NO CHANGE UNDER "INTERNAL SETTLEMENT"
Correspondence between an independent African member of the Rhodesian House of Assembly, and the regime's white co-Minister of Justice, Law and Order Mr. Hilary Squires, casts a revealing light on the workings of the "internal settlement". The African MP's letter, in the form of an appeal to the regime to take urgent action to curb security force brutality in the operational areas, lists a number of recent cases of alleged torture and harassment. Extracts from the letter, written from an address in West Nicholson and dated 4 April 1978, read as follows:-
"To Whom It May Concern,
Constituency Grievances
I have communicated on many occasions with the Ministries of Defence & Combined Operations and Justice & Law & Order on numerous incidents of serious nature alleged to have been perpetrated by some units of the Security Forces in my constituency and the most serious ones being one being perpetrated by members of the Special Branch. In most of these cases I have received no replies and in cases where I have received replies I have been informed that the matters I raised were still under investigation.
(Mr. Dewa then listed three cases of ill-treatment in connection with which he had made unsuccessful approaches to the Ministry of Justice, Law and Order).
Here is a very unpleasant incident recently brought to my notice:
Monday the 27th March, 1978 Sesulelo a girl working for Mr. Alpheo Mbedzi at his shop at Masase Township was among a group of girls who had been taken to a base camp which is a few yards from my kraal. These girls were being interrogated by members of the Special Branch on the presence of Terrs. One must note that the girls who were taken to this camp were storehands who most of the time are behind the counter and live at the shops and are hardly away from the township.
Since in that area it is generally known that the terrs operating in that area have their abode on mountains and hills it is hard to see what justification there is for expecting these girls to know the details of terrorist activities.
On the same day it is alleged the rest of the other girls were released by Special Branch and there is information that Sesulelo had been subjected to beating by members of the Special Branch. When Sesulelo's employer discovered that the other girls had been released and his worker had not returned, I am informed that he went to inquire from the members of the Special Branch but got no co-operation from them.
Then when he had returned to his shop news was received that the girl was dead. It is obvious Sesulelo died in the hands of the members of the Special Branch. It is alleged that this girl died on the same Monday 27th March, 1978 and the death report was made between Friday and Saturday.
I again ask the powers that be to look into this seriously knowing that human life is sacred and cannot be allowed to be taken away in this manner particularly noting that this was an unarmed innocent little girl who was taken away by the Special Branch people from her employment.
I honestly hope these matters will receive urgent attention.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) L.E. Dewa Independent MP for Matojeni"
Mr. Squires' reply, dated 19 April 1978, made no mention of Sesulelo's alleged death. Extracts read:
"The inference implied from your letter is that I am not willing to do anything about your complaints and am guilty of a direiction of duty as a Minister.
In the first place the allegations in your circular are totally untrue.
However the main point of this letter is to advise you that I am not prepared to tolerate your unfounded accusations. This circular is in my view defamatory, and if you issue another such document I will sue you for damages if you cast similar aspersions on myself; and you may find your inability to be accurate and careful will prove an expensive liability to you.
The rest of your allegations have been passed to the Police and Attorney-General for consideration.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) H.G. Squires Minister of Justice and Law and Order"
WAR CASUALTIES
While the civilian death rate has continued at a high level since the signing of the internal settlement agreement, a disproportionate amount of press attention abroad has been devoted to white casualties. Incidents in which large numbers of Africans have been killed by the Rhodesian security forces include:
- 317 African villagers who had refused to be removed into "protected villages" in the Beit Bridge area were reported to have been attacked in an airborne raid, backed up by ground forces, on 28 March. According to Mozambique radio, over 100 were killed and the rest injured. (BBC 5.5.78, reporting Maputo in English for Rhodesia 3.5.78; in addition to the "protected villages" being set up near Beit Bridge - see FOCUS 16 p.1-2 - Mozambique radio has also reported that a new "village" is under construction in Matibi No. 1 TTL, south of Fort Victoria, BBC 25.7.78)
- Up to 100 (possibly 105) people, described by the regime as "curfew-breakers", were shot dead when African members of the Police Support Unit attacked a meeting on the border of the Gutu TTL and the Dewure African Purchase Area on 14 May. Eye witnesses stated that a single guerilla, a supporter of ZANU (Patriotic Front) was addressing the meeting. Many of those killed were children aged between 12 and 15. (GN/T 18.5.78; MS 23.5.78)
- 22 Africans, all but three of them women and children, were killed during a contact between security forces and guerillas at a village at Domboshawa, 20 miles north of Salisbury, on 10 June. Eye witnesses said that Rhodesian troops had opened fire at buildings in the village, and that a helicopter gunship had bombed it, after a guerilla had taken refuge in one of the huts. The hut had been set alight with a grenade and nine people inside had been burned to death. (T/FT/GN 12.6.78)
- 17 Zimbabwean refugees and two Belgian citizens - a married couple who were working as technicians from UNESCO - were killed by Rhodesian troops in an attack on an experimental station at Sussundenga in Manica province, 20 miles inside Mozambique. A communique from the Mozambique authorities reported that at the same time, Rhodesian troops in helicopters, backed by jet bombers, had attacked Massangena district. (GN 24.6.78). A day or so later, on 23 June, 12 British missionaries at the Elim Pentecostal Church Mission near Umtali were killed by unidentified persons. The Smith regime alleged that the attackers, who used axes and other blunt instruments, were guerillas.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
The Rhodesian House of Assembly voted on 22 June to renew the nationwide state of emergency for a further year, subject to the provisions of the new Constitution currently being drafted under the terms of the "internal settlement" agreement. The white Joint Minister of Justice, Law and Order Mr. Hilary Squires said in moving the renewal that while the transitional government had attempted to achieve a ceasefire, this had not yet reached fruition. (BBC 24.6.78)
On the contrary, and as reported in FOCUS 16, the war has intensified and security measures remain fully in force.
