771 Whites Vow to Refuse Army Duty in South Africa

A group of 771 young white men pledged Thursday to defy the government and refuse duty in the South African Defense Force. It was the largest public challenge ever to the country’s system of military conscription.

At simultaneous news conferences in six cities, draft resisters produced a “national register” of 771 conscientious objectors. Among them were university students, doctors, social workers, geologists, pastors, artists and mechanical engineers.

The military’s defense of apartheid was cited by many as the reason for their decision, but others based their decision on religious considerations or antipathy toward violence in general.

“We have decided, in good conscience and of our own accord, that we cannot serve,” Chris de Villiers, a 33-year-old law clerk, told reporters.

Some Will Go to Jail

De Villiers, leader of the End Conscription Campaign, which was restricted from political activity by the government last year, added: “Some of us will go to jail. Others will opt for religious objector status. Many of us will choose between a life in exile or constant evasion of call-ups.”

Of the 771 men on the list, some have already done the first two years of their required military service and intend to refuse mandatory reserve duty. A few said they are refusing draft notices; others have not yet been drafted.

The Defense Force warned Thursday that it would take legal action against those who fail to report for service. In the past two years, four men have been sent to prison for refusing to serve.

In its statement, however, the Defense Force noted that the 771 men had only stated their intention to break the law, not actually done so. It said that after 142 South Africans announced several months ago that they would refuse military service, an army investigation indicated that only nine had actually failed to show up for national service or reserve duty.

Methodist Bishop Peter Storey told reporters, “It is absurd that a society that hangs people for killing people should jail people for refusing to kill.”

Military service is mandatory for all able-bodied white men in South Africa, although many get deferments and a handful qualify as religious objectors. It is illegal even to discourage anyone from compulsory military service.

Religious objectors may request permission to perform community service, usually six years in a government job.

Many young men have fled the country to avoid conscription. Draft resisters face jail terms of six years, the length of mandatory service plus reserve duty, and two men have received the maximum sentence in the last two years. About 68,000 conscripts are on active duty in South Africa at any given time, in addition to about 325,000 reservists.

The stand taken by the draft resisters coincided with a seven-week-old defiance campaign against apartheid organized by the Mass Democratic Movement, a loose affiliation of most major anti-apartheid groups in South Africa.

The government, after a week of allowing peaceful marches in major cities, moved Thursday to stop peaceful protests in Durban and Johannesburg. Police arrested 38 high school students and teachers while breaking up a march in Durban protesting the acquittal of a black civic leader who has been charged with murdering a student.

Vaun Cornell, researcher in The Times’ Johannesburg Bureau, contributed to this story.