SARWHU workers in Cosatu House, unbound and defiant

YYilS
Vol 39 No 5
April/May 1987 A SASPUAFFILIATE -
SARWHUworkers in Cosatu House,unbound and defiant
- a target of state repression
election
A bloodshed
"Put your hands on the truck
you communistblack kaffir!"
t h e p l a i n c l o t h e sp o l i c e m a n
s ho u t e d a t W e e kl y Ma i l
reporter Sefako Nyaka before
searchinghim.
The treatment of this
reporter at Cosatu House last
Thursday was mild compared
to what striking workers
suffered after security forces
had b e s i e g e dC o sa tu H o u se
in End St.. Johannesburg,
where they had gathered.
brutalised by police who's
orders were to "werk hullett.
Nyaka says he saw bloodied
w o rker s being led out of the
building in handcuffsunder a
rain of
truncheon blows
a n d kicks. He saw two dead
w o rker s on the pavem ent .
One had a bullet wound in his
head.
T h e incident occur ed after
stri k ing wor ker s had ar med
themselves and gathered
apparently to travel to
Ge rm iston wher e a num ber
been shot by
police.
Accor ding to the SAP, the
incident in
Germiston
police
occurred
when
responded to " riotin g
wor ker s". A Cos atu offi c i al
says that in fact police
disper sedan indoor m eeti ng
of 1000 SARH W U w or k er s
and then fir ed on fl eei ng
workers, many of whom
broke through windows in
their flight. R epor ts of the
dead range from t
NEInrSffi
ffiffi
Rhodes
secuntv
shock
CBS
cameraman
lt
U
A CBS caneramanwas shocked
with an electriccattle-prodwhile
filming a peaceful demonstration
in protest against a Rhodes
University graduationceremony.
Mr GeorgeLuce, basedin Port
Elizabeth, was shocked by a
Rhodes Administration staff
member,at the traditional graduationgardenteapafiy.
The University,fearing that the
Black StudentsMovement(BSM)
would disrupt the graduation
ceremony,had organised extra
security by calling on nonacademicstaff to be on stand-by
for the weekend. The staff members were contactedby someone
"very high up" in the University
and told they had to provideexra
security. They werealso told that
"underno cfucumstances
were they
to reveal the name of the person
who had phoned them." Four
members.of
theBSM werehanding
out pamphletsandholdingplacards
at the teaparty whenthey weretold
to leave by the "protection officers". Somewhite studentswere
alsoseeno be actingas"protection
officers".
CameramanGeorge Luce shocked by a member of tRhodes Un
"GampusControl
Three days earlier at a mass
meeting,studentsburnt an effigy
of a studentwearinga graduation
gown. The symbolicburningwas
the startof a campaignaimedas a
massstayawayfrom thegraduation
ceremony.
Shortly before the tea party took
place, a sociology lecturer was
detainedbriefly by securitypolice,
in an attemptto find out what sort
of actionthestudents
hadplanned.
Mr Askwin Desaiwaspickedup
while driving in town and rqkento
security police head quartersin
High SUeet.He wasaskedwhy an
American TV crew was coming to
Grahamstown.The SAP Liaison
Officer for the Eastern Cape,
Captain Piet Grobler confirmed
that Mr Desaihad beentakenin for
questioning.
Mr Desaiwas also warnedby the
University authorities to "stay out
of studentpolitics". He receiveda
letter from the Vice-Chancellor
sayinghe wasnot to be involvedin
studentor worker issues,or he
would face discipiinary action.
The Publie RelationsOffrcer for
the university Ms Mary Burnett
said that the matter was "an
internaldisciplinaryone" and that
the universiw was not
discussir
The EasternCape branch of the
Society of South African
Journalists(SASJ) sent a letter to
the Vice-Chancellor Dr Derek
Haaderoom expressing "grave
concernat the action teken againS
a photographer and TV cameraman during their pursuance of
their professionalactivities". Mr
Bob Kernohan,vice-presidentof
SASJ,urgedthat the action taken
by the univenity staff involved be
fuliy investigated.
Wits Studenl thanks Albany
NewsAgencyfor this story.
aties students protect
meeting
Police
disrupt
nionist from branch
protesting
State
violence
The phone rang in the lyits
Student office. A member of
Varsity ( the U.C.T paper) was
on the line- she had a story for
us...a mass student meeting, a
picket, a burnt S.A. Breweries
Fuck.
Shehad hardly begunspeaking
when she broke off a n d
gasped:"There's
chaoson campus!
They'rerunningbackwdrdsand
forwards - oh shit, there goes
anotherteargascanister!"For the
wirs Student memberon the
otherendof the line u"ur.""i"a
"ri
too familiar- uut it uras neilror
u.c.r.However,
.u"n.r," *r'
forced to sit up in surprise when
the varsity
reporter. exclaimed:"Oh my God! They've got
a helicopter - they're firing bullets
from it!" He relaxed again when
she corrected herself :"No, no it's
only more teargas"'
lTits
Student
Somehow,
seemedto be receiving on the sPot
news from a battle-tornwas zone
on the distant campus. There was a.
The incidentwasa lbllow-upto a
mass gathering of students somethingnot uncommonat Wits
campustoo. SANCOandNUSAS
hadcalleda meetingto protestthe
sackingof 12 000 SARHWU
(South African RailwaY and
Harbour Workers Union) members, and the killing of union
membersin Germiston,at Cosatu
and at
Housein Johannesburg
DopornfonteinStation.
Studentsat the Uni;rsity of
a tradeunion
Stellenboschrescued
shopstewardfrom a plain clothes
securitypolicemanaftera political
meetingheldon thecampus.
Mr. Morris Mbou, a memberof
the South African Railway and
Harbour Workers Union
(SARHWU),which has been
deadlockedin strike action for
over six weeks,spokeat a meeting
convened
by NUSASandtheBlack
StudentsOrganisation
on StellenCampuslastweek.
After Mbou had spoken,
Goosen - allegedly a member of
securitypolice- attemptedto
him. At leastten studentsswar
around Goosen and formed
protectivering around the
steward. They demanded
police identification. His
was that the matter was "none
your business".
A scuffle ensued in which
security policeman fell to t
ground.Studentstook the oppor
tunity to lead Mbou outside.
second scuffle followed in whi
the students obtained Goosen
identification card. Mbou was a
to escape from the campus
the.fracas.
Allegedly, the S
Sowetoand the crisisin the trade
The meeting, held under the
ccording b a n n e r " O N E P E R S O N O N E
to th.eyarsitJ reporter,the place VOTE'. was held to fill studentsin
the ongoing rent boycotts in
wasburstingat theseamswith over
h%?,-,1'rtilXl
ifi.litjfoo?T"*;
;ilii";;
atmosphere,wiih peopG
ripr...i"g
trtiir solidarity ind
,nn"r,,.
union sphere.Protestagainstthe leaderof the AfrikaanerStude
killings of peoplein Johannesburg, Bond, helped the
securit
ermiston and Soweto, was
piclicemanin his attemptsto detai
registered.
thehadeunionofficial.
At the meeting, a call for action
was made. consequently, students
and
marchedonto DeWaalDr
picketed - a brave show of
solidarity and defiance in this
repressive climate. According to
Somestudentsdispersed,others
milled aroundin confusion,still
otliers respondedby throwing
stonesA
. t this time, students
noticedbillowingsmokeon thefar
end of campus.Many went to
investigate- they discovereda
L,---:--
d---ri-
^ .
who had "targeted" the truck.
U.C.T. spokespeopledo not believe
students involved in the protest
were responsible because they
were milling around at the sceneol
the disruptedpicket.
Later on an unprecedentedevent
tttl
llltlrt
ErrE W
lronfistshatters
iIlusions
Continuedfrom pg 1
Wits Student reporters had
arrived at Cosatu House at nine
o'clock that morning. About 70
workers were standingoutsidethe
building speaking among themselves.Wheowe departedat 10:30
t}te workers were no longer thereprobably having been moved into
the building. A small contingentof
policewasousidethebuilding.
By the end of the day 400 railway
workers had been arrested and
hundreds of workers, Cosatu
officials and others briefly
arrested. According to aWits
Student pholographerwho went
to CosatuHousethe next day: "It
looked as if things had been
danagedor destroyedat random
and the place was ransacked. I
walked through a large pool of
blood in thefoyer. "
Theseincidentsform but a part of
the backdropto the white election.
A backdrop which is being
illuninated albeit selectivelyfor
thefrnt time in months.
While blackresistance
andprotest
has continuedunabatedsince the
Vaal uprisingof September1984,
media coverageof the recent
eventsin Soweto,Germistonand
Doornfontein has penetra0edthe
senseof securityand stablity in
white families and has hopefully
broughthomethe conflict thatis a
constantelementof the fabric of
SouthAfrica.
As the electionfor the Houseof
Assembly draws near, it is
becomingapparenteven to whites
deprivedof informationof events
in the factoriesand the townships
that this minority parliament is
divorced from the major forces
shapingSouth African political
life.
l-ast Tuesdaythe wtute electorate
wasstunnedby reportsof an attack
on the Tladi Municipal Police
Training Centrein Soweto. The
Bureaufor Information statedthat
a traineePoliceman vv25killed
and5 I injured when a grenadewas
ttrown from a moving bakkie into
a group of recruits on a parade
ground. The outlawed PAC
claimed responsibility for the
atlack.
This incident was followed the
next day by the clashesbetween
police and striking railway
workers at Germiston and
Doornfontein.This clashoccured
in the contextof the strike of 20
000 SARHWUworkers,12 000 of
whom have now been sackedby
managementwhich refuses to
recognisethe union. Besidesthe
brutal attackat CosatuHouseand
lhe Cosatuoffices in Germiston.
betweensix andtenpeopledied asa
result of security force action at
Doornfontein station. W it s
Student has received honific
Aftermathof the police raid on Cosatu House
rePorts on the condition
of
"streamsof wounded" from staff
of Hillbrow Hospital. We are
prevented from bringing these
atlegationsto you.
On the same day of the clash
Johannesburgexperienceda massive stay4way as Soweto residents
Protested against the eviction of
rent boycotters. For almost a year
now, Soweto residents have been
carrling out decrsions taten-af
street committe level not to pay
rents in the face of escalating
inflation and declining real wages
which eats into the already meagre
budgeE of most black householdi.
The Star reported that poiice used
teargas to disperse a crowd of
demonstrators marching on the
Soweto Council Chambers in
Jabulani. Wits Student received
rcports from photograhers who
had witnessed the march, that
police responsedeveloped beyond
the use of teargas,but this has not
been verified.
About a hundred Putco buses
were damaged in incidents of
stone-throwing. The stayaway
continued the next day and
Thursday and Friday.
This
stayaway is significant becauseit
was co-ordinated under highly
repressiveconditions. It poins to
the desperation and det'ermination
of people and the durability of
ulgergr^ounqstructures.
The South African state is
probably in the grips of the
severest crisis since the
establishment of the Republic in
1961. Since the declaration of the
State of Emergency there has been
limited media coverage of unrest
but reports of unrest have recently
been more numerous in the
nationalmedia.
The carefully nurtured false sense
of "an improved internal security
situation" has been reolaced with
the fear cf the Rooi/swan gevaar to
win votes for "law and order" and
to show liberal voters the need for
weeks before the end of term
Barnatokitchenbecamethe scene
of somebig-timeacfion.
The catering supervisor, Mrs
Booysenandthestaff werebusyin
thekitchenwhenher husband,
Mr
Booysen
cameinto thekitchenand
pulledout a revolverand
allegedly
shot at one of the staff members,
According to Mr Mtembu, IvIr
Booysenthoughthe washavingan
affair with his wife andclaimsthat
was the reasonfor the shooting.
Mr Booysenhirnselfclairu thegun
went of- accidentaly. He says
nothing was intended by the
shooting and he apologised
profusely to Mr Mtembu. lv{r
t}te iron fist.
The other side of the coin is
Sarurday morning's unwarranted
attack on Zambia - how manY
potential CP voters will this
appease?
The reason why Wits
Student has produced more
than it would normally
be
able to in an article such as
this one is because we have
made use of Sefako Nyaka's
personal account of the siege
of Cosatu llouse,
This was
pulrlished in lhe Weekly Mail
b e c a u s ei t f e l t " s a t i s f i e d t h a t
the acts of police conduct he
has described are true and.
because of their
excessiveness, do not constitute security action."
Where our
article covers incidents that
did not sppear )n the Weekly
M ai I
article we have followed the normal legal
procedures.
qh"g
rnat0^,*h
'Jg"hg*
gling"
n*?,"a
murder charge, and intends to look
inro the incident fully in e-onunction with the police.
The University asked Mr
Booysen to leave the flat provided
for the couple and Mrs Booysen
has resigned. She has subsequently
been replaced, after working on
c2mpusfor eight years.
ffii NEUrS ffi
Police
The principal and vicechancellor Prof Karl Tober hag
warnedthat the university will not
lolerate the behaviourof people
who disrupt academicactivities on
cimpus. This was made clear
through letters that were setrt to
both membersof staff andstudents.
The letters highlighted as an
saernpletheincidenbon t9 Marctl
whenstudents,allegedlymembers
of the Black Students Society,
disrupted lectures whiie trying to
persuadeshrdentsto join them in
commemorationof the Sharpeville
andUitenhagenassacres.
. Ftof Tober stated although the
university supports the right of
studentsto peaceful protest on
carnpus,it also supportsthe right
of studentsandstaff to pursuetheir
academic activities "without
hindrance".
He added," The universityviews
the incidents on 19 March with
graveconcernand will not hesitate
to institute disciplinary action
againstanyoneinvolvediri furttrer
disruptionof lectures."
"Why did you do this to us ?'cried
an incredulousparty-goer. "You
weredisturbingthepeace,"replied
thepoliceman. After somethought
- "Umm...Er...Whatpeaceis there
to disturb?"askeda quietlyspoken
musician,
This thoughtprovokingexchange
took place at 4am on Sunday12
April outsidethe Hillbrow police
station. Earlier in the morning30
sjambok-wieldingmen - somein
police uniforms and some in
civilian clotheshad stormedinto a
party in Louis Botha avenuein
about60 people
Bereaandarrested
after at least five were
allegedlyassaulted.
The reasonsfor the arrestvaried
(accordingto thosewho were
lfuowing people into
yellow vans) from disturbingthe
peace to resisting arrest, one
person was even arrested for
trespassingandhe lived there!
At1an thepolicewho hadbeenin
the vicinity from about lOpm,
askedfor the music to be turned
down.
"I penonallywentto checkthatthe
music had been turned right
down," said one of the house
residents,"that definitelywasn't
thereasonfor the raid. I meanhalf
0repeoplewere biginning to leave
becausethe dancinghadstopped!!'
No smoke
No ielke
Smoking has been banned in
a l l p u b l i c p l a c e sa t M e d i c a l
School. This is not a belated
April Fool's joke either!
The Medical StudentsCouncil
(MSC) regardthe decisiontakenby
the Faculty Board Executiveas a
blatant infringement of student
rights. The decision was taken
without consultationwith srudent
body, despitethe MSC having
pointedout that sucha movewould
angerstudents.
Smokersmay not smokein any
public place although they are
allowed to smoke outside or in
offices. It is claimed that this
ruling discriminates against
studentsand workers without
offrcesin which to smoke.
At least one studenthowever
applaudedtlre ban as a 'positive
steo'which shouldbe followed on
The MSC hasmet with the Dean
of the Faculty of Medicine,
kofessor Rosendorfwho said that
he was"exhemelypleasedwith the
new regulation"and it would test
'Justhow badly studensneededto
smokeif they had to walk outside
to do it." The MSC is negotiating
for a smokingroom for students.
What happenswhen a political
party is gate crashed, and
electioneeringbecomesa life-aaddeathmatter? A student,who we'll
call Tames' to protect him, recently found oul
Looking for a fast buck, James
and threefriends were employed
by the National Party to put up
postersin the Parktown- consti-
to work. two men in a silver
pulledup nextto him.
Porsche'928
The driver said "Get your political
shit off the road" and then
proceededto insult James personally. Jamesresponded by
telling him to get lost.
The man drove round the corner
andhe ald his companiongot out.
ln searchof security, Jamesran
Were the yellow vans parked illegally?
In fact I rememberone policeman Apparentlyin reply to the threat
sayinglater that he neverheardany that the music be turned down or
musicwhenhe arrived."
"we'll arrest everyone" came the
Ten minutesafter the musicwas wiry reply "You'll haveto bring a
turned down the baton-wielders bus".Cheekyl
storned thehouse.A witorel
The 60 or so people who didn,t
l-tlr?
party said "They just
-star-ted ."*g. to g"t awayIike the restof
pulling people out and loading the 2dO_ r-rong party were then
theminto thewaitingvans. People takento the oolice station. Thev
who complainedor askedquestions were keot tirere for about two
gotpunched,kickedorsjambokkedhours. j7 names were taken
for beingcheeky"'
before everyonewas released
,,iti1'J;ijj,l''.;itJi::lh::
one of rhe main reasonstil:"d:
attack. "I heard cops outside
saying that someoneinside had
beencheeky and the party would
haveto be bustedup."
witrr
*rs*#;ng to"stav
out.of
--'i';*;t;. you
ca' me a rascisryou
Jewbov?"one policemanaskedas
the newlv releled studentswere
leaving,Lpping his baton against
his bruisedhand.
..in ca-puf, He claimed"nonsmokers have long been
discriminatedagainst by being
forced into the role of 'passive
smokers"'ani .:ontinued,"The
decision might have been
autocraticbut it wasfor the greater
gooC."
Whethersmokersoppressnonsmokersor not, theMSC clearlyis
at odds with the Faculty Board
proExecover their undemocratic
cesses.
Studentshot at
chakas and a broom stick handle ald his companiondrove off.
This could be the end of the
for his friend. Whenthe driver of
story, but its not... The man was
the silver Porsche and his
companionsawthis theywent back tracedby his numberplatesandhe
to the car and came back now faceschargesof attempted
brandishinga gun - "a bloodyhuge murder and aiming a loaded
thing," says James, who found weapon.
himself looking down the wrong
The incident suggests that
end. Jemesturnedandwalkedback
towar& his car. The man fued a .aggressiontowards the National
'shot above his head and when
Party is growing. Nowadays
'Jamesdidn't stop he fued another blacksaren'tthe only peoplebeing
rtwoshofsat him. An eye witness shot aL The casegoesto court on
,sa+dhethenhad "a tantrum"frred the 6th of May - quite an eventfirl
ffi NErfvE ffiffi
,
Black workers at Wits get raw deal
rrl get R 519 a month - after deductionsit's R 300. Our rent is
R 250 and my husband and I have to support both our parents
- they didn't
and five kids at the Universityof Bophuthatswana
get administerial permission to study here.r' These sre the
words a campus worker spokewith a shrug. When Wirs Student
asked her whether the Black University Workers Association
(BUWA) could do anything to improve her lot, she got angry
:"BUWA does nothing. They only interfere with our money no increases.They promise to win us a t9Vo increasein June
but we know all governmentworkers get that. It's not even
above inflation. Werve decided we want a union which is
strong -GAWU."
Many more black workers at
is very close to fulfilling the
Wits seemto be dissatisfiedwith
representivitycriterion. It is alBLIWA."Wholesaleresignations"
legedthat by hamperingmembers
from B{,JWAhaveoccuned,while
who wish to resign with tedious
the COSATU- afhliatedunion on
and time consuming procedures,
campus, the General and Allied
BTIWA hopesto retainits numbers
Worken Union reportsa vastly in andtherebytherecognitionol Ad creasedmembership.But it seems min as the only negotiatingbody
that B{,IWA is refusingto allow its
for workers.Admin recognises
membersto resignthroughnormal
whichhas
anyunionor association
procedures, thus retaining its
50%plus onesupportin anygrade
numbersandfunding.Only239out- of worker.An addedhindranceto
of the 1519non-academic
staff at
workers resigningfrom BUWA
Witr are notrcpresentedby
BUWA.
seerrcto be the continueddeducOrdinarily, membersof BLIWA,
evenafterre tion of subscriptions
signation.The Univenity Associa.the only associationwhich Wits'
Arlmin recognisesas representing tion secretarycommentedthat"Re gradeone to four workerson crmsignationsare not increasingsince
pus) would simply haveto filI in a
the new procedureswere infrodlc resignationform suppliedby the
ed.Theyseemto be tailingoff."
AssociationSecretaryin order to
A member of Administration
resignfrom BIIWA.
explainedthat the new procedure
because"GAWti is
Sincethe last quarterof 1986, was necessary
however, so many workers have comingin to poacha lot of BUWA
memberstn doing so, it hopesto
handed in these forms that the
procedurehasbeenchanged.Now
underminethe negotiatingrights of
workers Inust lake their forms to
BUWA with the university.
the chairpersonof BIJWA, Mr
GAWI' is part of cosATU," she
Ndlow, so that theirresignations wenton, "andthey aretrying to in creasetheirmembership
at theex canbe "approved".WithoutNdlo penseof BUWA." Admin it seems
w's approval,a resignationis not
areworriedaboutnegotiatingwith
valid.
A cleanertold us, "Ndlow has COSATUaffiliatedunionswhich
are renownedfor forcefully pressaidno onecanresignwithoutcon sing workers claims and often
sulting him. I said Orisis funny, he
hasno mandate.Ndlovu hasnever emergingvictorious,
Admin claims that "fraudulent
takenup our problemswith Admin
resignations"by BLIWA members
and now he decides if we can
aisopromptedthe change.Assisresign!"
tant Registrar,Mr. Crowther said
On whatbasiscanworkersclaim
BLIWA
allegedsignatures
of re that Ndlovu has no mandate?A
members
werenotgenuine
signing
"Who
elected
cafteen worker said,
and they had had pressureput on
Ndlovu? We have never elected
them to resign. In some cases,
him in our lives!" The chairperson
BLIWA allegesthat memberswho
by thenine
of IBUWA is appointed
had resigneddid not evenknow
person executivewhich BLIWA
theyhaddoneso.The samememelects
annually
membenhip
ber of Admin said,"Someworkers
Ndlow is unlikely to be fired by
are so simple, they didn't know
the executive.Khorombi said,
whattheyweresignilg."
"Thereis a feelingthatwe shouln't
members firmly
GAWU
sack the chair: that would be
denied allegations of fraud'
victimisation.wouldn'tit?" Wor
They claim that despitethe Uni kers havepointedout that Ndlow
versity'sallegedpolicy of "free lacks a mandate,and feel that he
in joining uni domof associarion"
evadesthoseworkerswho needhis
workers
ons,
are
actively
encour'approval"beforetheycan resign.
agedto join BUWA. Commenting
"Oncewe stoodat his office in the on the allegationthat workersdid Wedgefor the whole day.Worken
n't know whattheyweresigning,a
are signing resignationforms but
GAWU shopstewardsaid:"If this
there'sno one to give themto. I've
is the case,then BIJWA certainly
got 26 with me now", said a seemsto have capitalisedon it. "
worker.
Mr. Khorombi,who holds the re GAWIJ shopstewardscomplain cruitmentportfolio on the BUWA
ftat Gawumembership
on campus 9-member
executiveandhasdone
Cleaningup after students
don't get involved ." He seesthe
relationshipbetweenBIMA and
GAWU on c.rmpusas having " a
pretty strongconfrontalionalstyle
and approach,"Admin recognises
whatever associationor union
meeBlhe rePresertiviti criterion.
Crowthersayshe feels"BUWA re - if it
presentsworkersaciequately
didnt, it wouldn'thave the strong
suppodit has."On thequestionof
what a member of Admin describedas "wholesaleresignations"
from B{fWA he cites BLIWA's
claim that the resignationswere
fraudulent..Several
workersdo not
believe Admin is as neufal as it
pretendsto be. "Wits andBTIWA
a r e o n e a n d t h e s a m e , "s a i d a
Manv workers
::l:t^tl ."-:fer' againstthelack
:p""-l-11T:"ngly thev receive in
31:,tP,t:*3:1tton
"The problem is that
.
PyJl
nothing"'a se :gy.i:t^-1"ing
guard stated"'They don't
curi.ty
management at all'
:11,I-t."9" 'sweet-heart
BLI\['A is a
union""
BUWA seemsto be out of touch
A cleanersaid, "Some decided with the predominantfeelingsof
BIJWA is rubbish, let's join the workerson campus.Mr. Khoromunion [GAWUI. The problem is bi asserted,
"BUWA hasfoughtfor
that the Universitydeductsmoney a lot of worker issues.I disagree
to pay BUWA. We can't afford to with everyonewho sayswe areon
pay the GAWU subscription."A good termswith mannagement."
postal worker told lyils Sndent
He madeLhisstatementafterphonthat"theUniversitysayswhy leave ing Mr. Crowther"to check" be BLIWA if you'repayingthem?"
fore he spoketo the Wirs Student
Yet Admin claimsto standapart reporter."All the workersare ve from the conJ1ict.Mr. Crowther ry happy v/ith BIJWA," he con saysits "internecine
conflict.We cluded.
so for a numnberof years, said
that,"Recruitmentdependson the
understandingof the worker."
Sometimesworkerssimply hadto
write down their namesto become
membersof BUWA while others
had to readthe membershipform
and fill in relevant details, like
names,signatures,andstaff num bers."BLfWAforced me to join,":
saida library worker."I fillled in a
form - I didn't know what it was.
Now I wantto resign."
Once a worker is a memberof
BUWA his or her subscriotionis
auromaticallydeductedfrom the
monthlypayiheque.
Workers who have resisned
from BUWA .fui_--ti"l.
subscriptions u." rtlr i.ing
deductedfrom rheir p"y-.rr.q".i.
The associarionr....,^r1^-r',-i-J
wits studenr trrattrroush ihe
subscriptions
may in t"#';";;;
continueto be deducred.;;" il;
resignation rrorr euwA. Tl *
refundis given."
Trogp,
f1tis
volcake,ilo
:-
Puzzled,'staresand much
headscratchingwas the response
2mongst membersof the SADF
s t a t i o n e da t W i t w a t e r s r a n d
Command when they were presentedwith a cake and a card by
members of the Wits E n d
Conscription Campaign on
Thursday9 April.
The cake was cut and iced to
form the ECC chain logo. It was
presentedin commemoration(not
celebration)of the 75th birthday of
the SADF and as a responseto a
paradeheld by the'SADF in Cape
Town on Monday 6th to mark the
event.
The day started with a cake
cutting ceremony under a large
bannerproclaiming "75 years of
the SADF, not such a happy
birthday". Black crossestook the
placeof candleson the cakewhich
was shapedlike the Cape Town
Castle.Needlessto say,the castle
wasdemolishedwithin minutes.
The ECC cakeintendedfor \il/its
Commandwasdeliveredat 2.30in
the afternoon. After a lengtlry
discussionandmuchpassingof the
buck up and down theranks,iiwas
eventually decided fhat the cake
would not be accepted,because*re
personin chargeof public relations
wasnot at thebase. All the SADF
membersspoken!o seemedamused
but nonewerep,reparedto take the
responsibility for accepting the
caKe.
The cake and card were left
outside\{ifs Qenmaqd.passenby Members of Wits ECC wish Wits Command a happ
seemedto take gleat interest in it 7516 birthday
and eventually, still suspicious
(ii) Broadenthe definition of
memben of the SADF removed
!o befulfilled in non_
their gift from the public eye.
conscientious
objecrion
governmental
agenciessuch
beyondthatof religious
as welfareor churchgroups
The card read: "On your birthuniversalpacifismTheseare only interim demand
day,give conscriptsa present(iii) Male alternativeservice
(i) allowconscrip$tochoose
of theEnd ConscriptionCampaig
equalin lengthfo 1[s time
but it will continue to voice thgr
whetheror not they will
spentin the military.
up till such time as compulsorv
servein N:mibia andin the
(iv) Allow alternativeservice
conscription!o the SADF is ended
lownships;
In a referendum held by the
Black SrudentsSociety (BSl) al
Wits last block, BSS members
overwhelmingly supported .a
changein BSSsporupolicy' This
meanstheycan now useuniverstty
sports facilities provided that
sporting activities correspondtothe South African council of
Sport's (SACOS) principles of
majority of blait sfudentsfelt that
all-pars of their lives - academic,
social or sports . must reflect the
reality of oppression
which they
experiencJ as black South
Africans.
A policy rev!{j,/r'
wasinitiatedby
a BSSMassMeetingon 3 March-it
was prompted by developmen[s
suchas:
NewBSSsoorts.poficy=.
non-raclallsm.
For the pastfew years,therehas
conboversyat Wits
ongoingconEoversy.":
been
oeenongolng
:iT
aboutBSSsporr poticywhichheld
that black students should not use
on-campus sports facilities.
The reason for this was that the
Frll"t
*the increase in the numbers
of
bhck studentsat Wits since the
adoptionof theoriginalpolicy;
*the
the number of black students
stud
accomodaiedon or near to campus;
'rthe relaxarion by
SaCOS oi its
attitqdes concerning the use of
u
of non-racialsporu.
Although the wits All Sports
Council(ASC) is constitutionally
non-aligned,it embodiessporting
codes which are at odds with
sacos policy. For this reason
BSSmembers*ilt not makeuseof
sports facilites as jndividuals but
undertheauspices
of theBSS.
A black studentsaid that this
policy "furthersorganisation',and
"lays a democratic principle under
which sport should be played in
this country."
R-A-M-P - without a car blocking
the accessof a disabledstudent.
Thereareat leastnine studentsin
wheei chairs on Wits campus.A
further six studentsare blind. A
numberof studentsuse calypers
andthereareshrdentswith hearing
and sight impairments.Although
the University has done much to
improvethe snrdyfacilifies of these
studentsthereis still a lot of room
for improvement.Featuressuchas
the loweringof lift panelsin Senat
House are definitely steps in the
right direction.However,thereare
still barriers to accessin *re form
ofturnstylesat library and cantee
entrances.The constantly out of
order Students Union lift bars
accessto the dining room, RAC
andtheSRC-not to mentiona hos
of clubsand societies.In additio
to this, overt academic barriers
such as tapedreadingsnot being
saved,further handicap disabled
studentson campus.
It is worth emphasizingthe point
that disabled students "are not
handicapped-but only differently
abled". The Disabled Students
Movementcalls on able-bodied
studentsnot to handicapthem by
parkinginesponsibly,damaging
lifts and blocking ramps thus
denying thesestudentsaccessto
education
urulllfllles
l/ll|n
a0aln*-,*-,,**.,",,"*
,.Jooi..o, saying ;i#ffiln$"tfi"fft*:::l:
witsdrummies
came
outontop perceived
",
that the shortskirts they wear are shesaid.
in the National Rand Show
just asaPproPriate
for the 'sport'as
Championshipsin April for the
On the question of whether
shorts are for rugby players. dflrmies ii a way of socialisine
secondyearrunning..sharonShulke
"We'renot .!o*lq
who took the best leader'frophy
y,l"q: :,1 women to accepr
,ot"s ii
"T
fTI
anything; I
"e.t"in
for Wits once again, attributes
sociery, Shulki coFmented
thar
T:TL^i,-y]
prefly stupid if we're performing ;
theirsuccess
to hardwork. The 42
threetimesa
womenpracrised
inlongrfuu!,to:*.IHjl:,.
week,rwo hoursa day.
Drummies.havealways been a
controversial matter at Wits.
SharonShulke,drunmiesleaderat
Wis said,"Drummiesisn'tsexistat
all. It is not exhibitionist; drummies perform and the object is
entertainingthe audience."
She deruedthat drummies are
Shulke described the military
"fun".
aspect in drummies
.as
"Drummies
L-,h: :1I .Tt]i1y
sport that C:1\:^.,11111^l:1.::
besidesa few schools.whichhave
girl cadets,"tlijl9_:id
ConscriptionCampaigntspokespersoncommentedthat this attitude
is "sacl". "Glamourising and ro-
r,TlTi;il:'!1[ulotai'ion"ttt
Dawn Loudon, who holds
Women,sportfolio on the SRC
suggestedthar the precisionand
sUrr of drummies' performaaces
could be used to create events
which are as spectacular as
drummies but are not sexist or
offensive in the same way as
drummiesis.
-'H##n*
I
for
democrac
Vote
a
N U S A S , s u p p o r t e d b y S A N S C O , i s s p e a r h e a d i n ga n o n racial poll on all Nusas canlpuscs, in the weck preceding
the white election on May 6.
Students voting "Yes'r in this poll will be giving their
support to t'One person, one vote in a United South
Africa". This will send a message nationwide that studcnts
on the Engtish Universities togethcr with some students in
the University of Stellenbosch support the dcmands of the
majoritv of South Africans.
Thus, the poll focuses
manifesto calls
wnar the NUSAS/SANSCO
"The most
tmportant questionin South African Politics".
Says Steve Kromberg, Nusas avoids the central issue of
"Democracy by
democracy for all South Africans.
President:
It is not, however, calling for a
definition means equal political
rights for every person, regardless boycott. Rather, Nusas wants
students to address important
ot race, creed and wealth. To be
questions.
effective a government must have
poUins booths will be situared
legitimacy, which can only be the
caseif every citizen feels that he.or
around c-ampus. Remember your
she has a say in the policies of that
student and staff cards, as the
government
official student electoral lists are
Nusas believes that the election
being used.
Nusas
(Nusas
Whyvote ?
Moeti Mpuru, SANSCO
National Executive Member
Building Non-Racialism
Howard Sackstein, SAUJS
people,One country, One
Commitment to DemocracY
'lt is our futurethat is at stake
"The non-racialpoll, which is
NationalChairperson:
person,Onevote'
part of the Nusas campaign
"SAUJS National executive
b
Y
i
d
l
Y
s
i
t
w
e
c
a
n
n
o
t
Yusuf Akhalwaya Chair
againstwhites-onlyelections,
has endorsed the Nusas
w a t c h i n gt h e g o v e r n m e n t
personMSA:
should be supported by ALL
manifestobecause clearly the
w
h
i
l
e
r
e
f
o
r
m
t
h
e
w
i
t
h
f
i
d
d
l
e
"No-oneknowsthe needsof
students and academics on
principles in that manifesto
the massesbetter than the c o u n t r y b u r n s . B l a c k S o u t h c a m p u s ,
as it seals a nd
concur fully with stated SAUJS
it
clear
made
have
Africans
massesthemselves,
and no'one person, one vote' is
displaysthe non-racialaspect
policy.
that
of
'We lay down our objections one can expressthe needs
of our struggle tor total
the massesbetter than the t h e i r m i n i m u md e m a n d . I t i s democracy. In the face of
that the white election is
resolving
{irst
step
towards
the
massesthemselves.People
racist elections, let us close
merelyan electionof the elite
shouldnotbe scaredof Dower, the growing conflict in South
ranks in a non-racialway and
for the elite and that the real
A
n
o
v
e
r
w
h
e
l
m
i
n
g
A
f
r
i
c
a
.
possess
it.
they should
expose
the racist, apartheid
African
South
In
issues of
Politics Pleaseparticipatel
responseon our campuses
'one person, one
electionsfor what they are.
are not being addressedin the
f
a
v
o
u
r
o
f
Alan Mabin, Academic Staff
electinn."
vote' is a strong assertion of
AssociationChairperson:
Symbolicimportance
Professor MervYn Shear,
It is true to say that 'one
"l think the Nusas non-racial c o m m i t m e n t o a d e m o c r a t i c
of
Deputy Yice-Chancellor
future.'
person
one vote' in and of
_poll is a creative and an
Student [ffpirs:
S t e v e K r o m b e r g , N U SA S
itself does not guarantee
excitingidea and I very much
"l support the Nusas Poll,
President
fr e e d o m a n d j u s t i c e , b u t
encourageboth students and
'One
because'it is calling for
Solidarity with the voteless
without it. there is no
staff to participatein it.'
person, One vote in a united
Your supportfor the principle possibilityof it being achieved.
Anthony Gordon, MegaSouth Africa.
"one person,one vote" in a
of
A'yes' vote is a vote for a
-utuoents should be con mouth, Perennial Student
unitary South Africa will be a
peaceful,prosperousfuture. lt
Dynamo:
gratulated in taking this
c l e a r s h o w o f s o l i d a r i t yw i t h i s a v o t e a g a i n s t t h e
'Hey
ek
uP
Wake
Witsies,
initiative. One hoPes that all
the majority of South Africans g o v e r n m e n t ' su s e o f b r u t a l
se... "Apathy will b r in g
Wits students will take the
who have been excluded from
repression to suppress
opportunityof exPressing their
catastrophe!
participatingin determiningthe
legitimate opposition to its
view on a matterfundamental
"The present politicalsystem p o l i c i e so t t h ec o u n t r yi n w h i c h
policies. lt is a vote for
'
to the future of the country.
is about as organised as the t h e y l i v e .
This voteless
democracy.
overnightlibrary.
Mac Glaeser, SRC member'
long endured
Colin Coleman, NUSAS
'As young students we have m a j o r i t y h a v e
Rag beneficiaries convenor:
this fundamentaldePrivationof
Media OfTicer
a duty to remind the powers
As students we nave an
h u m a nr i g h t s . l t i s e s s e n t i a l
Studentscan't be ignored
that be that this uniust that whites show definite
obligat'onro ensure rnat our
Students should vote in the
future is more peaceful,demo imbalancemust go!
supportfor democracy .
N
USAS non-racial poll
"Support the Nusas camcratic and secure than it is at
EtienneMarais, SRC Presi
b
e
cause wg can send a
paign."
the present.
denr
powerful message to the
g
e
t
"So don't opt out,
governmentthat six campuses
involved in the campaign and
* Lunchtime:
Pollingcontinues
LAUNCH,
Wed
29:
around the country ate
I
I
explore some of the
* Lunchtime
MarkSwillingandTony Leon- "Canl dissatisliedwith the role that it
debate:
a l t e r n a t i v e st o t h e p r e s e n t |
LB I 3l WestCampus I is playing. Today's students
changethroughparliament?"
chaos.
Y o u m i g h t b e I therebe effective
* "Apartheid":theGranada
video
on lherootsof Apartl a r e t h e l i v e l i h o o d o f o u r
TV
I
pleasantlysuprised!'
- I .25in SHB4
t
z:ao
heio.
I
| country - our voice cannot be
Young Christian Students
* BSSculturalevening7:30pmin theArcade
|
I ignored. lt is our responsibility
ffrs):
* Pollingcontinues
Thurs
30:
to express our rejection of
I
I
rhat
aPartheid
"we believe
* Concertin theDark 8pmin theBoz
I apartheid in a visible,
is unOhristian. Theretore we I
* May Day (University
holiday)
| meaningful way, and to throw
urge Christiansto obey God I Rri t:
* Pollingcontinues
until6pm
4:
Mon
I our supportbehind the wishes
before man and to live out the I
* "WhoreallygovemsSA?" MarkSwilling (Politic{ of the majority of people in
|
Gosoel value that we are all
12:40SlI
Deptl.followedby discu.ssion.
Africa.
one Body of Christ. We I
I South
*Results
poll
non-racial
of Nusas
I Tues5:
r-Campaign
Calend?I-r
WS.' For most whites, May
6 is an important day this
year. Is it correct to say that
for the majority May Day is
equally important?
Frank: May I is a time whenthe
vast majority of South Africans,
especiallyworkershave their say
aboutthe country'sfuture. In the
pastcoupleof years,workers and
youth havebeenbecomingmo(e
involved.
This year workers will rePeat
their demandsfor :
*a non-racial,democraticSouth
Africa
*jobs for all
*a living wage
*decenthousing,education,
etc.
May Day this year, falling as it
doesso close to the election,is a
demonstationagainsttheminorily
elections,thereforePW hastriedto
diffuseits importanceby makirg it
a public holidaY- Picnics rather
thanpoliticalmeetings.
The celebrationsare in a sensea
defensiverallying point for PW.
Thereis asmuchan eiementof fear
as an elementof aggression,
so we
expecta possiblebanningof May
Day rallies.
WS: PW has atteptedto coopt thc day by declaring a
limited public holiday. Can
you clarify exactly who tlte
holiday affects and comment
on PW's new-found gratitude
to the workers?
Frank: PW hasprovedthathe is
a personwho can't be trusted: in
publiche boldlysaid,"FirstFriday
in May to all workers".Groupings
rushedforwardto
in big business
commendhim. Now it appeanthat
tens of thousandsof workers are
excluded. I think that this was
deliberatedecePtion.
The real effect of this
is that for workers
announcement
who havenot won May Day, their
strugglewill be moredifficult.
Workers are very critical of
bossescoming forward to accept
PW'sMay Day,knowingfu1lwell
that it clasheswith what the
workerswant.
I f b o s s e sa r e r e a l l y a n r i apartheid,they shouldstop taking
their lead from PW. Workers
it doesn't
rejectPW'sday because
give credit to their understanding
of whatMay Day is about- a dayof
internationalimportance when
they join hands with other
workers.
WS,' Can you coflnent on
the white elections?
Frank: The demandsof the
proslessivemovementhavealways
includedeveryone:in a non-racial,
democraticsocietY,all will havea
is more
say. PW's democracY
exclusive, an illusionfor whites.
Powerdoesn'tresidein Partament
- it is shifting to shadowY
committees over which most
trenchmentprocedure.
These have .effectively
challengedthe lack of democracy
in the workplaceandhavebegunto
breakdown the absolutepowerof
managemelrt.
The launch of Cosatu was a
watershed.It raisedthe hopesand
expectations of millions of
workers, who turn to Cosaru
becauseit gives ttrema voice.
WS.: Despite the depressed
economy, cosatu is still
strong. Why?
Frank: Helping the processof
unionismhasbeenthe mobilisation
in the townships. Youths and
committed activists are
encouragingworkers to join
Cosatu,which is "the home of
everyworkerin SouthAfrica",
Eventsnationallyand the mass
May lst is celebratedby working people around the
democraticmovementhaveraised
as a day when they restate their collective right to a better li
and control over the work they do. In recognition of t
political awareness. Workersare
demands of the disenfranchised working class of South
becomingmore militant .
Africa, Wits Student has compiled a May Day pullout.
The SATS strike is a graphic
We also interviewed Frank Meinties. Education Olficer
example - workers from rural
Cosatu, the largest trade union federation in the country
areashavebeengivena raw deal.
rrently boasting three quarters of a million signed u
The workershavenot beencut off
workers and a record of achieving major advances for
from political events in the
workers since its launch in November 1985
communify,andtheyfeel thattheir
Cosatu represents a real force in which the oppressed and
desirescan only be expressed
ploited workers have placed their hopes and aspirations,
throughmilitant and democratic
Within hours of Wils Student staff having interviewed
unionslike Cosahr.
onViTednesday22April, Cosatu House was surrounded
Cosatuis committedto building
nd attacked by the security forces, as if to emphasise t
democratic organisations in the
threat organised labour poses to the present regime.
townships. It encouragesshop
stewardsto play an active role in
the leadershipof the community.
For example,in Springs,workers
havespreadshop stewardslocally
to representativesfrom ciyics
youth,and the unemployed.
WS.' Do workers support
level and at national and regional
they should point the way to a true
socialism?
democracy involving all the people
committees.
Frank: The presentsystemof
Leadership is accountable and
of SouthAfrica.
capitalism in South Africa has
The white elections are
can be replaced if it is felt that it
brought workers nothing but
has not effectively conveyed the
dangerous because they draw the
poverty, hardships and
feelings of rank and file.
curtain on the real issues.
degradation. Workers around
We haven't yet heard anyonetalk
In this way we have managed to
South Africa are looking at why
deepenconsciousnessat rank and
about unemployment (around 6
the wealthof thecountrycontinues
file level and to deepen
million), housing or black
to be concentrated
in the handsof
understandingof society and the
education, or the fact that the
so few, andwhy wagesaregetting
working of the economy.
African majority is excluded, their
less and less in real terms.
organisationsbanned and students,
IY.S.' What is the logic
children and leaders are in
The workers se€ how capitalism
behind "one union, one
nas.;oinedhands with apartheid
Research industry, one
detention or hiding.
federation" ?
when this was convenient. Only
has shown that wage increasesin
Frank: We realise that power
now are some employers
1986 were almost ail below the rate and wealth in South Africa is very
of inflation, which meansthat poor
criticising apartheid. Workers
concentrated. workers realise that
people in the townships are getting
wonder if they are not only
there are strong links between
poorer. These people are fighting
consideringtheir own survivaland
various companies,especially those
a losing battle to survive.
if they're looking for more
in the same industry.
sophisticated
waysof makingmore
When workers in a particular
lYS.' The white elections
profits under a system of less
industry negotiatein a united way,
have highlighted the question
broad-based unions give them racism,lessbantueducation,less
of democrac! - how does
Croup Areas,and of course,less
more power.
democracy work in Cosatu?
socialunrest.
Cosatu
has
a
membership
of
707
Frank: Cosatu functions deWorkersare discussingdifferent
growin
000
and
it
g
is
at
a
mocratically. Democracy means
economic
systemsas alternatives.
phenomenal
rate.
At
the
launch,
that people have direct control
systems arejudgedby
membership
was
500
000.
Just
the
over their lives. Cosatu doesn't
provision
of .iobs,wagerates
The
National
Union of Mineworkers
want workers to vote once every
and
if
they
ad&ess
themselvesto
(NI;M)
launch,
since
has
increased
five to seven years and then leave
fte needsof workers,the poor, the
its membership by 80Vo.
the decision-making up to a few
theunemployed.
homeless,
Cosatu's affiliates are fighting
indil'iduals.
Socialismis one of the issues
unions which have won things for
osatuinterview
with FrankMeintjies
Before we take major decisions
members. es. wape increases.
heino
disnrrcsed
Tt ic o laaa
to'-
My brother is with tTte, carryi
shoulder, and on his feet are he
He followsme towardsthe shaft
u
and,if I die thereunderground
Who am l? DearLord! all aro
stumble,fall and die.
("ln the Gold Mines", B.\,V.Vilak
ew have suffered more than the workers
o l d m i n e si n J o h a n n e s b u r g "- R : m a p h o s a ( N U M )
While a senior manager <ii .uqsed
"power sharing" with i:, . ..r;s,
saying that of course he hao no
objections, we climbed out of the
segregatedcage into the 28 degree
celsius heat. The fact that the lifis
are segregatedis not seenas a racist
practice but rather because " often
they don't wash for two or three
days so they smell a bit 'ripe"'
(Goldfields Geologist)
The stope, i.e. the rockface being
mined, is a iong, low cavern on a
very steep gradient in line with the
reef. There is no lighting except
for your own little buib and the
roof is so low that we walked
hunched. The floor is covered with
loose rocks. The heat is suffocating
and the noise unbearable.
Most miners work stripped to the
waist because of the heat. "Noise
deafness" is common among
niners and the noise level from the
drills, dangerously high. On
whipping out the NUM safety book
we found that drill silencen cost
R50 . Why doesn't Kloof use them?
According to the engineer, "Ag
Lady, these machine boys
only feel like 'manne' when
they handle machine that
makes a loud noise-"
An under
worldof rr
degrad
atio
dangerT
my hardhatin a second- thesafety
gear is not that hardy! A miner
watchednervouslyas I splashed
through the puddlesin my big
bootsandsuddenlygrabbedme and
threw ? rock into the puddle in
ftont of me - it sank,and sank and
sank.
"Gold is valuable, your life
precious,"saysthe platitudeon a
large signpost. Kloof has a bad
reputation for safety. Many
miners say that training is crude
and that they do jobs they are not
trainedto do (and are not paid to
do). Becausecertainjobs suchas
blasting are reseryedfor whites.
blacksarenot Eainedin thenr.The
white shift boss is supposedto
'make safe' the stope. He is
supposed. to ensure that the
supportsare in the right placeand
that the workplace is safe for
minersto work in. The reality is
quite different.
Speakingto an apprenticewhite
miner..."But in realitydon'tmany
blacks carry out those tasks
reservedfor whites?"
Minen "Yes often that is ttrecase
but thenthe whitesmustcheckthat
everything is being done
Miner: "Yes in reality that
does happen. Blacks do seem
to do almost everything.rr
The deepeststopeat Kloof is four
anda halfkilometresunderground.
The temperafureis around 55
degrees. "To get the worken to
work more productively" water
andair is pumpedinto the shafts.
Profit nof safety or working
conditionsare clearly the driving
force. When asked whether
managementwas looking aheadto
a post-apartheid
mining indusfry
the geologistlaughed:"Kloof
looks as far ahead as the next
financial report."
C y r i l R a m a p h o s a ,G e n e r a l
Secretaryof the National Union of
Mineworkers (N[tM) says," The
racismat Goldfieldsis ridiculous,
unbelievable." It perBeates all
levels in the mine. Accordingto
the geologist"If you havea black
man digging a ditch afid you
employanotherblack to get thejob
donein half thetine, theybothjust
talk and the job takesjust aslong,
whatdo you do?' "A rotundsenior
mangerintedected- "Get them a
whiteboss."
Wits Student askedto be shown
the compounds- the answer: NO.
are tired of a
publicity". Ins
broughthis 'pi
about 40) w
compoundsart
they'realrighf'.
the interpreter
ln spite of tlr I
regularly over
hostel, Mr van
Personnelsa
hostelsfor blE
the singlequar
Goldfieldssp
than any otherr
staple diet con
meat". This is
like getting ki
greens - ftese
acceptthem."
wenton to expl
wheeledin, in a
the trollies un
then getsshov
ofspade.
The hostelsue
with the migra
When askedw
going to chall
labour system
NO. "Becaus
migants are S(
courseyou real
tg his pick and shovel on h is
lvy boots.
the earthwill swallowus who dig
'hatdoes it matter?
und me,everyday, I see men
zi, 1945)
rOund
actsm,
and
reflecting on various aspectsof work: wages,health, working
conditions. Wits Studcnt takes an indepth look into the lives
of South African miners and the gross social and economic
inequalitieswithin South Africa's major industry.
Kloof Gold Mine is the richest in the world. Kloof belongsto
Goldfields and every singte day makes over R f000 fi)O in
straight profil Miners' wagesare on averageR 400 a month.
With this in mind, and a NUM safetyhandbookuhderarm,lTits
Studcnt reporters dressedup in overalls, boots and hardhats
and plungedtwo and a half kilometersinto the ground to an
undergroundworld of racism and exploitation.
I
udentdigs
totheKloof
all this negative
steadthe geologist
icannin'(a man of
vho said "The
: aotiike home but
the geologistwas
factthatthe sewers
flow and flood the
r Tonderof Kloof
's nsomeof our
cksue better than
ersfor \i,hites."
endsless on food
oininghouse. The
rsidtsof "pap and
"It's just
because
ddiesto eat their
pople just won't
Management
then
inhowthepapgets
Eolley- "just like
lerground!" and
tledup with a sort
single-sex
in line
rt laboursystem.
retherKloof was
nge the migrant
van Tonder said
only 10% of all
uth Africans - of
seI recognizethe
Miners crouch at the stoPe with
hydraulicdrill
NUM is not recognisedat Kloof
although 8 000 of the 15 000
ernployeesare in NUM. They
manage the workfc ce through
threatof dismissalandviolence.A
video depictingrural povertyhas
beenshown to workers. A voice
says: "Times are bad. Jobsare
hard to get and difficult to
keep. You don't *ant to be
one of those men with no job
and no money. Look after
your job... do nothing
t'foolish". There are manY
more to take your place."
A former industrial relations
expertat Goldheldsdescribesthe
company as arr "aggressive,exploitativecompany,determinedto
secureprofit at anycost."
Coldfields employsSouthAfrica's
largest private army. There are
6000 tained toops equippedwith
armouredvehicles,shotguns,dogs,
teargas, sjamboks and rubber
bullets. fhs eimsof the force are
"to combatsubversionandlabour
unrest" (Goldfieds Security
Report) - should the SADF and
SAP not be availableto "control
rioting in ttremines".
In 1985 the working costs of
The largest slice of profit
goesout of the country - 48%
of Goldfields South Africa is
held by British Goldfields
Consolidated. The largest
shareholder
is Anglo
American with 8%.
It hasbeensaid thetGold created
both the wealth and poverty of
South Africa. For some,mining
has made them super-rich. For
most, the mining industry is
directly responsiblefor their loss
of land, the poverty of their
families and the indignities of
staringat the stopefacefor a mere
R400amonth.
Cyril Ramaphosa
of NUM says:
"For thousands of PeoPle,
Johannesburgmeans struggle
and trouble and hardshiP.
These people have not got
rich. They have not done
well. Johannesburg has not
been kind to the ones who
really built her. The workers
are the ones who really built
her, The workers are the
ones who built Johannesburg
and few have suffered more
or worked harder than the
o
CD
o
c
tg
o
a
o
o
-IWat
Lray pull-out
Police fired buckshot at UCT
studentsin a day of running battles
on the campls last Monday. At
least ten people were shot, Some
seriouslyinjured.
A student was hit on the head with
a teargas cannister, eight people
were detained and many were
beaten.
Following a mass meeting in
protest against Friday's events
(page 3) and Saturday's crossborder raids, 300 students picketed
De Vaal Drive. The picket was
dispersedby police with teargas,
dogs and sjamboks.Police chased
students onto campus where a two
hour running battle ensued.
A helicopter pointed out students
to police. Police also entered the
libraries and it is alleged that a
librarian was arbifarily beatenup.
Some one who went to the aid of a
fellow student was beaten and
arrested but later escaped.It is
probable that a woman who hit a
policeman with a bottle will be
chargedwith public violence.
When the police left at about 3:30
they were followed back to De
Vaal Drive by the crowd. The
police then usedbuckshot.
Students were shocked and
&aumatisedby the excessivepolice
violence. It is the first time that
buckshot has been used on white
students. Buckshot is fired from a
shotgunand is made up of a dozen
metal pellets cased in a plastic
cylinder. The cylinder bursts when
fired. Buckshot is fatal when fired
at closerange.
At the time.of going to press UCT
was discussinga boycottofclasses.
An unidentified woman studentat
the University of Bophuthatswana
(UNIBOP) died in hospital after
sustaining serious injuries in
clashes with police last Thursday.
On Thursday 23 April, in protest
against the presence of Bop.
President Lucas Mangope on
campus,studentsburnt a tent and a
platform where he was due to
speak. He was opening a new
building at UNIBOP.
Lucas Mangope is hated by
students as he is seen as an
apartheid stooge. He has repeatedly
tried to bring the UNIBOP students
"under control" and the repression
experienced by the students and
residentsof the bantustanis just as
harsh, if not worse,than in the rest
of South Africa.
Soon after the protest, at abgu(
10pm, police occupied UNIBOP.
Students were given an hour to
evacuate the campus. Before the
hour was up, police charged- using
sjamboks, batons and teargas.
Many students, mostly women,
were hurt. Some had burst
eardrums, broken jaws and other
serious injuries. Students were
hospitalised,including the woman
who subseeuentlvdied.
Cosatuissuesits demands
The Congressof South African
Trade Unions (Cosatu)has laid
down the demandsof ie over 700
000 paid up members:
*A living wage for all
*40-hour week without loss of
Pay.
*Job security
*6 months paid maternity leave
*An end tc fhe hostel systemand
decent housing near places of
work.
*May Day, June 16 and
Sharpeville day as paid
public holidays.
*The righr to a decenteduation
and raining.
The demand for a living wage
must be seen in relation to two
predominant factors: gross un employment aad inflation. Unem ployment is estimatedby Cosatu at
nearly 6 million against the
government's figure of 700 000
which excludes the bantustans.
It is intemationally acceptedthat
the working week is 40 hours long
at maximum. In South Africa
many workers labour for much
longer, some miners working up to
ten hours a day, six days a week.
With the ever looming threat of
retrenchment. workers have
demanded some guatantee of
security of people dependent on the
wage earner. This is a very real
concern. The construction indus Fy retrenched 100 000 workers
'86
'85
and March
betweenMa:,,ir
'85
an-d
and between January
'86,
250 00(t workers from
March
the metal and rrgiiteering sector
were laid off.
W o m e r , , { r i l l e c i a r l yp r e g n a n t
women, drr i ;'3r. pclceived as the
most expendrbicpart of the labour
forse. In South Africa today, they
no longer supplement th e
household'sincome, but the farnily
has come to rely heavily on them as
YoungMAWUsupportersat the History
Workshopat Wits
breadwinners.
The Group Ateas Act and the
widely used migrant labour system
means that families are seParated
for long periods of time. In South
Africa workers must iive in singlesex hostelsas boardersin their own
country. Those who live with their
families must stay far from their
work and pay unaffordable
amounts for their transport, spend -
ins vaiuable time commutine.
Cosatu says that May Day, June
l6 and Sharpeville Day are
important national days. May Day
is of particular importance to
workers. It is international work ers' day, celebrated in I l0
counkies throughout the world,
including most western European
countries aad the UK.
Longest public sector strike ever
City Deep driver, Andrew
Nendzanda was punishedfor
returningR40,40to a cashierlate.
from work,
He wasfint suspended
andthenfued.
The SouthAfrican Railway and
Harbours Workers Union
(SARHWU), City Deep shop
steward negotiated, for his
reinstatement,
but no agreement
wasreached.The strikebeganjust
over sevenweeksagoin solidarity
with Nendzanda.
The strike was supportedby the
Congressof South African Trade
Unions (COSATU), ro which
SARHWU is afhliated. Issues
beyondthatof AndrewNendzanda
carrteto the fore in higher wages,
and of coursethe controversial
questionof unionrecognition.
BLATU. a sweetheart
union is
through BLATU which is unrePresentativeandwho they felt would
not adequately reflect their
-srievances.
In thesecondweekof APril' talks
betweenSATS and SARHWU
collapsed. SARHW"UrePresentatives were considered"elected
gradestewards"of the 39 persons.
SATSwouldontYsPeakto 5.
The situation tren deteriorated:
railway coacheswere burned and
damaged;bomb blasts disruPted
train servicesto Soweto; at least
400 people were arrested and
betweeneightandten peopledied.
SARIIWU was accusedof intimidating not only SATS workers,
but also their proPerty and
passengers
The decisionto call in the army
wasarnouncedon Sunday19April
By 20 April, it wasadmittedby
had been hred although not yet in
writing.
The following day SARHWU
members clashed with security
forces. Six union meinbers were
killed, and three policemen
injured. Shortly after this incident,
COSATU House in Johannesburg
was seiged by police for seven
hours. Two workers were shot,
and about 400 arrested.
COSATU demands the reinstatement of the dismissed
workers, and the re-opening of
negotiations with the representativesof those workers.
The srike was the longest ever in
the public sector and has had far
reaching effects in the labour
movemen! and in the black and
white communities. The state's
violent response and particularly
events at Cosatu House have
l:',,
{'n
...$.'[,En'iil
ii ii
ir r,iiii
..:
Howto vote
tt
PosrceF.)
-
Q: How do I know if I arn a
registered voter?
,4.' If you havea valid identity
electionis an opportunity for
bookyou areautomatically
registered!o votein thearla iisted
the electorate lo give the
asyour homeaddress.your name
thusappearson thevoten,list for
government a vote of N o
your homeconstibrency.
Q: How.do I know where to
C o n f i d e n c ea, n d i n d o i n g s o
vote?
end governmentintransigence
A.' A postcardwill be sentto
The following aresomebrief tips
you at thead&esslistedin yourID
onhow to vote. If you haveany
book. This will informyou of the
furtherenquiries,pleasephoneme
nemeof theconstituency
in which
at78G9772.
you arc registeredto vote,aadthe
Shawn Kopel
venueyou mustgo to in orderto
vote.
If you no longerlive at this
'Who
is eligible to vote?
address,
phonethepoliticalparty
Q:
A.' White SouthAfrican citizens
you intend to supportandaskthem
over 18 yearswho areregistered
to arrangea SpecialVote or a
voters.
PostalVote for vou.
The PFP has argued that the
(i) Special Vote:
You go to a Magisrate,s Court
with your ID Book. The electoral
officer makesout a special ballot
for you.
(ii) Postal Vote:
Specially sworn-in agentsfrom
the Party you phoned will come to
your home where youll fill in an
application form. They will retun
to your home with your special
ballot for which you sign a receipt.
ln both casesyou vore in secrel
and sealthe ballot in the speciallyprovided enveiopeyo*s"lf. Th.
envelope is returned to your home
consEtuencyaad openedon
election night on which all the
votes are counted.
POLLS
#
On completing his mantucript for the tragedy Hamlet, Bill
Shakespeareeagerlydespatchedloose copiesto the top publbhers
around. These were received in a very shabby condition, with
pages missing or out of sequence. Aid first i'mpressions being
what they are, the reacrton wc6 poor. Being a persistent fellow,
Bill decided to have the m.anwcripts professionally bound at the
local Stratford boolatore. This presentation so impressed the
publisheri, they streamed dowi to Avon to sign up this new
sensation. The rest is history.
Bind-It has perfected the art of covering, providing
the professional finish that's sure to impress. From manuscripts
to music sheets, tenders rc ntorials, pice lists to presentatiotts.
Bind-It holds from 3 to 250 pages, takes lessthan one minute and
costs (N little as R3,00.
You can win two overseasairtickets from S.A. Student Travel
Services,R500,00spendingmoney froin Bind-lt, delicious meals
from Pizzaland. Go to your nearest Bind-It stockist" for details.
CstnrrrtvislccrnlJienca
Q: Transport to the polls?
A.' Partiesoffer this free as a
service!o voters. Phoneand
arrangea trmewith the Party you
intendto support.
Q: When do I vote?
A.' On Wednesday,
May 6 1987,
from 7amto 9pm. You mustbring
proof of identity with you suchas
an ID book or a passport.Student
cardVbus-tickets
arenot suffrcient.
Q: How do I vote?
A.' Partiessetup tablesoutside
eachpollingbooth.Theycheck
your ID andestablishyour voter's
number,
hside fhepolling booththe
electoralofficer will issueyou witJr
a ballot Thefull namesof
candidates
andtheirpolitical
parfiesappearon eachballot. You
votesecretlybehinda screen.A
specialindeliblepencilis provided
for you to makeyour crossin the
box next to the candidate/partyof
yourchoice.You mayonly vote
once. Your ballotis foldedand
postedinO a sealedguardedbox.
Q: If I don't support any of
the Parties sunding in my
home constitucncy, may I
spoil my vote?
A.' Justsignyour nemein clear
puttrnga crossthroughtheballot
cart - it needsonly to touchany
particularparty'sblock for you to
haveregisteredyour vote for
them!
If you have any queries, or
would like to arrange .
transport, or Special or
Postal Votes, please contact
Craig, Cobus, Rosemary, or
Lambros ot 726-3809.
V,
H
top fur a pair of track suit Pan6.
Needlessto say,whpswa$h94they
adheredexactlyto whatl lradcome
o regardasbrandnene custom,
andshraak*cordiagty.
On approachingKaPPain
SandonCity a secondtirP, I was
iold !o take a rePlacenentgarment
or be happywith a reject
to
Obviously,this wasunacceptable
m, andfwas thenintroducedto a
Mr Rovetti,who claimedto be one
ofthe ownen ofKappa.
After repeatingtlc sagato Mr
Rovctti,I explainedny fearsof
acceptingany oder Kappagarment
andrequesteda refund.
Mr Roveni agaiaoffereda
andI again
replacemenUcredit,
askedfor a refund. He proceeded
to tell me repeatedlyto Piss off out
of his shop'orelsehe wouldcall a
local securifyto removeme.
Mr Rovettiproceededto try and
pants,by
stretchthe stlruDkeD
$gging at eitberen4 itr an attempt
to get themto approximatetheir
original leagthThis experiencehighlighs some
key questionswhich you may gira
somethoughtto:
1. Shorld shopebe allowedto
advertisepremiumwaresin the
mediawithout statjngfhat the
garments,
if washedaccordingto
instructions.are likely (according
to my experience)to shrink?!
2. Shouldshopstlat stocka
variety of rejectsand wlgarmouthedrepresentatives
be located
in SouthAfrica's premier regional
shoppingcenhe?
3. what guaranteeis availableto
a consumerto protecthis/herright
to receivea garmentthat is
advertisedfit for the purposefor
which it waspwchased?
Surely,a mjnimum degreeof
moral andethicalconductis
expectedfrom traden in their
daily business,or arewe now
living in a'dog eas dog'society'in
which standards,values,morals
andethicsno lougerPlaYa role?
R P SUSSMAN
shouldbeput to dcuhwbhout
/ail." (New World Trarulation)
And likewiseinl,eviticus18:22
ftom the RevisedStandard
Venion:
'Tou sMl notliewitha maleas
wihawotnanr,bban
abomination."
Supportedby this weightof
evidence,I askthat you publishthis
letter in order that the numerous
well-meaningandopen-minded
readersof your publicationmaY
cometo understandGod'struth on
the subjectof homosexualitY.
rilayne Ford
B Comm III
JCE
students
pissedoff
In reply to the article Printedin
Ytits Sudcnt Vol39 No.4 APril
1987,I wouldlike to saYthe
following:
If B PrimEd studenb,Wib
studentsor any other shrdentfor
that matterobjectto the waYin
which JCE is run, to sucha degree
that they canwrite an article to
complainaboutit, thenthey should
FUCKOFF.
Roll call is takenin certain
lecturesfor two main reasons:
1. To infroducea subtlemeasure
at
of disciplinesuchasis necessary
schoolsand
2. Becausettresyllabusis too
vastandstudenbarealwaysabsent
ftom variouspractical and other
assignmentswhich countfor year
marks. l,ecturersdo not havetime
to examineeachstudentwhen
'YesSir'is surely
he/sheis ready.
a courteousway (which most
Witsiesdo not seemo know of; o
greeta seruorperson/lecturer.
You arenot askedto salute: andif
yor havea problemwith that tougb!
If you don't like it - eithergo
backto Win or !o a blackcollege.
Youn faithfully
A pissed oJf nuntber of ICE
sfiidents (vrotkol)
makes
What
a traitor
today7
I
ObedBopalais a friend of mine.
His warm andopenmanner,his
concernfor peoplearoundhim, his
ready smile proEpt me to call him
"friend".
I haven'tseenlnat smilefor
nonths now. You see,Obedis also
called"comrade"by thepeopleof
Alexandra,andhe hasbeenin
detentionsinceJune.
Obedwasfacingtreasoncharges
andhad to reporto a police station
regularly. Whenthe Stateof
Emergencywasannounce{he
packedextraclothes,saidgoodbye
!o thosecloseto him andreported
asusual.
Now I readthathe is facing
anothertreasoncharge. Along
wifh tradeunionistMoses
Mayekisoandthreeothers,Obed
hasbeenchargedwith high teasPn
for his role in the formationof
StreetCommitrees.
Obed'sPolitical involvement
stemsfrom his concernfor PeoPlepeoptewho for the first time in
some
thierlivesare.experiencing
form of control though their
involvementin democratic
organisations.Becauseihese
challengewhite
organisauons
dominationandstatecontol, they
havefacedconsistentattacksand
thousandsofparticipans havebeen
After readingthe resporuesto
detained.
your miniquestionaire on Gay"High reason"suggeststhat
(Vol
it
39 No.4Pg 23)
righa erc
Obedis a traitor. Nothingcanbe
hasbecomeobviousto me that a
further from the truOl Obedis a
greatdealof confusionexisishere
loyal sewantandfriend of his
regardingthe rights and wrongsof
community-now his life is in
the matter.
danger.
The Bible, however,is very clear
It is time thatwe in the whiE
andunanbiguouson thepoint of
communitywakeup to the harsh
homosexuality:
reality facingSouthAfricansin
to
their struggleto get rid of the
relevant
20:13
In Leviticus
bo0rChristiansandJews' we read: injusticesof apartheidIJt's not
wait until somethinghappens!o a
"Atd whena nan liesdownwith
friend beforeit is broughthometo
a nale thesarneas oneliesdown
us.
with a wornen,both of themlnve
Bible
r\rDf
condemns
gays
ffi
1+fififftttffTt
Wits Univenity is oneof therare
plafformsin SouthAftica where
AlLpeople arcencouragedto put
forward thet nodons. The BSS,
by refusingto participatein
student-lifewhenit suitsthe
society,is lierally snubbingoue of
the vital channelsof communication affordedto a multi-racialstudent-body.
BA III sfitdent
Science
tacu lt'-
care5-'
I feel that somereply needsto be
given to the letter you Published
from "FudgeBA trI", sincethe
impressionis given that the
University and the ScienceFaculty
in particularis not sensitiveto the
manifestinequalitiesin high school
education.
The ScienceFacultyis acutely
awareof the fact that eimFlyusing
matric rating at fhe lower endof
the scaleas a criterion for
acceptalceis inappropriatesinceit
is a poor predicor of performance
at the Universify. To addressthis
question,we introduceda selection
procedurewhich involves a series
of testsandpossiblyan interviewto
replacethe useof the matricrating.
However,in order to be accepted
for the faculty selectionEsts,h
studentmustachievea minimum
numberof matricpoina (15
pornts). While tlre useof this level
of matric achievementis arbitrary,
it is basedon two considerations:
l. All studentswith matricratings
betrveenl5-22have to be giventhe
selectiontesb, and the numberwho
can be test€dis consfainedby the
faculty'slimited resourcesfor conductingthe tests. A further limitationis thenumberof placesavailablein thefacultyfor shrdents.
2. A feeling amongfaculty memto acbersthatit is irresponsible
ceptstudentswho we feel have
very little chanceof successfully
undertakingthecourses.
must
BSS
participate
We electeda blackstudentto
representour classon the
univenity's SRC. After several
days,theelectedstudent
consideratelyexplainedthathe
would not be ableto accePtthe
position.
It is thepolicy of theBSSnot to
participateon theSRCbecause
blackSouthAfricansouside the
boundariesof the universityare not
ableto hold positionsof demo
cratic leadershiP.As membersof
BreBSS,SreYwishtosand in
solidaritywith the black South
Africaru who areoot givensuch
oppornrnities.A somewhatheated
discussionarosein our lecture;and
ttreattitudesof severalBSS
membersarequite alarming.
They do not wish to havean
associationto the universitY's
sbrdetrtcouflcil, or play "stooges"
to white students,andYettheYare
willing to accepttertiary education
yffif miilions of btack
xgryy'i15
arenot affordedthe
Africans
South
sameopportunitY.WhYis solidarity not consistentlYuPheld?
attitude
Sucha contemPtuous
SRC
to*ards our universitY's
makesonewonder.As ithappens'
To supplementthe selectiontests,
the faculty arrangesinterviewsfor
thoseshrdentswho performpoorly
on thesetests. Suchshtdenbarc
offered a placein the faculty if the
interviewrevealsthat they havea
reasonablechanceof success.
We recognisethat our selection
proceduresarenot without flaws,
hencethey aresubjectto
continuousreview andvalidation
aseachcohortof studentsvdtes
final examinations.We believe
that theseselectionproceduresdo
atlempt"to judge academic
achievementin the contextof oneb
opportunities"!
R M CREWE
Deputy Dean: FacuItY of
.ltion ro
fl
on manyleve
This sagacanbe approached
Nurden gets a Iift
,y
rds
m
D"
im
ry
d.
In which:*Nurden has his chips and
eats them
+Nurden fails to come to an
agreement with God. The
contract is not signed and
Nurden realises there is no
sanity clause.
*Chris Ball signs the con tract on Nurden's behalf
without reading the sanity
clause.
*Later (much later) Nurden
gets shafted.
*Absolutely
nothlng
happens to Finga Hu (who?)
"What could I do? There we
were, peacefully protesting against
the Gentlemen's l-eague when this
poor nurd with thick glassesand a
big nose and was hit by a mellow
yellow can thrown from a passing
police van! This poor guy just lay
there murmering. I had to go and
help him. The next thing, my
support group started humming
"Blueberry Hill" and this guy looks
at me - smiles, mumbles "['ve
found my thrill," and passesout! it was so sweet."
Nurden peered through his
cracked lenses."l've failed my sev en labours," he thought as music
filled his ears. He saw a beautiful
woman looking at him from above.
"My mum was right," he thought,
thrower.He wasstunned."I've lc
my thrill!:' he cried wonderir
why he had been rejected t
heaven. "You naughty Nurd" sa
his mum swiping him with thecat
UnconsciouslyNurden dresst
and set off on his Colt "Galant"fr
Wits. IIe was distraught.Why hr
he been rejected from heaven?[
racked his brains for reasons
kicked Maya too hard? Was h
BOB T account in too much of
mess?Or was he neededfor a mor
important test?
At Wits he headed straight f(
the canteen, but three plates (
chips later he still had no answer
and depressed as he was, h
resolved to kill himself. IIe rushe
upstairs to the top floor of th
StudentsUnion building whereh
found the lift shaft open for repai
and.hepreparedto jump. Justthe
he heardfemale voicesbehindhin
and he turned around. "God is z
Wits!" he exclaimed and steppe
backwards,disappearinginto th
lifr shaft.
Gt\
\\
"God is a woman and she's so
beautiful!" Being dead wasn't so
bad after all, and he said out loud,
"I've found my thrill" and then
watchedwonderouslyas the lovely
blurred vision floated away from
him.
Nurden was awakened by a
burning pain in his legs. "Wake up
you little ninny, it was only a
bloody can." shouted Nurden's
mum, turning up the flame-
nc
m
A
A
:fS
ng
gh
!0
)se
)m
as
rc
he
re
m
-
;:- |
I
.nt
0t
iy
ls'
rd
by
10
Place
for
one
i n
in
| "o.',,'. or rour
n'*i
l.; $LA$StFIIil)
"' i. " """I i :"i'"',"r"r'ri:
Il g .t- :u- , litnrM/$' IoN
-I
* B r o n w y n A d a m s ( 6 16 Masters
7460, evenings)
extra
offers
student
in psychologY,
tuition
sociologty,
economics ,
and history.
*
of
|Is
,G
rst
0n
)rs
rg
ed
*
A11
PhilosoPhY,
statlst
student
professionarly
ics
typing
ao""
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speciar
l-ow rates
f or
students.
High quarity
presentation
and
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ra.v
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rlr
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Mrs roritz
at
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afternoons,
evenlngs
and
weekends
AccoMMoDATIoN
uggs to wits,
20om from
bustop'
rent
250 per
montn' meaJ's etc'
negoPhone Keith 726
tiable.
- 5931Pn'
I SRC's West Campus Vi
(
lConnittee with help from Plas-
is launchinga SubwayMural
tion. All students
littT-"dto^submitdesignston!
of 2'15 x22m space' Th
lwalls
could consist-of panels
fPlans
l2'15rnx55m/11m/22m'
Il . T h e S R C w i l l b e t h e f i n a l j u c i
land will selecteither two ot
lconbinationofpanels'
I T h e t h e m e i s " S t u d e n tL i f e a t
lWits". Submit your colour plans tc
SRCby Fridaythe l5th of May
landwarchfor thedisplaysof
igns in the West Campus
* Own room ln house it
I Canteen and Students UniOn
suburbs on bus
northern
route.
oxford
Road. ca| The subway is in fact 33m long.
rage avai Iabf e ,
PooI .
lEine Arts shrdenhare painting one
fEE
In the next edition:l. Is God a member
o
womans movement?
2. Is the second flool
Students Union really heaven
3. Where is Finga Hu?
4. IIU is Finga Who?
IJ-IJTJJJJ.I.IS,
JIllJ'-'T
-
Michael Srgerman, a VOW
deejay, has provided rilits
Student with reviews of a
selection of albums from the
other side of the world.
Three of the best records to be
released so far this year are
availableon the Islandlabel. The
first and foremost is the new U2
album - The Joshua Tree. An
incredibly stunning record which
quite exceedsmy, and I'm sure
m o s t p e o p l e ' s ,e x p e c t a t i o n s .
Words in fact do not do justice to
the album's sheer brilliance but
ones that do come to mind arc
mindblowing, flawless, bluesy,
profound,schematic,enchanting,
mystical- oh God you could go on
forever. A unique album that although not similar - is
comparablein stature to classic
albums (my personalfavourites)
like Van Morrison's Astral
WeeksPatn Smith'sfilorses, Bob
Dylanb Blondc on Blond.e and,
the Doors ZA Wornan.. An
essentialrecordwhich YOU should
have.
The next bombshell to be
released is Julian C ope's
(remember him from Teardrop
Explodesdays)Saintlulian. Get
this record, hide it in your room
and thenwhenyour parentsgo out
pui it on the turntable. Turn up
your volume to beyonddistortion
level (don'tworry, thesesongsare
so good they soundgreatat any
ouPut level) and as the hrst guitar
noisesof 'Trampolene'
(singleof
the yearso far) startto fill the air;
proceed to bounce on your bed,
kick in your cupboardsand headbutt your lampshade. This of
counewill all be doneout of sheer
joy becausethis album contains
someof thebestpop noiseto glace
viayl thisyear- I meaadecade...
Norable tracks are f}le already
mentioned'flampolene; ' 'Shrt
Down' - the next single
'Spacehopper',
\Iy'orld Shut Your
Mouth and my own favourite, the
title track 'SaintJulian'. This is an
albumaboutlove andspaceandsex
and dreamsand Cod and various
otherissueswhich relateto treenage
Y
ITIT
|-|-H
Shriekback
to P\ll/
don't know how to say this Father
but I really think this guy is lying.',
"Why my son?'
"Well he sayshebelievesin peace
torment. And becauseof all this,
havea beat. You can'tevendance
but oD the inside cover of the
it's an albumfor you.
to it"
Finally, a slightly more obscure,
"But my son, the Smjthsmake record where the pictures of the
but no lessenjoyabierecord is the
boring, repetitivemusic and they band are supposedto go there is
new Shriekbac& album entitled are consideredtotally cool, and Orispicnre of this hugecannonon
Big Night Music. It's soft and hordesof peopleat Decodance the backof a thing which lmks like
an armowedcu. Right next o this
gentleandhaslittle soundswhich danceto themall thetinre."
picture they have written Our plan
make it oh so interesting. Listen
"Er... Father"
for peace'. Father,I must admit"I
for the gentleness
"Yesmy son."
of 'Gurrningfor
think this guy PW believesin war.
the Buddhaandthe cosmicjangling
"We don't say wordslike cool
of 'Pretty.Little Things,.
anymore.""Oh...er,
well what There is even a mmour that he
As the title Cugg-esti--'
abou t alternative?" worked for the SADF for vears. I
it's an album for late
"Ja, that's don't know Father. Wtrat's tne
nights and
world coming to if you can'teven
OK, bur rhis
low lights.
believein pop stan any more?'
isn't
record
S h r i e k b a ck
"Carryon my son."
alternative,
support
Artists
it's the
"This guy even looks awful,
Against
alternative Father. The cover of the record
Apartheid
to the
has a picfure of him on it and
(which is
alternative. really father,
I feel ttrey should
a good
I mean have
left his faceoff."
thing this guy
"Isn't thatreally unfair my son I
just drones
meanJoe Strummerisn't mv idea
becauseit
on aadon
will make
andon about of a dreamboatand I'm not so sure
I would like to wake up next to
theminstanuY
how the NP's
Divine in the morning."
credible o all
will guarantee
you diehard
your safety and
"Father...youte not supposed!o
radicals reading
peaceof mind
wake up with anyone in the
this) and as a result
internal
against
morning. Hey Father why have
$.ey witt not be releasing
this album locally. A bummer. unrest and stuff. I meaa realll'
you got thosehandcuffsunderyour
Father who does this guy think
I know,but thecostof an import
robe?!? And what's that
he is, the presidentor some
copy will not be moneywdsteO.
microphone on your sleeve?
thing?
And talk abourmusic.
So if you love music- and I'm
Father?!?What areyou doingwith
This bandobviouslydoesn'thavea
sure you do - then you'll be
that "PW and the NP's" record?
singlecasioloneto blessthemselves Why are you
preparedto spend your monthly
stuffing it into my
allowanceon thesethree albums. with."
mouth - I don't even like the taste
"That'sblasphemous
my son. of plastic.Gmmmfll!! No Father!
And don'tworry if you don'thave
Say 16 Hail Mary's and thencarry I really
a,nymoneyleft to go jorling with.
don'tthink you shouldplay
on, I think we arebuildingup for a
You won't want to go out - you'll
with guns. No really Fatheryou
just sit at home and play these reallyspectacular
admission."
shouldn'tpoint it at me. I mean,
recordsover andover agail.
Our Father...
"Forgive me Father for I have
sinned."
"Come kneel by me and tell me
why my son."
"It's this new record by "PW
BothaandtheNP's" "
"Weli Father...I don'tlike it."
"But why my son?"
"It's just that, well... it's so
boring. I mean,it doesn't even
1 . U 2 - R e d H i l lM i n i n gT o w n ( 1 1 )
2. Siouxieand the Banshees- The Passenger(5)
. SwingOutSister- Surrender
(1)
- ArmadilloMan(2)
. Microdisney
U2.- Withor Without
You(13)
6. LoneJustice- Reflected
(On My Side)(6)
7. Madness- (Waitingfor the)GhostTrain(3)
8. Hollywood
Beyond- No MoreTears(10)
9. ThenJerico- KetHerFatt(8)
10.KateBush- Experiment
lV (4)
11. TomVerlaine- TowncalledWalker(20)
12.DavidandDavid- Welcome
(15)
to Boomtown
13.TheTriffids- KathyKnows(7)
14.The lcicleWorks- Evangeline
(NE)
15.lggyPop- Cryfor Love(9)
16.Billyldol- Don'tNeeda Gun(NE)
17.JulianCope- Trampolene
(NE)
18.UB40- Ratin MY Kitchen(NE)
19.MartinStephenson
annddthe Daintees- Boatto Bolivia(NE)
Wits Studenf is looking for a new (and hopefully
sober) local music reporter. We have listed betow the
raves tor May and if anyone is interestedin becomlng
a reporterthey can submit articlesto the Wits Student
office.
Jamesons (Commissioner
Street)
1 and2 May
CherryFacedLurchers
RestofMay
BennyB Funk
(Wed,Fri,Sat)
Klppies (MarketTheatre)
5-14May
AlanKwela
(Tues,Wed,Thurs)
1-17May
CountWellington
Judge
(Fri,Sat,Sun)
19-28MayPongola
(Tues,Wed,Thurs)
22-31May
Alan.Kwela
(Fri,Sat,Sun)
OxfordHotel (Rosebank)
All of May
BrightBlue
Nusas Electlon Campaign
"Concefl in the Dark" at the Bozzoll
Thursday30 April Lurchers
Genuines
Specfes
Kerels
JoannaWeinberg
rnd buskers
++rJ:,i
tl
tJ + I t I I I i : r t t I t lff
1l:al
>
+->s
?-2.-e
Ss-.s..r'silseless
\t?s' ts\c' t\a\e
-ri\-s'\<\s\Ss-\\-\s\sss\
.ft
blood and
€nfgetadn
Dits of bullet-riddled
srsNE'-'r&
!*r'.€rst'
_'::+'
perspective. The following epithet
from Ecclesiasres appears at the
flesh splattering the screen, beginningof the film: "Rejoice,o
the 60's pop soundtrack is Ioungsshnwwuk".
ltfferc
accompaniedby CheB(qaRsq( \hftt \hr, f{ns rageN wN be thar
performersand audiencealike. It youth shouldbe a time for fun not
is often left to the viewer to soldier war.Yet the versein its entiretyis
gamely on through the most lessof an exhortationto youngmen
to have fun than a stentorian
horrific andbrutal scenes.
Ironically, with an age- warningagainstirresponsibilify.It
restriction of 2-18, Platoon is concludes: "But know that for all
considered to be too violent or thesethingsGod will bring you
otherwiseunsuitableviewing for into judgement."This undeniably
manymembersof theSADF. Most altersthe whole thrustof the quote
school-leavingconscriptsare still and gives the first indication that
under 18 when they are coG- writer Oliver Stone is going to
scripted. Indeedthe culminating missthepoint somewhat.
Sure enough,in this respect
battle scene doesn't so much
highlight as bombardone with the Platoon disappoints:It's just so
stark stupidity, the mindless, tlollywood'. We havethe'loner'of theconflict the central figure - and a
sordidness
senseless
movementfrom his perceptionof
andits tol on humanlives.
'injustice'
One glimpses the multiplying
to his performanceof a
of war. Men are restoratitiveheroic act' for which
reductiveness
reducedto screamingshadows, we admirehim.
Surethe fighting is horrifi-c,but
blindly groping, running, terri'fom
fied, shooting,blasting- from-the- damn it aU doesn't
hip and killed, further reducedto Berringer cut a dashingfigure
"lumpsof shit",losses, wandering around with those
body-bags,
military statistics. Watchingthis slightly narrowed eyes and
sporungthatswoorung'senousDut
sensitive'look. In fact sometimes
he looks almostlike... yes, Tom
Cruise.
You see Platoon is really all
aboutt}tegood ole all-American
hero. Underneaththe flesh wounds
i t ' s p a c k e dw i t h w h o l e s o m e
'manly' things like honour,
courage,endurance,xenophobic
brotherhoodandfearlessness
in the
face of death; and it irritatingly
insistson finding a good moral to
the tale.
We are keat€dto the hack contemplative commentaryof the
narrator who seems to have
emergedfrom theordealrelatively
unscathed. In fact, he is evidently
wizened and rnatured by it and allround a better person for it. tlis
tircd little ruminative observations
leave one in no doubt that the
virhral decimation of his entire unit
has contributed nothing to the ruin
of his pretensions.
For Stone then, the scars of the
Vietnam war are in the end merely
cosmetic (like those on the face of
the "bad" sergeantBurns). As such
his Platoon
stands not as he
supposes as a final testament to
those who died in this conflict but
as a compelling document of the
inficate contortionsof the liberal
conscience.
Someblackfun in theSun
Sfunned and Sober! Stunned
becauseI had just been worked
over by the lyits
Student
editoriaicollective. Soberbecause
I hadbeenhiding from themin the
library for a week.
My eyes hurt where the Wits
securitydog had bitten me. I had
quotedMarx andPsychoI to them
(both the library staff and the
collective) but to no avail - the
library staff weren'topento debate
andthecollectivejust threwLenin
backat me. I hadno answer.
"Culture",theysaid! Wherewas
I supposedto find culture in this
hick miningcity? I laughedmadly.
the street. Hiilbrow was full of
h o p h e a d sa n d Y e o v i l l e w a s
crarnmedwith Yuppies- Culture!
I took anotherone of thosepills
the friendly features editor had
slippedme beforeI embarkedon
'culrurecrusacie'.The sign in
my
frontof me read'aereB'.
The pain in my eyesshifteddown
my neck and the pain in my calf
shiftedupwards- or did Ijust need
to my feet and
a leak? I staggered
lurched into a massive house
nearby - 'The Colony', the sign
read,followedby The Black Sun'.
This is great, I thought, and
cursedagainthat bastardwho had
Market. I enteredcarefullyso as
not to treadon any of the ants(or
wasit a lepercolony?)
"Tablefor one?" saida friendly
Greek man. "Do you h3ve any
culture?" I enquired. "The Sun
doesn'topen till ten," he replied,
adding, "but you can wait in the
Annex upstairs if you want."
"Lepen," I saidandstartedto go.
"There'sa greatmusic videoon
at the moment."
That changedmy mind and I
mountedthe steps(sideways).I
found a room filled with people.
Somewereshoutingat eachother
in foreign languages,some were
smokingand playing cards,and
somewerejust holdinghands.
"Excuseme gentlemen,"
I said,
and dashedthrough to another
launch
with
a
concert
May
3
at
on
Historv has shown that South
room from which loud musicwas
ican cultural activitv has been 6pm in the SaratogaChurchHall, escaping. Twenty three eyes
Berea.
intense during times of
glancedat me beforereturningto
Audiences can expect to be
ightened resistance against
theTV seL "Freak-out".I saidand
exposedto South African music
sat
down next to the womanwith
The ProgressiveArtists Project and performancewhich gets little independent eyes (one eye
or no coverage
in the commercial
AP) intends to focus on the
continued to watch the TV). - it
idealsandaspirations media. Townshipbandsandyouth waslove at first, one€yed,sighl
all sectorsof the communirvby groups will share the biil wirh
white youth actorsand poets.
Cult movies.music videos and
ng artists together.
culture
fall downstain.
Although cabaretfalls outsideof
theclassicaldefinitionof cultureit
doesprovidean enjoyable,slightly
risque form of people'sculture.
Both the Eesmerising Estelle
Kokot and the alluring Joanna
Weinberghad well balancedshows
- political andsocialcommentsare
made in sometimes humourous
ways.
JoannaWeinberg,a womanof
extraordinary talents, is ably
supportedby pianistTony Bentel,
and saxophonistRob Muirhead,
while Estelle Kokot supports
henelf.
I was supportedby the bar. The
feminist review "Whorefish
Bloomers" had me laughing so
muchthat the ensuilg tearscaused
one of my contactlensesto drop
into my tequila. Four days and
many tequilas(plus one contact
lens) laterI headedforhome.
The Black Sunis oneof Joburg's
mostexciting venuesat themoment
and the lesser-knownupstairs
Annex is a greatplace to spenda
chean
hrrf
eninvahla
erra-irt
'Ft.-
. r?ttttt't-r?r?t?t?,
Fr+H
r-
Limited
success
for Wits
rugby
The Rugby Club has enjoyed
limited success in their pirates,
Grand Challenge matches. The
side has won one match against
Jeppebut has lost twice at tire-hanas
of Roodepoort and Alberton.
In assessing the strength of the
presentfirst team it should be taken
into account that Roodepoort and
Alberton are two of the strongest
tealns in the Transvaal and that the
resuits could easily have been
reversed. Wits lost to Roodeooort
14-9 and to Alberton 2Z-t9 but on
both occasions the players were
attacking strongly as the final
whistle was blown.
There is little doubt that Wits
boastsa talentedside - good enough
to hold mighty Stellenbosch
University at their Coetzenberg
Stadium. Wits led 9-3 at half time
in that match and if a seemingly
ltz|]l
a
ffi
perfect ty had not been disallowed
towards the end of the match, then
mere six points, yet the side could
only manage a position in the
middle of the eighteenteam log.
Canoe
CIubvictor
A pleasing aspect about the
performances of the first team so
far has been the excellent progess
made by a number of younger
student representatives. Crant
Daniel, Peter Macfarlane, Cary
Puterman, Llwellyn Lezar and
Wally'Walters have all shone in
the matches in which they have
playedPaul Mosenthal has been in
outstanding form and was recently
chosen for Transvaal in their
Teljoy clash with neighbours,
Northern Transvaal. After a fine
season last year in the Rooibokke
XV, Paul's selection was well
deserved.
Irlter-facuity matches resume
after the vac and the season Dro_
mises trcbe a most interestins'oneWits' Sharp XV will again be
taking on their RAU counteroar-ts
and wi! be looking to repeat rheir
marvellous victory of last year.
Two entirely sfudent fifteens will
also favel !o Grahamstown to play
Rhodes in an'intervarsity'.
Mark Perrow and Neil Evans the first student
p a i r i n gi n t h e K 2 C a n o e i n gC h a m p i o n s h i p s
The Canoe Club is once again
proving itself to be one of the
skongest sports on campus.
The A team (Niels Verkerk, Nico
Viljoen, Mark Perrow and Neil
Evans) won the hotly contested
Dabulamanzi Eight hour Enduro
for the third time in four years. A
mixed team (Graham Cross,
Andrew Venter, Marinda Hartzenberg and Alex Robertson) also
Wits
Stuart Newlandsabout to score against J e p p e
won in its secdon.
A good performance in the Souttr
African K2 Championships on thc
Umzimkulu River saw Mark
Perrow and Neil Evans end up as
the first student pairing to finish.
Club team-mate, Nico Viljoen,
who was partnered Uy tutkie
representative Greyling Viljoen,
finished second overall in the
championships.
baseball tops
The first teamWits Baseballside,
back in the top league for 1987,
had a good win on Sunday at the
Wanderers in tlie opening of the
Tiansvaal l,eague, winning l0-7.
Although early seasonrustiness
showed in stages, the enormous
potential of the team was evident
and clearly the new look Wits team
has the potentiat to go all the way.
The secondtezm also had a good
victory, destroying Hornets in the
10th frame to run out worthy
winnen by l1-5. Solid pitching by
S van der Berg for the first side
and G Lazarus and I van den Berg
for the secondside were the key to
the exciting victories.
The Wits Baseball Club is based
at Frankenwald and comprises two
teims, one in the top league and
the other in the third league. New
student members, even those
without any baseball experience
are weicome to attend practices on
Wednesdayevenings at 18h00 in
the Main Arena on the West
Campusand at 14h00 on Saturdays
at Frankenwald.
ChessClub- makingmoves
Wits students dominated the
Bleiden Chess tournament which
took place at Wits recently,
winning first and second place in
the first section, and second and
fourth in the final playoffs.
The Bleiden Chess lournament is
an invitation only event, and the
field of twelve contained most of
Johannesburg'stop players. It is an
indication of the shength of Wits
Chess that seven of the contestants
were students and an eighti was a
Wits staffmember.
The tournament was divided into
two sections of six players each.
The winners of the sections played
off for overall flust place, while the
nrnners-up met for third and
four0rplaces. The frstsection was
won by Commerce student Mark
levitt with BA student Harry Joffe
in secondplace.
In the second section. the Wits
challenge was led by Wirs Chess
Club Chairperson Mark Brodie,
who finished third and was the only
player to defeat the eventual tournament winner. In the f,rnaiplayoffs, Levin was beateninto second
place overall and Joffe into fourth
place.
For those interested, Wits Chess
Club meets every Wednesday at
iunchtimein SH 21i5.
Mark Lazarus Chair
of the Wits Basebail
Club and South African
UniversitiesProtea
representatlve,
ffi
+HTF
5P9RT
ffiffiffi
Pedal
carsareserious
competition
;
of the
rican
,tter to
Derek
'grave
against
EXerance of
'. Mr
lent of
r taken
lvedbe
Albany
)ctl
In 1968,the irst pedalcar race
at Wits waswon by anenterprising
teamof engineerswho built their
car with materialsworth R200,
including second hand gears,
brakesandwheels.
Today, someof the cars which
will takepartin thepedalcarraces
on Saturdaywill costover R5 000
to build.
The computerdesignedcan will
negotiatea hair-raisingone kiiometrelong tack on westcampus.
Over 30 teamsfrom universities
and techiniconscounkywide,will
enter cars which travel at 35
kilometresper houron theflat, and
reachspeedsof 70 kilometresper
hourdownhill.
Wits, however,may not even
competein this spectacularevent.
If theydo, the Wits teamwill only
take part in the 'sociai' category.
This is becausea numberof Wis
engineersare not happyabout the
competition which marks this
modern-dayevent. Nor are they
crazyaboutthe hi-techcars which
arelargelycommerciallydesigned
and built. Yet they are bound in
termsof their membershipof the
NationalEngineeringSociety,to
organisea raceat Wits.
The engineerscomplain that
some of the Afrikaans campuses
"take what should be a festive
event,insanelyseriousandtheyget
their cars built by engineering
fimrs."
who
Another
-
Taking pedal car racing " i n s a n e l ys e r i o u s l y " !
entirely enthusiastic about the
competitivenessand seriousness
which marks the event these days,
is Mr Bruce Dickson, a senior
member of admin. He was a
member of the Wits winning team
in 1968. "If our car had done
today'sspeeds,it would have fallen
apart ," he exclaimed.
lvlr Dickson explained that the
event began in Durban in 1967
after a group of studentshad seena
similar racein the USA.
II
, Dionl
:rofth{
o anes{
varmedl
med al
e shopl
oosen'sl
:sponsel
roneofl
I
ch thel
to thel
)ppor-l
ide. Al
whichf
rosen'sl
asablel
duringl
I
boschl
udente
l
3
truck.
believe
protest
l they
:eneo{
I event
s was
Rowers reverse defeat
A humiliating defeatat the hands
of U.C.T. rowing club at the intervarsity three weeks before, set the
stagefor a grudge match between
Wits Boat Club and U.C.T. at the
S.A. Championships in East
London ( 12th April).
At the championships the tone
was set in the women's 4 which
was easily won by Wits. The
coxless 4 (winners of the Buffalo
Grand Challenge) in a fiercely
contestedrace mannaged to inch
ahead of an Old Ed's / Vikings
combination and regain former
glory.
were rejuvenated by the club's
successand two Wits Tech 94kg
heavies.
U.C.T. bolted out of the start
managing to be one and a half
lengthsup after 500 m. At 1000m
Wia had closedthe gap. At 1500m
the crews were level-pegging and
by the finish wits had managedto
get clear water on U.C.T. with
U.L.C. and Rhodescoming in later
(much later).
Two membersof the Wits crew
were selected for the National
Coxed 4 thus compieting a successfulday'sracing.
At the interviusify Wits won a
The final raceof the day was tle
A 8'sover two kms.The favourites single gold medal for a pairs race,
wereU.C.T.who hadclubbedWits the majority of wins going to
by four lengtln three weeks U.C.T. who t'oated their fastest
"The first intervarsity was held
the next year at Wits, between
UCT, Natal, Tukkies and Wits and
we won.
"The prize was a caseof Witfield
beer - you don't get it here
anymore. The next event was held
in Natal a couple of weeks later we ran the car on beer." he said.
"That was what it was all about in
those days, a good time. Sure, we
tried to win, but today it's so
serious. Then we had very little
sponsorship and thus no outside
pressureto perform."
Mr Dckson shook his head when
describing last year's event as "so
serious" but according to an engineering student, last year's race
"was a litt-le less competitive, and
more fun" than the previous few!
Mr Dickson continued: "All the
cars were completely home
designedand home built. Boy, did
we scrounge around. I remember,
one of the guy's old man had a step
ladder manufacturing business and
that helped. The first car wasn't
much more that a U-shaped pipe
with wheels welded on - I mean,
they were really crude. Each year,
Thank
ooodness
thev're
you would get one or two
bummers - a little faster tha
milkcart. I think we won be<
our car broke down less
others, " he laughed.
Mr Dickson continued,
races were really big even
campus - which, remember
little over a third of today's
'l
and far more homogenous.
was a great spirit at the race
iarge part of campus got invol
"Predominantly engineers
part, because we were the
ones who would build the
More guys - despite the mores
atmospherereally worked to
There's a natural competitiv
in engineering you kno
everyone wants to hand in the
design assignment. Well, it wa
same with the cars. A coup
mates, who'd go to class tog
and razzle together, wouid
Jeepers,let's do it' - and we w<
In the end though we really ha
- and I think we learnt a lot too
This year's pedal car ;
begins at 10am on Saturd
May outside the Flower I
Entrance is free. Enjoy it
all
nn-ardinqla'{
UDF:Minorityelecti
meaningless
to majorit
Recently Wits Student Interviewed Mohammed Valli. actins
Councils. These structurestue
National General Secretary of the UDF. The meeting wai
unelected, created by the
conductedvery differentty to those previously conductid for
governmentin conjunctionwith
our "IVhite ElectionsPage".
Yalli - es he calls hlmself - had just been releaied from theSADFtoenforcerealconhol.
The governmentwould haveus
detention and the interview, conductedin secret after tortuou,
arrangements,was a far cry from that held in Wynand Matan's believe that the 26 000 people
lastye.ararecriminalsand
chic campaign office or the one with Van Zyl Slabbert In a detained
Regional Exec member
plush hotel foyer.
that the UDF is manipulatingthe
W.S..' How does the UDF
Valli was detained on January l2th while drivlng through blackcommunityforitsownends.
view the White Elections?
town. His lawyers claimed that the reasons given for his
The counEyhas a plethoraof
Mohammed IzaIIi.' The UDF
detention (that he was a member of the Transvaal Indian
security laws which have long
Congress Executive and had called for the release of Nelson illegalised that which is legal in
has gone through a processof
most countries. You can'tspeak
c o n s u l t a t i o n a n d d i s c u s s i o n Mandela) were inadequate. (In fact, he isn't even a member of
throughoutits ranks,countrywide, the TIC executive!). The SupremeCourt ruted in favour of his out againstdetentions,
massprotest
lawyer's claims,
rallies are continually bannedand
in order to arrive at somekind of
He was involved in the Durban branch of SASO (South people are prevented from
view on the elections. Our
African Students Organisation) until its banning during the speakingfreely.
responseto the white electionshas
cf amp-down in 1977. Valli continued to actively oppose
thus been carefully thought
W.5..' Studentsare talking
apartheid' playing an lmportant role in the formation of the about a lot of
through, it is not a knee-jerk
seemingly
TIC and in August 1983 he was electedto the UDF National attractive options for ,he
reaction.
Executive.
For the majority of South
future such 4s a federal
inthe 1960's.Today,if welookat
W.S; How does NIISAS fit
Africans this electionhas no real
systen - what is your opinion
the way in which UDF affiliates into all of this?
meaningto their personallives of this?
and COSATU operate,^carrying
Vatli: Nusas' role is very
thereis no doubttiat theNats will
Yalli: Firstly, it is unacceptable
importantbecause
themembership that a minoiity _ whiche.ver
remainin powerandthehardships out the mandates of the i r
which millions of our peoplehave membership, the fears and of Nusasarethe very peoplewho
minorityit it - imposesa syster
prejudicesaboutblacks'ability ro will potentiallyplay an important becausethey think it is bestfor the
sufferedwill not be alleviatedin
involve themselvesin democratic role in servicing the apartheid
any way at all.
majorify (oi for themselves).The
The electionswerecalled to seek f f i m a c h i n e r y . T h e y a r e g e t t i n g a n d e m a n d o f p e o p l e i n v o l v e d i n u D F
education which will make them
a "mandate"from a white minontY
affiliates is for a non-racial,
future decision makers - for
to continuethe Stateof Emergency
unitary South Africa.
instance,management
in factories.
and harsh repressionsuch as
Also, many of them will be
curbing the pressand large scale
conscriptedinto the SADF and
detentions.The governmentaiso
becomeunquestioningservantsof
wantsthe supportof the majoritY
lY.S.: Many whitesfeel that
thisunjustregime"
of whitesfor whatis supposedto be
The studentson your campusare
a reformprogramme,knowing they must use their vote in the
alsopeoplewho havecomeout of
that ttremajorityof SouthAfricans best possible wa!. Is this
12 years of systematic brain don't supportit. Reforms which enough?
Those who proposeda federal
The central question tt"s'hing. Nusashas the historical
valti:
won't make any material
systemhavenot themselvesbeen
.rponsibitity
of equipping
differenceare pubiicised while which whiteshaveto faceup to is
studentswlih tire auility to se-e ableto sayhow it will work in this
w h i t e s b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y abandoningapartheid.voting for
country' We can't help but be
will
through
what the governmentis
mean
this
does
not
the
PFP
the
hardships
suffered
unawareof
suspicious
of any strategy that
happen. It is in the name of the sayin!. Their taskis-tomakewhite
in thetownships.
the
balkanises
country because
is
realize
ttre
state
students
democracy
minority
that
that
whiie
and
W.S..' Why hasn't the UDF
historically, apartheidhas meant
continuing with an undemocratic votes for all are factors in iheir
called for a boycott as it did
tricameral
system. Hence whites have an long terminterests.white studenb that the wealthof the country has
around the
to dissociatethemselves need to understandthat for them beenrestrictedto certainpockets.
o-bligation
elections?
a
general
have
Whites in
froJ this system - abandonthe thechoiceis not berweenshooting A federal system is a devious
means by which the privileged
their way out on the one handanl
fradition of voting andit would not
sinkingstrip!
would
ensurethat the wealthof the
leavingthe countryon the other
be correcl in a political senseto
IyJ... What impact can a
countryis not shared'
theyhive anabsolutelyvital role in
challengethat now. It is tue that white student maie with the
pace of polificsbeing defined joining othersin building -peace - Iy'S"' How do you see the
the majority of whites are still
future?
andcriating a newsocietv.
looking to parliamentas a structure by pripi, in the iowninipt
Valli: Pethaps the only thing I
throughwhich they areexercising ina'tni TactortesZ
ffi
can
sav is that we've-reached a
the
over
form
control
of
whites
some
Valti.'
need to become L.l-.,T,tr*.lll[tiift,.$i[i*$'ffi.{
polntwheremillionsof peopleare
government.
partof the'liberarion
movemenr'. fiiit$fiiiifliii+t
l
lY.S..' ||hat does One
Person, One Yote mean for
Africa' rhis is unleashing
a
whites?
and [#f,tf#Fiffii-dlt$tf,fiiittiffi
as-ploplein townships
Valli: The thing is, what
apartheid has done is it has
mappedout - it is not our task to
liiii?.1:iii::i:.+:ilrilli}.liiiiii,i.i#iii.i{,i,iii.iiiiiiiil.i.1-'!iiil:::i:iii:i.l
deliberatelycreateda comPletely environment in which one finds
lmposea system.
in
W.S..'
How
important is
distorted picture of blacks
oneself. At this point, white
Do you have a
I7'S'.'
parliament
in
shaping
the
whites' minds. The fact of the
to
need
dedicate
democrats
message
for studen8?
matteris black peoPlehave been themselvesto countering state funre?
Valli: Simply that the white
Valli: Parliunentis nothingbut
engagingin democraticPractices propaganda about *-h.t is
youthneedsto rememberthatP W
for generations.Democracyis not it"pi"ning in the townships.
- They a showcase,especiallysince real
relieson themas much as
controlliesin thehandsof theJoint _.'Botha
a new concept- we sawmillionsof
touit challenge the myths
ManagementCommittees who lhuer reliedon the Germanyouth
involved in democratic
};;,3ff',1i.ff;",s?.iffi::
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