OCTOBER 12, 1992
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are here to observe once again, the Day of Solidarity with the South African Political Prisoners. Today's observance is being held at a critical time in the history of South Africa. The momentum of change sweeping through South Africa, which culminated in the CODESA process, came to an abrupt end with the persistence of violence that reached a climax with the Boiphatong massacre in June. In a real sense, the continued suspension of multi-party negotiations is a further proof of the Special Committee's position that despite the widely acknowledged positive developments inside South Africa, the process of change towards a non-racial democracy is still fragile. The Special Committee hopes that common sense will now prevail so that all parties will return as soon as possible to the negotiating table.
One of the most serious obstacles to the negotiating process in South Africa has been the continued detention or imprisonment of over 400 persons for their political beliefs or activities. The continued detention of political prisoners is a contravention of agreements reached last year between the government and the liberation movements. In this connection, the Special Committee welcomes the release of 150 political prisoners on September 26, 1992, following the meeting between the State President and the ANC President. We urge the South African government not to renege on its agreement to release all remaining prisoners by November 15, 1992. The attainment of this objective will not only create a more favourable climate for the restoration and stabilization of negotiations, but restore confidence in the entire peace process.
Your Excellencies,
The issue of continuing violence remains of special concern to the Committee not only because of the high number of lives that have been lost in the last two years, but also because of the fact that by its persistence, no progress can be made in the peaceful resolution of the crisis. The Special Committee is gratified to note the admission by the State President F.W. de Klerk that "it is simply not possible to negotiate constitutional issues before the issue of violence has been dealt with satisfactorily". Indeed, the Special Committee has consistently called on the government to take decisive action for the containment of the violence. We remain convinced that the South African government, indeed any government, has the primary responsibility and wherewithal to deal with violence, hence safeguard the lives and property of all South Africans.
We believe that the government must do more than it has done so far, especially in the face of persistent indictment of members of police and security forces in criminal violence by the Goldstone Commission and the courts. Furthermore, recent allegations that most deaths in police custody or detention were linked to police brutality has heightened the mistrust against the police force by the majority of South Africans. To redeem its image and restore trust in the police as an impartial force for the upholding of law and order as well as protecting the lives, rights and property of all citizens, the government must ensure the success of the measures it recently took. These include the acceptance of outside assessment of the functioning and conduct of the police force in connection with the Boiphatong massacre, the new investigative powers of the Goldstone Commission, and the decision to allow the International Red Cross access to South African police stations.
The Special Committee is grateful to the Organization of African Unity which called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council that led to a greater involvement of the UN Security Council not only in the effort to curtail the violence that had engulfed South Africa but in directly encouraging the process of change in that country. We believe that the positive role of the Security Council which resulted in the despatch of the Secretary-General's Special Representative to South Africa and the resultant report, went a long way in assuaging feelings on the state of affairs inside South Africa. The Special Committee welcomes the despatch of about 50 United Nations observers to South Africa to work in coordination with the structures of the National Peace Accord and also facilitate a peaceful transition to a non-racial and democratic South Africa. We wish to reiterate the Committee's earlier call on all South Africans to respect the provisions of the National Peace Accord so that an enduring peace can return to the country.
The Special Committee welcomes the apology offered by President F.W. de Klerk last week for his party's introduction of the obnoxious apartheid system in South Africa. We believe that this public apology was well overdue. We urge him to take more decisive steps to end this inhuman system by putting in place a transition administration that will pave the way for a non-racial democratic country. This, in our view, is the only way his party's apologies will make sense and have a lasting impact.
As we look forward to November 15 with eagerness, the Special Committee hopes that today's solidarity meeting will indeed be the last to be observed by the international community. As the country marches towards the transition period, the role of the police as an impartial force becomes even more critical. Consequently, as part of today's solidarity meeting, the Committee has organized a roundtable discussion that will focus on "the role of law enforcement and law enforcement officials during the transition period". Prominent experts from both within and outside South Africa have been invited to participate in the roundtable discussions which will take place this afternoon at 2.30 p.m. in Conference Room 6. The panelists will examine, among other problems, the present internal security set-up in South Africa, the role of law enforcement agents in the maintenance of law and order, their attitude to opponents of the present regime and respect for human rights. I hope that as many delegations as possible will attend this important forum.