ANC Vows to Halt Talks Unless De Klerk Acts to Curb Violence

The African National Congress threatened Friday to suspend talks with the government on May 9 unless President Frederik W. de Klerk fires his police and army ministers and takes steps to restore peace in strife-torn townships.

The hard-line ultimatum, contained in an open letter to De Klerk from the ANC’s national executive committee, was the most serious threat yet to hopes of early negotiations for a new South African constitution. And it set up a major confrontation between ANC Deputy President Nelson Mandela and De Klerk, the two most important figures in the country’s future.

The catalyst for the ANC’s letter was the township blood bath that has claimed 1,000 black lives in the past eight months, tarnished the reputation of the ANC and hampered its political activities.

The ANC contended that the government’s “equivocal attitude to the cycle of violence” indicated that it was ignoring the trouble or fostering it in order to prop up Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi’s Inkatha Freedom Party and “destroy or seriously cripple the ANC.”

“This has proved a far more effective means of political repression than the legal measures previously employed by the state,” the ANC said.

Among the ANC’s demands are that the government outlaw the carrying of “traditional weapons,” such as the spears and clubs carried by Inkatha supporters. It also demanded that De Klerk publicly dismantle counterinsurgency units; suspend all police officers implicated in the killing of 19 ANC demonstrators in Sebokeng and Daveyton townships; force the police to adopt “acceptable and civilized means of crowd control,” and create an independent commission to investigate complaints of police misconduct.

De Klerk is certain to reject the ANC’s demand that he dismiss Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok or Defense Minister Magnus Malan. Capitulating to such a demand would cost De Klerk substantial support among his white constituents.

If its demands are not met by May 9, the ANC said, it will suspend all discussions with the government on the future constitution, including talks leading to an all-party congress, the first step in that process.

“We expect the government to comply with these . . . reasonable demands, and if they are interested in a peaceful settlement, they’ll have to,” Mandela told a news conference after an emergency meeting of the 37-member national executive committee.

A spokesman for De Klerk’s office said the president would have no comment until he had time to study the letter.

Some analysts believe the ANC’s tough stance is an attempt to seize the initiative from the government in the negotiation process. An internal ANC document, citing crumbling international sanctions and growing worldwide applause for De Klerk, has forced the ANC to follow the government’s lead.

But it almost certainly reflects concern in the ANC about grass-roots support. The ANC’s reputation has suffered in some of the embattled townships, where police have frequently been accused of collaborating with their longtime allies in Inkatha. And many ANC supporters are dismayed that their organization still is talking to the white government.

Since 1984, about 5,000 people have died in internecine clashes, which began in Inkatha’s home base of Natal Province. The fighting spread to the Johannesburg area last year when Inkatha launched recruiting drives here, and 1990 was the most violent year on record in South Africa.

Although several Johannesburg townships have been declared “unrest areas,” giving police broad powers to detain suspects, attacks have continued. And only a handful of arrests have been made.

“Those responsible (for the violence) have been distinguished by their remarkable capacity to evade detection by the police,” the ANC said. “It is inconceivable that the authorities lack the skill to prevent these violent deeds.”

“The government has the capacity to stop it,” Mandela said. “This indicates that the government doesn’t want to end it. What we are accusing the government of is connivance and complicity.”