Police in S. Africa Detain 9 Journalists Covering Protest
Police detained nine journalists, assaulted a television soundman and confiscated their film during an anti-apartheid demonstration Tuesday morning by about 100 black women.
Riot and security police arrived outside the Chamber of Mines about 10 minutes after the peaceful protest began, and the crowd began to disperse.
Police began taking journalists into custody, including crew members of CBS and London-based World Television News, and taking film out of photographers’ cameras.
Soundman Prince Msuthu of World Television News said police punched him with fists and poked him in the stomach with their batons.
A police spokesman said officers took nine journalists to police headquarters and confiscated their film. But he denied they were detained or arrested.
The protesters, members of the Federation of Transvaal Women, called on the nation’s largest mining houses and biggest foreign currency earners to take a tougher line against government restrictions on anti-apartheid organizations.
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