w h a t i s s u e s a n e w p e a c e m o v e m e n t s h o u l d be t a k i n g up a n d h o w a s u c h a m o v e m e n t will c h a l l e n g e the level of v i o l e n c e

in S o u t h A f r i c a n so c i e t y .

The p r o g r a m m e is a c o m b i n a t i o n of p u b l i c e v e n t s s u c h as the o p e n i n g a d d r e s s at t h e b e g i n n i n g of the c o n f e r e n c e as well as s m a l l e r m o r e foc u s e d , w o r k i n g g r o u p s d i s c u s s i n g / d e b a t i n g s p e c i f i c

issues.

A BILL of Rights should be­come part of ordinary peo­ple’s lives and of a future educational culture, ANC national executive member Albie Sachs said yesterday.

At the End Conscription Campaign’s (ECC) Peace Festival in Johannesburg, Sachs said the human rights debate should include rep­resentations from, among others, women, homosex­uals and the disabled.

It was crucial to decide whether a Bill of Rights w as in te rp re te d by ‘‘a branch of the white, male- dom inated, conservative judiciary” or a new court with a constitution and thinking that were nonra- cial and non-sexist.

T he a n t i- a p a r th e id movement had developed a body of people with the skills, sensitivity and seri­o u sn e ss to m ake good judges, he said.

Parliam ent should be in­volved in human rights pro­tection in education, health and resource allocation. It had no role to play when it came to human rights con­siderations such as ending torture, Sachs said.

Two draft Bills were be­ing discussed: one was part of the constituent assem­bly’s constitutional princi­ples and the other dealt with fundamental rights and fre ed o m s d u rin g transition.

S achs d esc r ib e d the second document as a stop­gap measure. It only for-

I mulated an equality clause and did not forbid specific types of discrimination.

This did not appeal to South Africans who had ex­perienced discrimination.

The omission of freedom of expression and the right of conscientious objection from both documents was a serious one, he said.

He paid tribute to the ECC for its peacemaking a c t iv i t ie s

A N C NEC m em b er A lb ie S e c h . .p e e k in g on th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f a hum an r .g n x . a . „ »£ n d C o n s c r ip t io n C a m p a ig n -, P e a c e F e .t iv a . in Jo h a n n e .b u rg y e .te r d a y . Picture: G A RTH LU M LEY

ECC closes its doors on fighting^nsenption

Johannesburg: The End Conscription Cam paign closed the door on 10 years of fighting conscription as its Peace Festival drew to an end yesterday.

But related aspects of the work the ECC s ta rt­ed in 1983 will continue with an anti-m ilitarisa­tion group formed a t the end of the conference held at Wits University this weekend.

Since the last whites-only m ilitary call-up has probably taken place, the ECC used the conference to examine a range of issues related to peace in South Africa.

Delegates took part in several workshops organ­ised under the themes of peace-keeping in South I Africa, arm ed forces in transition, and developing a peaceful society.—Daily News Correspondent I

ANC ‘pushing for early^ n ^ ^ an ctio n s ’THE African National Congress is holding discussions with a view to hav­ing the Transitional Executive Council set up before legislation is passed in Parliament to enable the organisation to lift sanctions, according to its presi­dent, Nelson Mandela.

He was addressing an End Conscrip­tion Campaign peace festival at Wits University last night.

Mandela said the ANC would take

is the proposal !o multiparty negotiations after discussing the matter. If suffi­cient consensus was reached, the ANC would then call for the lifting of sanc­tions within two or three weeks.

Mandela said his organisation had been unable to lift sanctions because legislation on the creation of the TEC and its duties had not been passed dur­ing the last parliamentary session. — Sapa.

M A R IA N N E M ERTEN

►

Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns - recognised internationally for his human rights campaigns during 20 years of military rule in Brazil - has been invited to South Africa.He will be speaking to Catholics in this Diocese on Saturday,29th June, 1985.

ANTI- REPRESSION:In 1971 the Cardinal sprang to prominance at the height of a wave of repression in Brazil during which two diocesan priests were arrested and brutally tortured.Cardinal Arns called a meeting of all the priests in his Archdioces {the biggest in the world) to discuss the issue of torture. From the meeting came a strongly worded document which clearly defin ed the difference between social work and subversion, and outlined the church's position on social justice.Since then the cardinal has been subject to campaigns of harrassment by the military.NEWSPAPER:Be founded the newspaper, "O Sao Paulo", the largest Catholic paper in the country. The government censored this paper and shut down his radio station which has broadcast educational information.BASIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES:From 1S73 he has worked with the Basic Christian Communities which are small groups of Christians who work out ways of improving thfiir lives.CATHOLIC PROTEST:In 1975, over 6 000 Catholics defied military seizure of Sao Paulo by attending a mass called by Cardinal Arns after the death by torture of a respected journalist, Vladimir Hertzog.SUPPORT FOR WORKERS:In 1976 he sent out a pastoral letter condemning the plight of city workers. He was declared by the military to be the main person behing the country's.labour opposition.

In 1979 he supported the first major strike in Brazil by declaring that the right strike was fundamental to a democratic society. He also led the funeral of two worker leaders killed by police which vas transformed intc a major protect demonstration. He is still involved in the training of worker *^j ?ers for the struaole for improved conditions of work.ON THE ^TJPCH AND POLITICS:"For the church", says the Cardinal "politics is everything that has to do with the well being of the majority of the people.It means the poor must organise to act as a group to defend their rights. It means they must create intermediary organisations, such as unions, to be able to react collectively. It means Christian lay people must participate in party politics defending the rights of the majority."

Pupil killed at school *

By Lulama Luti

A ] 0-Yi.AK-fHJ) Soweto schoolboy was allegedly shol dead at point-blank range by a white policeman in the schoolyard of the Bhukulani High School in Zondi on Wednesday af­

ternoon.Mlhokozisi Ndlovu, a Standard 2 pupil at the

Emathafeni Primary School, was shot in front of his brother Mduduzi (8), his friends Ndo, also aged eight, and S'fiso Ngwenya (13).

Soweto police spokesman Major Joseph Ngoheni confirmed the incident.

Ngobcni said Mlhokozisi was shot in the head opposite the school by a member of the Flying Squad who had gone wilh other policemen to

POINT-BLANK 10 -year-old Soweto boy is shot

dead by white cop: § 0^ 9gjs)q?,________

investigate a report that a girl was being gang- raped at the school.

He said Mlhokozisi was shot as he ran away after he had been warned twice to stop. He said police were invesligating.

According to S'fiso, all four boys were play­ing soccer in one of Ihe classrooms al Ihe school when Mduduzi spotted a policeman coming towards them. “We all thought of running away but I told them that we would explain that we were only playing,” said S’fiso.

Mthokozisi climbed out through a window and ran away.“When this policeman came up to us we told him that we were only playing soccer.

“A few minutes later we heard gunshots and the policeman we were talking to pointed a firearm at us and said we should not move." S’fiso said.S’fiso said when they were allowed to go he spotted Mlhokozisi lying on his back and bleeding from the head.

An ambulance took him to the Baragwanath Hospital but he was certified dead on arrival.

AV atergatef

aid G oldst^e onA FORMER Water­gate prosecutor and the chairman of Zim­babwe’s Electoral Commission areamong the members of a panel that has been appointed to advise the Goldstone Commis­sion on election viol­ence.

poll violence

Mr Justice Richard Goldstone said yesterday i public inquiry “ into lays and means of curb- / ng public violence and in- K

timidation in the forth­coming

on m tne roan- j* election” would SCommissi .

• Mr Charles Ruff, a "‘leading United States at­torney, former Watergate Special Prosecutor, Act­ing Attorney General of the United States and US ; Attorney for the District of Columbia” .

• Prof Walter Kamba, J f; former Vice-Chancellor ? of the University of Zim- /.babwe and chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral

be held in Cape Town in August.

He added: “The com­mission has appointed a panel of experts to advise it with regard to the rel­evant issues. In that re­gard the commission con­siders it important to take into account the expcri- ence, successes and fail­ures of other countries which have held national democratic elections after periods of fundamental transition.

“The advise of the pan­el will enable the commis­sion better to advise the State President, the Elec­toral Commission and the political parties.”

Panel members in­clude:

Dr John Olivier, Di­rector of the Centre for Conflict Analysis of the Human Sciences Re­search Council.

• Prof C Shearing, of the University of the Western Cape, “an ex­pert on policing and a member of the Police Board” .

• Prof T Geldenhuys, of the University of South Africa, also an expert on policing.

• Prof Otty Nxumalo, of the University of Zulu- land and an observer at the recent Zambian elec­tions.

• Prof Ron Gould, Deputy Chief Electoral

1 Officer of Canada,” who has had wide experience of elections in many parts of the world” .

• Prof J Elklit, of Denmark, “who has ob­served elections in Nepal, Bulgaria and Kenya and advised on election pro­cedures in many coun­tries.

• Ambassador Mrs Theresa Stiggner-Scott of Ghana, “a fonner High Court Judge in Zimbabwe and presently Ghana’s Ambassador to France” .

Mr Ruff would act as chairman of the panel.

Justice Goldstone said the commission hoped to call other experts and community leaders to ad­dress its public hearings.

“These will include Prof Laurence Schlem- mer of the HSRC and Prof Jack Spence, the Di­rector of the Royal Insti­tute of International Af­fairs in London," the judge said in a statement. — Sapa.

Recommit to Accord, urges

peace bodyTHE National Peace Committee has requested an urgent meeting of the signatories of the Septem­ber 1991 National Peace Accord to recommit themselves to the NPA.

The NPC said in a statement yesterday re­gional and local lead­erships should also sign the accord, while “non­signatories who may have problems with the word­ing (of the accord) must sign a peace pledge to give legitimacy to their participating in negotia­tions” .

The statement issued on behalf of NPC chair­man John Hall said secur­ity forces should be held to the code of conduct while “private armies must be made transparent

and held equally account­able” .

It said security force commanders must be re­sponsible to the NPC structures for their adher­ence to their codes of con­duct.

“ It is unthinkable that a country whose political leaders are locked into sophisticated and serious negotiations to bring peace and stability to this country, can tolerate the violence sweeping the country, threatening to destroy us all,” the state­ment said.

It said the political viol­ence was overshadowed by rising crime that forced many South Africans to live in fortresses. Sapa.

Joint control of all armed formations

Officers o f MK at a graduation ceremony in Uganda

MAYIBUYE spoke to Siphiwe Nyanda, the Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, about the

ANC's approach to the process leading to integration of the armed formations.A

sked to outline the ANC’s pro­posals on the in­tegration of armed forma­tions, Siphiwe Nyanda, the Chief of Staff of

Umkhonto we Sizwe, clarifies that the ANC is not looking at integra­tion at this stage. “We are demand­ing that all armed formations that exist in the country should be con­trolled by multi-party structures that are set up at the multiparty negotia­tions.

“This is necessary in order to level the political playing field. These forces are perceived by many people to be involved in the current violence. The SADF is perceived by us to be biased against the people and helping the National Party government and its rule over ourselves. On the other

hand Umkhonto we Sizwe is per­ceived to be the army of the ANC, and, as far as some sectors are con­cerned, can also impact negatively in the run up to elections.

WREAKING HAVOC“At this stage what we are looking

at is joint control over all security forces, particularly those that are controlled by the regime because they have been wreaking havoc and have been associated with' the regime for a very long time. We can't accept that these are legitimate structures. They may be legal, but they are illegitimate in so far as the majority of the people is concerned.

“Integration will take place and the various armed formations will form the building blocks when we create a new army. And that will be only after democratic elections for a new government that will rule on the basis of the will of the people.”

Outlining the stages the ANC proposes from here up to integra­tion, Nyanda says the first step is the establishment of the Transitional Executive Authority. Under it will be the Transitional Executive Council and its sub-councils that will oversee certain aspects of governance in the country. There are suggestions for in­dependent Electoral and Media Commissions, sub-councils that will run the finances of the country, for­eign policy in the interim, and so on.

SUB-COUNCILSWith regard to the security forces there must be sub-councils for de­fence and law and order. The one on defence must look at controlling all the armed formations that exist in the country, be it the SADF, the Transkei Defence Force, the Ciskei Defence Force. “Of course,” Nyanda hastens to add, “you can’t expect that all these forces will be controlled and we remain outside that process. We also have to subject ourselves to that control. But this does not mean the dissolution of these forces. It means the sub-coun- cils have got authority over every­thing concerning these armed forces.”

Asked what stage the negotia­tions are at and what the problems are, Nyanda says there is still reluc­tance on the part of the regime to ac­cept that there has to be multi-party control over the security forces. “Their proposals are to the effect that these sub-councils, of which there is agreement generally about

the need for their creation, will be toothless instru­ments and merely advisory bodies in the running of the SADF and the South African se­curity apparatus in general, whereas we want them to wield real power.We want effective control over the SADF and all the armed forces in the country. The Nat­ional Party is not yet ready to accede to that. That is where negotiations are at.”

But given that there can’t be elec­tions before this issue is resolved, what are the prospects? Nyanda is confident that the hurdles will be cleared. “I am optimistic that it will be resolved because it is in the inter­est of everybody that there should be speedy progress in negotiations. This is one of the stickiest areas of the process. The security apparatus has been this pet child of this regime, this instrument which they so willfully used and manipulated against us.

“So it is very difficult for them to come to terms with the fact they they will have to shed exclusive control and ultimately lose control over the SADF and the security apparatus in general. It is very difficult for the National Party regime to relinquish power and the SADF is one of their instruments of power. We appreciate that they are in difficulty. But there can’t be progress without them re­solving this question. They will have to come to terms with the fact that this will have to be done.”

On MK’s readiness for integra­tion and what its impact would be given the disparity in numbers and arms, Nyanda says MK forces are ready for intergration. He is not worried about numbers. “Our num­

bers are the millions of people, some of whom have not joined MK yet. We are interested in building an army that will reflect the true char­acter of South African society,” he says. “And the true character of South African society is that the ma­jority of the people are black. It will take time to achieve that but we must speed up that process.”

IRREGULAR W ARFARE ^He continues: “We have a sizeable number of trained cadres, many of them in the country already. We trained as guerillas because we were fighting irregular warfare against the apartheid regime. Many of the people inside the country re­ceived guerilla training. They were well-equiped and skilled under those circumstances.

“Now that we want to build a new force, a conventional force, we would obviously retrain them. We think we are equal to the task. Oustide the country our forces have already been converted into a regu­lar army. This process has been completed. What we are doing now is to upgrade their skills, training

14 Mayibuye May 1993

them to become commissioned and non-commisioned officers,” he says.

Regarding the ANC’s call for the creation of peace brigades and how the existing self-defence units will fit into these, Nyanda admitts that the matter has not been canvassed suficently within the ANC. He thinks it is a very good idea. He ex­plains that when the ANC enjoined people to create self-defence units to defend themselves against the on­slaught that was unleashed after the unbanning of the ANC, the calls made were accompanied by guide­lines to the effect that those self-de­fence units had to be community- based.

PRIVATE A R M Y

I “We warned even at that time gainst the danger of these units

being perceived to be ANC cre­ations because there are many or­ganisations in some areas that exist alongside the ANC. So if we were to create those units as the ANC, it would give the impression that we were creating a private army.

“But of course we could not re­main blind to the onslaught that had been unleased. We realised that this onslaught was aimed at undermining the ANC and its leadership. We as the membership of the ANC and MK had to play a role as members of the community in defence of the people.

“The call for peace corps is in a sense re-emphasising calls that we made originally that these should not be ANC creations. The other problem is the way in which these self-defence units were sponta­neously formed. As soon as the vio­

lence came about people took it upon themselves, as is the human nature, to defend themselves.There were therefore spontaneous group­ings of people who organised them­selves into self-defence units.

“One of the things we had to do was to try to go to these units which were created spontaneously and draw them towards our discipline. But, of course, it is quite possible that, after the correct call which we made, not sufficient was done to en­sure that these are really rooted within the community. This was due to the hurried and spontaneous na­ture in which these units sprung up. So it is quite a timely call that we have these peace corps. A move­ment towards the more orderly or­ganisation of these self-defence units is very desirable. ” ♦

Various phases leading up to integration have been out­lined by the ANC. The establish­ment of the TEC should see to the joint control of all armed forma­tions, including the SADF, SAP and MK. This w ill create the basis for full integartion after elections and the creation of a new army and police force.

But what happens before the TEC is established? In so far as the ANC is concerned, there i? one obvious thing that needs

be done, and this is ensuring that MK keeps a constant check on its inventory of weapons and that they are not used for pur­poses contrary to ANC policy.

A proposal has been put on the table that, once agreement on the phases has been reached, the ANC should con­sider placing its weaponry under the supervision of an in­dependent third party. The OAU, the UN and other such structures have been proposed for this purpose. But whether this happens at all w ill depend on progress in negotiations and the climate as the country moves towards effective joint control of all armed formations. ♦

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INTEGRATION

JUL 12 '93 11:00

writersp. 1

awardsawards are a hallmark o f e x c e l l e n c e , en the Guardian is a new spaper o f the

•st water.It all started in January w ith

am paign's M ed iu m o f the Year. S ince ien the honours have c o m e th ick and st for the Guardian and its writers, w ho .we carricd o f f a high proportion o f the iost prestigious awards in British jour- alism. including a trium phant hat trick ;the British Press Awards, announced in

lay.Rc|^0k*rs M a g g ie O 'K a n e and Ed

’ulliamy both w on top honours for the econ d t im e ru n n in g this year. M agg ie ) ’Kane was nam ed Journalist o f the 'i ear

nc.1 shared the D a v id H o ld e n ntcrnational Reporter Award w ith Ed 'ulliamy. T h e judges, who voted unani- nously for both , said of M aggie: “S h e o m b in c s pow erfu l w riting w ith great uimanity and com m u n ica tes this with a res h ness that really sets her apart.

Reporter o f th e Year was D a v id le n c k e , the G u a rd ia n ’s W e s tm in s te r

:orrespondent, w in n in g the award for the

;econd time.Peter Prescon, editor o f the Guardian

ia id ^ ^ u n absolutely delighted . 1993 has

j e e n a terrific year for us.“I can’t remember any time in Guardian

history w h en so many Guardian writers And p eop le w ho work f«r the paper have won so many awards. 1 strongly doubt that any newspaper in Britain has m anaged

such a catch.“All this, plus a smashing award for the

M anchester E v e n in g N e w s , too. W e all feel w e ’re going forward with a lot o f confi­

dence .”

MaggieO'Kane

Ed Vulliamy

D avid. Hencke

MartinWoollacott

Will Hutton

UK P R E S S G A Z E T T E B R IT IS H P R E S S A W A R D S

Journalist o f the Year: M aggie O ’Kane. David I lo lden International Reporter:Ed Vulliamy and M aggie O'Kane. Reporter o f the Year: I )avid 1 len ck e C o m m e n d e d : W aldetnar Jam 1s 7.c7.ak (Critic o f the Year) and lan Katz (C ec il King Young Journalist).

JA M ES C A M E R O N AW ARD:

Martin Woollacott.

‘W 1 IA T T H E P A P E R S SA Y ’ AW ARDS:Journalist o f the Year: M aggie O 'K ane. Foreign Journalist o f the Year:Ed Vulliamy.Political Journalist o f the Year: W ill

H u t t o n . ______T h is is the first t im e in the awards’ 37

year history that three writers from o n e paper have p icked up these honours in a single year.BAR C O U N C I L L E G A L

R E P O R T I N G A W A R D S 1992 N ew sp a p er Journalist o f the Year:D uncan C am pbell

N E W SP A PE R IN D U S T R Y A W A R D S: Award for O utstanding Achievem ent:

T h e Guardian.C o m m e n d e d : N ation a l N e w s p a p e r E ditor o f the Year (P eter Preston): National Colour S u p p lem en t o f the Year ((guardian W e e k e n d ) ; M ark etin g and Promotion (Guardian W eek en d launch).

C A M P A I G N M E D I U M O F T H E

YEAR: T h e Guardian.M E D I A Y E A R B O O K A W A R D S 1992: N ational D a ily N ew sp a p er o f the Year:

T h e Guardian.

ONE WOMAN’S

As a war correspondent, Maggie O’Kane is a rare woman in what is still basically a gentleman’s club, well known for her powerful and passionate reporting from Bosnia. She spoke to us about her life, her job - and her fears about going back

pqverty. Since joining The Guardian I’ve covered Bosnia, but also the wars in Romania and Iraq and the miners’ protests here when the news came through about all the pit closures.’Your passionate coverage of the war in Bosnia has attracted a lot of attention. Do you feel a sense of personal involvement in events there? ‘Yes and no. The war in Bosnia is not my war - I’m not having my house burnt down, or watching my chil­dren starving because there’s nothing for them to eat but grass. But I am very committed to the story. My role is to find out the truth about what’s happening and report it. I don’t know how important journalism is, but if it ever has a purpose, that’s it: to tell the story. At least nobody can say, as they said about Hitler’s Germany, “We didn’t know” . There are concentration camps in Bosnia where people have been t>

nONs

In the course of your work you see great suffering and often put your own life at risk. What made you become a war correspondent? ‘When I left school I wanted to be a barris­ter; I’ve always had a strong interest in justice and in social issues. But

I didn’t get into law school, so I studied journalism instead. The stories I cover now are an extension of my own interests and concerns. I was never cut out for interviewing celebrities. When I was working at home in Ireland I covered topics like crime, drugs and

■ FEBRUARY 1993

PHOT

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PH/LO

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<3 horribly tortured and mutilated. There are dead children and starving families and des­ecrated corpses, and the whole world knows about it. That’s the most terrible thing. We’ve already told the story, but so little is being done to relieve the situation.’Are you aware of being in danger when you’re there? Do you feel frightened? ‘Yes I do. This time, as I’m about to go back, I’m really scared, but the urge to know what’s happening is stronger. A lot of journalists have been hurt or killed out there - our civil­ian status is no protection. A woman from CNN recently had her face destroyed by anti­aircraft fire, and that shook me terribly.’ You’ve been to Bosnia several times. What makes you determined to keep going back despite such horrors?

to know what’s happening. I feel a of commitment to this story. I know

that it’s going to be very, very bad - there will be thousands of people literally starving to death this winter. When I started out I was very idealistic and naive. I believed that news­paper reports could stop the war, but they won’t. But sometimes they can help. The Guardian broke the story about the terrible concentration camps - the Serbs had denied that they even existed. Because of our story, television crews were sent there and those images went around the world. They didn’t close the camps, but things did improve. A lot of the torture stopped. If just one man who was strung up by his thumbs in those camps was cut down, then it’s worth it. It’s a small thing, in the scale of a war like that, but it is something. I’ve spent most of my time with the real victims of the war, the Muslims. This time I want to try to meet the Serbs - the per- pe^kors - to understand their experience.’ YOTWe covered the war from the point of view of the women involved in it. Do you think they find it easier to talk to you than to a male reporter?‘Maybe, sometimes. But being foreign, and a journalist, I’m not really man or woman to them, just a weird, alien object. In Baghdad a lot of them felt a bit sorry for me - no man, no children, and having to work for a living. It’s the same in Bosnia, but basically they are just so glad that someone has come, and wants to tell their story, that it makes no difference.’ Why did you choose to write about this war in such a personal way?‘Because that’s the story I want to try to get people to understand and empathise with. I know about compassion fatigue, and that the story is an ‘old’ one in terms of news. But perhaps if I write about a group of house­wives and children being taken from their homes, locked in a house, drenched in petrol and burnt alive, it might get through to some­one. That kind of thing happens all the time. I met the only survivor from that house - a

42

In a single day Maggie witnesses a lot of human anguish, but she is always aware that

woman with a completely melted face. She described the terror and agony of the people who died, and I wanted to describe it to everybody. I always put in people’s names, ages and occupations because the people dying aren’t just soldiers, they’re teachers and mothers and engineers. And if people care enough about this, the government might do more than pay pathetic lip serv­ice or send just a few convoys of aid that are like a drop in the ocean.’Having witnessed so many dreadful atrocities, do you have any insight into what makes people commit them?‘The soldiers who do these things are all ex-postal clerks and shopkeepers, ordinary men. Many of them have comparatively lowly positions in life, and they go mad with the power. They love that feeling of dominance and control. On the day of the burning, they got drunk and worked themselves into a kind of frenzy. It’s part of that madness that infects sane people in wartime. And the Serbs pour a great deal of poisonous propaganda into their ears - they’ve been told that the Mus­lims are out to create a fundamentalist Muslim state on land that belongs to the Serbs, and that they want to destroy and dis­criminate against the Serbs. They also say

that the Muslims are torturing the Serbs, and cutting out their eyes and tongues. It gives the Serbian soldiers justification for anything.’ Do you believe in the old saying - that it’s men who make the wars and women who fight them?‘Yes. I have met some brave and remarkable men, but the universal, everyday courage and resourcefulness of the women is totally inspir­ing. They never give up trying. In Iraq, when the women heard that the Americans were coming, they immediately started cutting out squares of cloth to cover their children’s faces to protect them from germ warfare gas. It was so brave and touching - if there had been any gas a few squares of cloth would have been totally useless, but they always try. In Bosnia, they never give up struggling to feed their children, or make a home and keep the fam­ily together. It’s the women who hold everything in place. Men make the messes and women clear them up.’Is it difficult being a woman in an occupation dominated by men?‘In many ways it’s an advantage. I travel a lot by myself, and as a single foreign female I’m not seen as a threat to anyone. I don’t get pulled off buses or questioned, but a single man of my age - fighting age - would. A lot

OPTIONS • FEBRUARY 1993

‘the war in Bosnia is not my war’

of the military commanders are very macho, and they like to impress me with their power and influence. So if I’m stranded somewhere and desperately need a car, I say, “Here we

«'n a place without petrol or roads and I .o get to the airport and I just don’t know

now to do it,” and they will often click their fingers and get the car and the petrol, just to show that they can.’How do you get on with colleagues?Do they treat you differently?‘No. There is a sort of community spirit among us all. Trouble spots do attract weird war-junkie types but it happens far more rarely than people imagine. Virtually all the cc- espondents in Bosnia are dedicated and professional and feel the same commitment to their work that I do. We help each other - a man from a rival paper faxed my copy through for me when I couldn’t do it myself. And it’s very important to have somebody to talk to who is experiencing the same things as you are-1 feel they respect me, and I respect them. We’re all in it together.’What is your day-to-day life like when yp i’re working in Bosnia?1' at the Holiday Inn, like all the other war Cl .pondents. It has remained open thanks to journalists’ dollars, and I suppose, if you

A W O M A N ’ S W O R L D

want to be cynical, you could say that they’re hav­ing a good war. They charge $140 a night, which is a hell of a lot of hard currency. I’ve learnt not to take much, just one small bag with a change of clothes and about five pairs of knickers.No make-up, nothing like that. I usually get up early, at about 7am, then I’m out and working for the next 12 hours, just talking to peo­ple, following them around, trying to get to places.Physically, it’s very, very hard. We’re tramp­ing through forests and up mountains, and around towns that have been shelled to pieces. I watch women in the villages spend entire days trying to find, prepare and cook something for their children to eat; I’ll never complain about spending an hour at the su­permarket again. They gather nettles, then try to find something for firewood, and some­thing to light it with. And at the end all they have is grass and nettle stew. Then I’ll go back to the hotel where the waiters wear black ties and ask me if I’d like a sherry...’ Does that make you feel guilty? ‘Strangely not. In spite of the fact that I really do care about the situation there, I also have a sort of detachment which means I can do my job. If I was too personally involved I’d be overwhelmed by the suffering and then I’d be no use to anybody. But I have felt guilt and shame. I’ve been in Bosnia and Baghdad when all the journalists were being pulled out because the situation had become so dan­gerous. I’d be saying goodbye to people who had helped me, who had literally risked their lives to show me things, and I felt terrible. I felt as if I was abandoning them.’You spend a lot of time away working; what personal sacrifices do you have to make to do this job?‘I don’t think of them as sacrifices, but it does affect my life. I don’t have a home, because I haven’t found the time to get one. When I’m not abroad, I just doss on the floor in my sis­ter’s room at a nursing home. I’m not married and have no children, although I’d love to have them one day. I don’t know if I could still do this job then. But then I don’t even know if I’ll want to. I’m not a war junkie who is just waiting for the next trouble spot to erupt. Maybe I’ll have had enough of it by then, it’s so intense. When I come home I do things like going to the beauty parlour and sobbing my heart out while watching really bad old sentimental films. It’s a way to deal with the grief of it all. I do socialise with other journal­ists a fair bit - it helps to be with people who’ve been there too. When I was in Iraq,

my parents were mad with worry, and I felt bad about putting them through that. But since then they’ve come to terms with it.’You’ve covered wars in Iraq, Romania and Bosnia. Do you find it easier to deal with the suffering now than on your first assignments? ‘No. It never gets any easier.I think there’s a maximum amount of time that you can spend in these places at one time - about a month.

It’s so intense, and so draining. After a few weeks you go into a kind of zombie state, where the situations you encounter simply cease to shock or move you. That’s when you start to suffer as a human being, and your work starts to suffer, too. You need to get home to rest, to be in your own environment for a while, and to see it all from a distance.’ In spite of the obvious horror of the situation, isn’t it also, in a way, exciting to be an observer in a theatre of war?‘I used to feel a sort of excitement and adrenaline rush about it. But not now. It’s gone well beyond that. I’m really scared about going back to Bosnia this time, and fear isn’t exciting or fun in the slightest. At the beginning of the war you did see young guys wearing Levi’s and leather waistcoats running around and thinking how good this would be for their careers, but you don’t see them now. Bosnia isn’t new or ‘sexy’ any more. The only journalists still going back are the people who are really committed to it. And yet I can’t be totally sure that my own motives are 100 per cent pure. This is a good job, with a good salary. I have to admit that it is an interesting life, going around the world and meeting all kinds of people. I’m not Mother Teresa...’ What have you learnt from your experiences? How do you think they’ve affected your personal development? ‘They have taught me that my life is one of enormous privilege. When I met the miners at the threatened pits and asked them how they felt about losing their jobs, they saw their plight very much in terms of losing a wage packet, a means to support their families. They didn’t think of their work as something fulfilling and satisfying, as I do. I never cared very much about who I was meeting or what I owned, but now I don’t care at all. I’m very aware of how much I have, and how lucky I am. In spite of the horrors involved, being in a war can also be a very inspiring and uplifting experience. In war you see people at their best and at their worst, and I honestly beiieve that, given a chance, people are fundamen­tally good and decent and brave.’ □

shock you. That’s when you start to suffer as a

human being’

o p tio n s • F e b ru a ry 1993 43

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