In the context of internal and external pressures and continuing mobilisation of resistance, the State of Emergency was lifted in the 23 areas where it still applied, on 7 March. Before this date steps had been taken to put on a permanent basis some of the powers activated during the State of Emergency. A statement by the State President, also on 7 March, indicated that further legislation for this purpose would be passed during the current parliamentary session. The State of Emergency in the Transkei bantustan remained in force.
Imposed 33 weeks previously on 21 July 1985, the emergency applied at various times to 36 magisterial districts, mainly in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging region of the Transvaal and in the Eastern Cape. Although suspended in some smaller towns and rural areas in October and December, in October emergency rule was extended to the Western Cape, so that it applied in all the major urban areas of the country with the exception of Durban.
The powers of repression afforded the state in terms of the emergency are described in detail in Briefing Paper No. 19 – November 1985. They included the extension of powers of arrest, search and confiscation from police officers to all members of the police force, railways police, prisons service and SADF; they provided for detention of persons for renewable 14-day periods for purposes of interrogation, and powers to promulgate specific regulations in areas under emergency rule. These included restrictions on movement, and media coverage, curfews, banning of meetings, and other restrictions. Detailed descriptions of the application of these powers can be found in successive issues of FOCUS.
One of the most important measures was the granting of indemnity from prosecution to police and troops for actions carried out in the course of suppressing resistance. In November the indemnity was extended to police and troops operating in areas outside those declared to be 'affected areas' under the State of Emergency. The indemnity set the stage for widespread violent suppression of resistance.
With the lifting of the emergency, the remaining 292 detainees still held in terms of the emergency regulations were released. Restrictions, similar to banning orders, which were imposed on 68 emergency detainees released previously, expired, as did the indemnity and the extended powers of arrest afforded police and troops.
With the exception of the indemnity and the extension of powers of arrest, most of the powers conferred by the emergency regulations were to a large extent already contained in existing security legislation, in particular the Internal Security Act. However, the declaration of a State of Emergency enlarged those powers and greatly extended the number and range of agents of the State who were able to exercise them.
Steps to permanently extend powers of arrest, search and confiscation to members of the SADF had already been taken before the State of Emergency was lifted. Two notices published in terms of the Defence Act in December and January gave troops all powers at the disposal of police to 'maintain law and order' and 'investigate offences'.
In his statement in Parliament announcing the ending of the State of Emergency, the State President said that existing laws would be amended during the current session of Parliament to include those powers afforded by the declaration of a State of Emergency which were not already within their ambit. It was widely expected that this would mean that powers of arrest, search and confiscation previously confined to certain ranks of the police would be permanently extended to regular members of the police, railways police and prisons service, and that the indemnity would be reimposed and the extension of powers to ban or restrict gatherings extended from magistrates to police officers.
The Minister of Law and Order stated that the Public Safety Act would be revised. This might allow for the use of emergency powers in specific districts without the formal declaration of a State of Emergency.
Even without such changes, existing laws provide extensive powers to suppress resistance, often equivalent to those used during the State of Emergency. Powers to detain people, prohibit gatherings and restrict information were used during the emergency by police and magistrates outside the 'affected areas'. Since the lifting of the emergency regulations these powers have been used in their place.
