In February the government imposed further restrictions on leading anti-apartheid organisations and the trade union movement by amending existing emergency regulations. They were the most far-reaching measures since the outright ban on 18 organisations, two newspapers and several individuals in October 1977, in the wake of the Soweto uprising. The new restrictions were met with widespread protests.
In terms of the new regulations 17 organisations, including the United Democratic Front and other national organisations prominently involved in resistance between 1984 and 1988, some of their office-bearers and other anti-apartheid activists were restricted and the political role of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was severely circumscribed. Simultaneously, for the first time, the government closed down an opposition newspaper under existing emergency restrictions on the media.
The new measures issued in the Government Gazette on 24 February amended emergency regulations imposed in June 1987 which had already severely curtailed the activities of the organisations affected. They allow the Minister of Law and Order to prohibit an organisation from 'carrying on or performing any activities or acts whatsoever' without his prior permission. They also allow the Minister to prohibit individuals from performing specified activities or 'being at any time or during the hours specified... outside the boundaries of an area likewise specified' or 'being... outside the boundaries of the premises where he lives'. A subregulation makes some exemptions to the general prohibition - an organisation is allowed to preserve its assets, keep its books and records up to date, and perform related administrative functions. It can also comply with obligations imposed on it under any law or by a court of law, take legal advice or judicial steps and undertake activities for which ministerial consent has been obtained.
The orders will remain in force until withdrawn by the Minister or until the State of Emergency is terminated. On the same day the Minister used these new powers to issue an order listing 17 organisations affected by the new regulations and 18 people were issued with orders restricting their activities and freedom of movement.
COSATU was subject to a separate set of restrictions. In terms of the Public Safety Act of 1953, under which the emergency regulations are promulgated, actions covered by the Industrial Conciliation Act and related legislation (ie bargaining between employers and trade unions), are excluded from the ambit of the regulations. It was therefore not possible to prohibit COSATU from 'any activity whatsoever'.
Instead, in a separate order, COSATU was prohibited from several specific activities which circumscribe its political role. These restrictions spell out in detail the principal targets of the clampdown. COSATU officials pointed out that many of its current campaigns were outlawed. Its campaigns for the release of imprisoned unionists, and in support of Moses Mayekiso, General Secretary of the Metal and Allied Workers Union, or the SA Railways and Harbour Workers Union members currently on trial were made illegal. Similarly COSATU campaigns against the death sentences on three members of the National Union of Mineworkers and a Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union member, its proposed campaign against the October local government elections, and those to commemorate days of mourning such as 16 June, Sharpeville Day or the death of 177 miners at the Kinross Gold Mine in September 1986 and the shooting of railway workers during the 1987 rail strike were outlawed. COSATU was also prevented from calling for rent boycotts, opposing forced removals or advocating sanctions or other forms of pressure against the government.
In March, the government imposed a banning order on the opposition weekly, New Nation. The paper had been under threat of closure for several months but this was delayed while lawyers challenged the validity of the emergency regulations restricting the media. The court ruled against the paper, allowing the Minister of Home Affairs to close it down with immediate effect. The ban applies until 10 June and can be renewed.
The February regulations amount to a virtual ban on the national organisations which have emerged since 1983, notably the United Democratic Front and the National Education Crisis Committee, as well as youth organisations. Individual affiliates of the UDF are, however, not affected by the restrictions of the parent body, unless specifically named in the list of 17 organisations.
A further clampdown on anti-apartheid organisations has been pending since the last quarter of 1987, following the release of imprisoned ANC leader Govan Mbeki. The police and government ministers stated that 'after the revolutionary climate subsided somewhat last year [1986] it is now on the increase again'. Mbeki, they said, was 'being used as part of a subtle ANC strategy to give maximum publicity to the ANC, while not overstepping the law'.
Government representatives returned to this theme in subsequent statements: they felt that although the 'security forces' were 'maintaining a firm grip on the national security situation the revolutionary climate was getting worse.' They were considering what emergency powers 'could be used to curb the activities of individuals and organisations acting within the limits of the law to intensify the revolutionary climate . . . people and bodies that were using loopholes in security legislation to stir up animosity and rejection of legitimate structures of authority. Organisations like the UDF and even some trade unions were going all out to break down authority and create suspicion among the populace of the government's constitutional reform intentions'.
There were press reports in December that regulations to curb anti-apartheid organisation had already been drafted.
The clampdown is part of the government's longer-term aim of suppressing organised resistance so that it can impose a constitutional dispensation aimed at preserving the essential features of the apartheid system. Part of the strategy has been to increase its repressive forces, especially those at the disposal of its local and regional authorities. During the past 18 months this has involved increasing the size of the police force, and stimulating the growth of vigilante groups and political forces linked to these authorities. It has also encouraged divisions among anti-apartheid groups. The restrictions on individuals were linked to this aspect of the strategy. Several of those banned were involved in trying to resolve conflicts within communities, or seeking to restrain police from assaulting residents.
The clampdown also explicitly seeks to pre-empt campaigns to boycott the proposed country-wide local authority elections in October, in which the government hopes to re-impose the discredited system of town councils.
The clampdown was widely condemned by groups in South Africa ranging from employer federations through organisations representing journalists, professionals, students and academics, and UDF affiliates which had not been restricted. Several groups called public meetings in protest.
The most forthright reaction came from the religious organisations which were not affected by the restrictions. Immediately after the measures were imposed twelve prominent religious leaders vowed that regardless of the consequences they would 'continue many of the activities' of the 17 restricted organisations. The twelve also called on churches to organise services to protest at the measures. Such services were subsequently held in many parts of the country.
A group of 150 people, mostly clergy, including the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Dr Allan Boesak, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cape Town, Stephen Naidoo, were arrested when they tried to march to Parliament after a protest service in Cape Town's St George's Cathedral. They wanted to present a petition to the State President. All were later released.
In mid-March churches held a second series of services to commemorate National Detainees Day. Such services were in the past organised by the restricted Detainees' Parents Support Committee (DPSC).
Religious leaders were prominent in the formation of the Committee to Defend Democracy in South Africa (CDDSA), along with a broad cross-section of community and academic leaders. Included among those who attended the inaugural meeting in mid-March were Archbishop Tutu, Rev Allan Boesak, Archbishop Naidoo, the rector of the University of the Western Cape and the presidents of the Black Sash and South African Council of Sport. However a rally planned to launch the committee was banned by the authorities and the organisation itself was restricted in March. A religious service hastily organised to replace the banned rally was attended by over 2,000 people, in spite of police roadblocks in parts of Cape Town which prevented people reaching the cathedral.
There were also strong protests at several universities, mainly in solidarity with the SA National Students Congress.
