Two prominent black South African leaders 'banned'
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from March 1986.
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Also on Tuesday, officials said one man was killed and 13 were hospitalized after police fired shotguns to break up a crowd of more than 3,000 blacks who went to White River, in Eastern Transvaal province, to support eight youths facing criminal charges because of a riot last month.
"By 9 A.M., the mob had trampled fences and caused chaos," with more busloads of blacks arriving in the white farming town, and police opened fire, a spokesman at police headquarters in Pretoria said. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
The banning orders were served on Henry Fazzie, regional Vice President of the United Democratic Front Anti-apartheid Coalition, and Mkhuseli Jack, President of the Port Elizabeth Youth Congress.
The orders, signed by Minister of law and order Louis le Grange, said the men "pose a threat to the maintenance of law and order."
The orders, which were confirmed by regional police spokesman Col. Gerrie van Rooyen, restrict Fazzie and Jack to the Port Elizabeth district, confine them to their homes on weekends and holidays and require them to stay at home from 7 P.M. to 6 A.M. during the week.
They also are barred from attending any political gatherings and from disseminating political information.
The banning orders came four days after the government lifted the seven-month-long state of emergency imposed in much of South Africa because of violent protests against apartheid, the country's legal system of racial segregation. Officials said the violence has lessened recently, although government critics say it has increased. During the state of emergency, the government imposed about 70 limited banning orders that expired when the decree was lifted.
South Africa, under pressure from Western governments, lifted scores of banning orders in July 1983. About a dozen people now are banned, including Winnie Mandela, wife of jailed black leader Nelson Mandela. Fazzie and Jack were influential in negotiating a suspension of the black consumer boycott of white-owned stores in Port Elizabeth in December. The boycotters set a March 31 deadline for several demands, including the release of jailed activists and removal of troops from black townships in the region.
The United Democratic Front said the bannings meant the boycott now was more likely to resume. Fazzie and Jack have many followers in the township, where fierce rioting occurred in early 1985. Jack returned Sunday from a visit to Europe, where he addressed several political groups.
Andrew Savage, a member of Parliament for the Progressive Federal party, said of the banning orders, "both of these people have the status of national figures, and represent genuine leadership among the majority section of our community. "An action like this banning can only be regarded as provocative in the extreme."
In other developments, a CBS news delegation continued talks in cape town with home affairs Minister Stoffel Botha on the government's order expelling three CBS staffers. And about 10,000 black miners ended a five-day slowdown at Vaal Reefs gold mine while 10,000 others continued an underground sit-in strike at another mine. Botha and deputy information Minister Louis Nel conferred with CBS bureau manager William Mutschmann, correspondent Allen Pizzey and cameraman Wim de Vos for 45 minutes. Neither side would comment on Tuesday's two sessions.
