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The ANC's May 9 ultimatum is effectively over and the organisation is unlikely to make any further demands of the government, at least until its July National Conference. At the same time, no major shift is expected in ANC policy between now and July. There now seems to be general agreement that government undertakings aimed at ending township violence this week addressed the ANC's most important demands contained in its open letter to FW de Klerk in early April. A meeting between ANC deputy president Nelson Mandela and De Klerk this week further confirmed that agreement had been reached on key demands made by the ANC. Mandela told a group of the ANC's Women's League, who had occupied the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court on Wednesday in a campaign to support the ultimatum, that the government had met two of the organisation's key demands. These included a ban on all weapons except assegais and sticks and the closure or conversion of hostels into family units. Attacks On the eve of the ultimatum, law and order minister Adriaan Vlok went further and announced plans for “Operation Stabilise†to end the violence. The new measures ban open air gatherings in unrest areas from May 9 onwards to May 22. Some of the bloodiest attacks on township residents have followed mass rallies of Inkatha supporters. Rallies could still be held in areas like George Goch near Johannesburg, where Inkatha has a strong presence. Vlok said permission to hold rallies in townships declared unrest areas could, however, still be obtained from police in the areas. Inkatha rallies were planned for Soweto and Tembisa yesterday. Vlok also announced stricter enforcement of curfews and the deployment of more troops and police in areas hit by violence. Areas covered by Vlok's announcement include Soweto, Mead- owlands, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Alexandra, Tembisa, Thokoza, Katlehong and Vosloorus. Townships around Johannesburg and the city centre remained tense despite Vlok's announcements to curb violence. Terror Reports reaching NEW NATION indicate that heavily armed men had been deployed in various parts of the city and townships in what appeared to be part of the planned terror in the run up to the May 9 ultimatum. Residents in at least one block of flats in Central Johannesburg, occupied mainly by ANC supporters, were reported to have left in anticipation of an attack. There were also reports of unknown men searching for activists in various flats around central Johannesburg. The armed men, residents claim, were deployed some time before Inkatha central committee member Musa Myeni warned that his organisation was ready to commit 250 000 armed fighters in defence of its members on the Reef. Johannesburg's city centre, which has not been declared an unrest area, is not covered by Operation Stabilise and Inkatha supporters remain free to brandish their weapons, now effectively outlawed in the townships. There is also evidence that many of the fighters currently in township hostels are paid mercenaries, who are otherwise unemployed. Some of them claim to have been brought in from Natal to fight township residents. -
KITSKONSTABELS in the Karoo town of Aberdeen this week shot and beat a priest while he lay handcuffed and dying, accusing him of being a communist. These allegations were made by residents who claim to have witnessed the incident. Police have confirmed that municipal police shot and killed Rev Booi Jantjies (40) of the Zion Church in Africa, but deny the residents' version. Residents say Sergeant James Ndunjane described Rev Jantjies as a "communist suspect" after the latter was shot. A witness who asked not to be named said nine kitskonstabels had gone to Jantjies' house between 9 and IOpm on Tuesday, but.-, had not found him. "They took away his son, whom they said was suspected of dealing in dagga," said the eye-witness. "Jantjies1 son was told he was being taken to the house of Ndu- njeni's brother Mbu- leni, also a kitskon- stabel. "When Rev Jantjies arrived home, he heard the news and went to look for his son in Ndunjane's house," he said. -
clash is looming between the National Party (NP) government and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) following this week's unveiling by kwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of a constitutional blueprint which envisages a kwaZulu/- Natal state. Following the unveiling of the document this week, state president FW de Klerk, warned that kwaZulu's constitutional initiatives had the potential of escalating violence and of bringing the kwaZulu government into "direct confrontation" with Pretoria. An urgent meeting between De Klerk and Buthelezi is expected within the week. And sources in the government have indicated that senior NP leaders were disillusioned with the IFP and were looking for the "best way to ditch Chief Buthelezi". The sources said that although the NP recognised that Buthelezi was a factor in finding a solution to South Africa's political conflict, the party was disillusioned with the IFP and felt that the government had been misled into believing that the organisation commanded the support it claimed. The NP leadership, as well as their strategists, now believed that the De Klerk government should rather direct all its energy towards striking a deal with the ANC - provided such a deal secured a future for whites. The ANC's newly adopted "Strategic Perspective" document - which envisages powersharing between the ANC and the Nationalists from the transition phase up to the postapartheid era - is viewed as a positive signal which justifies the need for closer ties between the Nats and the ANC. There is also concern within the NP that Buthelezi's latest moves - of steering a conference of right wing parties and this week's constitutional proposals - are "driving" whites away from NP to the Conservative Party (CP). The CP is one of the parties KwaZulu chief minister, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi that has welcomed kwaZulu's constitutional blueprint and said it was in line with the CP's vision of the "self-determination of nations in a commonwealth of independent statesâ€. Meanwhile, Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament for Umhlanga, Kobus jordaan, who was among those involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba plan in the mid-1980s, said there was no comparison between that initiative and this week's constitutional proposals. "The Buthelezi that was involved in the kwaZulu/Natal Indaba, is not the same Buthelezi that we have today," said Jordaan. "He had a national approach, and never spoke about secession. This proposal smacks of secession ," added Jordaan. Scholars of Natal politics have argued that Buthelezi's undertaking to test his proposals of a kwaZulu/Natal state in a referendum were logisti- cally impossible. The calling of a referendum was also described as "legally impossible", especially now that De Klerk has poured cold water on the initiative. KwaZulu would have no powers to call a referendum for people who live in Natal. Records of the kwaZulu interior department state that only 770 000 people - in a population of 3- million - in the homeland had registered for the 1988 elections. It is suggested that people in the province would either refuse to go to a referendum or Buthelezi would simply lose it. They have pointed out that the Inkatha leader might be over estimating his support. Economists said Natal alone could not be economically viable. The region comprises of about 25 percent of South Africa's population, but it was responsible for only 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -
ANC general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa (top left), and constitutional affairs and communications minister, Roelf Meyer, (top right) have been chosen as joint winners of New Nation's 'Man of the Year Awardâ€. The New Nation Award for "Businessman of the Year†goes to National Sorghum Breweries (NSB) chairperson, Professor Mohale Mahanyele (right). This is the first time that both awards are being made. The awards will be given annually in future in recognition of individuals who are deemed to have made a contribution in providing leadership for the general uptiftment of the people of South Africa. Ramaphosa and Meyer have been chosen for their tireless efforts in holding the negotiations process together during very arduous and difficult times. The rapport the two have struck has made a crucial difference as to whether the negotiations process flounders or goes forward. The two leaders are young and are likely to provide continuity and the excellent leadership that the transition period requires. Prof Mahanyele has provided bold imaginative leadership in the business world. He has placed black economic empowerment firmly on the agenda and has set his own company as an example of this. New Nation believes that it is business leaders like Prof Mahanyele who will ensure that black people reclaim their rightful place in the economic life of the country. The awards will be officially presented to their winners early in 1993. Democratic Party (DP) leader, Dr Zach de Beer, said: “The two (Ramaphosa and Meyer) have given all they could to get the negotiations process back on track... they deserve it.†The newly-appointed chief of the Development Bank of South Africa Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu said Prof Manyelele's achievement would “serve as a model to other black organisations involved in economic empowermentâ€.