The South African government has appointed a commission to inquire into the reporting of defence matters and to make recommendations for press legislation. The six-man commission was appointed by Mr P.W. Botha in his capacity as Minister of Defence on 5 December 1979 and is to report by 15 March 1980.
The Prime Minister's statement asserted that "South Africa is entering a new phase of the total onslaught on its survival, which is being waged on the military, political and psychological fronts", in which the communications media play "an extremely important role in building up or breaking down the nation's morale", and drew attention to "the gradual and systematic demigration of the SA Defence Force (which has become a priority objective of our enemies and their agents" and "is manifested by malevolent efforts to question the very essence of military service, the right to self-defence, the procurement of armaments and the development of an own armaments industry and capability".
Among the members of the Commission are Maj. Gen. Neil Webster of the SADF, Mr K. von Lieres, state prosecutor at the Biko inquest and SASM Eleven trial and a part-time (CF) senior staff officer in the 7th Infantry Division, who was called up to serve in Angola in 1975, and Mr L.C. Masterson, an advocate and CO (CF) of the Cape Town Rifles.
The Defence Act already precludes the press from reporting on most military matters without the approval of the SADF, and it is thought that the inquiry is chiefly concerned with press reporting of ill-treatment of conscripts (there have been recent cases of accidental deaths in training) and of efforts to establish alternatives to military service.
Conscientious objection to military service is not recognised in South African law and young men who refuse to serve on either religious or political grounds may be sentenced to up to three years in army detention barracks. In August 1979 the SADF detention centre at Voortrekkerhoogte held 64 such prisoners, all Jehovah's Witnesses.
Since 1975 there have been at least 2343 convictions for refusing to do military service. A recent case is that of Peter Moll (23) who was in December convicted for a third time (having been previously fined and given a suspended sentence) and was jailed for 18 months, later reduced to one year.
In response to his call-up papers, Moll wrote an open letter to his Commanding Officer, saying that he was "unable in conscience to defend" the fundamental injustice of South African apartheid society. Quoting Luther and Calvin, he also claimed the Christian right to disobey a government that did not accord with the word of God.
