Demands for the immediate and unconditional release of all 'politically-motivated offenders' intensified during February and March and were the focus of a ten-day hunger strike by Robben Island prisoners. This followed F W De Klerk's speech to Parliament on 2 February announcing the proposed release of some but not all political prisoners, and the release of Nelson Mandela on 11 February.
The release of political prisoners was identified in the OAU's Harare Declaration as a necessary step towards creating a climate for negotiations, and was one of the issues to be discussed at the first meeting between representatives of the ANC and the government.
Although the total number of political prisoners is unknown, because of the regime's secrecy and unwillingness to recognise their status, it is clear that the 48 people reported released by the end of March represented only a small fraction of them.
Many had almost finished their sentences, while others were freed in amnesties announced by the Transkei and Ciskei bantustans. It seemed that, at least in the Ciskei, some political prisoners sentenced for common law offences remained in prison.
On 26 February all 343 political prisoners on Robben Island went on hunger strike, demanding the release of all prisoners. They challenged the narrow definition of political imprisonment used by De Klerk on 2 February and rejected the Minister of Law and Order's subsequent suggestions that the release of 'those convicted of common law crimes' might be a matter for negotiation. They demanded the implementation of other terms of the Harare Declaration as well as the recognition of, and the granting of rights pertaining to, 'political prisoners'. They also called for conditions in all prisons to be improved.
Statements by the prisoners said that conditions were 'progressively degenerating... in proportion to the rate of the so-called reform and renewal pursued by the Nationalist Government'. Norman YENGENI, who was released from Robben Island on 14 February, said prisoners began to discuss a hunger strike over a year ago when a stricter regime was introduced by a new governor and the 'staff complement changed completely'.
We believed on Robben Island that the government should declare a total amnesty and release all political prisoners and halt all political trials if they seriously want to create a climate for negotiations and solve the political problems peacefully.
As well as focusing on the demand for recognition as political prisoners, the prisoners demanded the right to study and to receive food and reading material from their families and the provision of appropriate clothing for all weather conditions. They called for more regular visits and better facilities for visitors; a 'non-racial diet' of improved quality; improved medical and welfare care and the release of seriously ill prisoners. They insisted that the conduct of warders be addressed.
The strike involved 305 ANC, 26 PAC and 11 black consciousness movement members and one other prisoner. Those who were medically unfit or engaged in strenuous manual labour, 41 in all, only took one meal a day. A Hunger Strike Committee was elected, composed of four members each from the ANC and the PAC and two from the black consciousness movement. They agreed that no single organisation would end the strike and demanded access to lawyers and the leaders of their organisations.
On 1 March the Minister of Justice appointed a judge to investigate conditions but this did not defuse the strike. The Hunger Strike Committee met with two lawyers on 3 March and three days later consulted with a legal team set up under their instructions. Lawyers met with the Minister of Justice on 7 March and announced the suspension of the strike the following day after getting a commitment which led the prisoners to express themselves 'satisfied... their demands were receiving attention at cabinet level'.
On 12 March Dullah Omar, a member of the legal team, said the government had 'no other alternative but to release a significant number of political prisoners and to end all political trials', and that recognition of this was the reason for ending the hunger strike.
