Violence in South Africa

The euphoria that followed the whites-only referendum in South Africa in March has now been overcome by the desolate reality of escalating violence. That violence, and the compelling evidence that links it to the South African government, now threatens the very process of negotiations which have given the world hope that the nightmare of apartheid and its legacy would end.

The 30 days after the March referendum saw 500 people killed, and the violence goes on in relentless fashion, some of it covered by the international press, most of it not. While most news accounts describe the violence as “intertribal” or “black on black,” the African National Congress’ longstanding claims of close government collaboration in the bloodshed are confirmed by new evidence with each passing week. The June 17 Boipatong Massacre, which again shocked the world, heard eyewitnesses describing police involvement in the killing. In the last year reports have been streaming out of South Africa pointing to South African government-sponsored violence. The accounts have varied from people with direct involvement in violence to those with firsthand knowledge of government-driven state terror.

The United States and much of the Western World rewarded South Africa for President Frederik W. de Klerk’s move to abolish the most notorious apartheid laws with quick removal of economic sanctions. It is now clear that such rewards were premature. Continuing international pressure will be required to challenge the South African government to continue its efforts to dismantle apartheid laws and to negotiate a genuinely democratic government. Immediate government action to end the killings is a prerequisite for the latter step and a moral imperative.

Negotiations for the future of South Africa cannot take place in an atmosphere of intimidation and death; our government and others around the world must continue economic pressures until the violence is ended.

BRIAN SELLERS-PETERSEN

Pasadena