The World : S. Africa Bars Use of Whips

South African police, responding to a wave of international and domestic outrage, banned the use of whips to break up anti-apartheid demonstrations and riots. A police spokesman in Johannesburg, Maj. Marius Bonhuys, said the order applies to plastic quirts and that other crowd-dispersal methods will be continued, including tear gas, birdshot and batons. An official statement said police had regarded quirts as less harmful than batons but that their use is being suspended because of “negative public reaction, locally and internationally.”