FBIS3-25118
"drafr026_c_94016"
FBIS-AFR-94-026
Document Type:Daily Report
8 Feb 1994
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Human Rights Commission Reports January Violence
MB0802061194 Johannesburg SAPA in English 2010 GMT 7 Feb 94
MB0802061194
Johannesburg SAPA
Language: English
Article Type:BFN
[Report issued by the South African Human Rights Commission
on 7 February on the SAPA PR Wire Service]
[Text] The January death toll, while still very high,
maintained the downward trend since the highpoint of July 1993.
If the trend continues, violence levels should reach manageable
proportions by election day. The use of unrest area
declarations seems to be declining and currently is only in
operation in the Eastern Cape, where ironically, political
violence is minimal. The use of detention without trial, on the
other hand, continues in operation, in spite of the declared
undertaking to scrap Section 19 of the Internal Security Act,
which so far has not materialised. No major massacres occurred
during January. Amongst January victims were 2 commuters, 22
women, 22 children, 2 white civilians and 17 members of the
security forces; reports identified 34 ANC [African National
Congress] supporters and 14 IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party]
supporters amongst the dead.
Form of Repression January 1994 Total Yr 1994 Monthly 1993 Monthly
to Date Average Average
Formal Repression
Detentions Without 57 57 57 60.6
Trial
Death in Police 4 4 4 3.2
Custody
Political Arrests 117 117 117 428.7
Political Trials 5 5 5 12.1
Death Sentences 1 1 1 4.5
Political Violence
Incidents 498 498 498 463.5
Death: PWV 142 142 142 166.8
[Pretoria,
Witwatersrand,
Vereeniging]
Natal 161 161 161 167.4
Elsewhere 14 14 14 32.3
Total Deaths 317 317 317 366.5
Injuries 269 269 269 361.6
There was a marginal drop in the PWV deathtoll from 158 in
December to 142 in January. The region was responsible for 45
percent of countrywide deaths in January, with the East Rand
sub- region again figuring prominently. The provisional figure
of 161 deaths in Natal during January, suggests an encouraging
downward trend from the 228 in December; however it remains to
be seen if this trend will be confirmed and sustained. Other
regions accounted for 14 deaths during January or only 4 percent
of national total.
Security force actions resulted in 11 deaths and 51 injuries
in the course of 46 incidents during January. Attacks on
security force members resulted in 17 death and 23 injuries in
the course of 69 incidents. Right wing activity is on the
increase with 22 incidents reported during January resulting in
1 death and 3 injuries. Industrial conflict claimed 1 life. A
low level of taxi conflict & educational conflict did not
result
in any loss of life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |Incidents |Deaths |Injuries |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|General Incidents |351 |287 |185 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Security Force Ac-|46 |11 |51 |
|tion | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Hit Squad Activity|-- |-- |-- |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Right Wing Activi-|22 |1 |3 |
|ty | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Taxi Conflict |2 |-- |1 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Industrial Confli-|6 |1 |3 |
|ct | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Educational Confl-|1 |-- |1 |
|ict | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Total |496 |317 |269 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commuters suffered 2 deaths and 13 injuries in January.
Women and children figured prominently; death: 22 women and 22
children (combined 14 percent of all deaths); injuries: 18 women
and 15 children. Security force members - see above. White
civilians recorded 2 dead and 3 injured. Political affiliation
of the victims was reported in about 15 percent of deaths during
January: ANC [African National Congress] -- 34 killed and 58
injured; IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party] - 14 killed and 7 injured.
Although the national deathtoll in political violence is
still at the high level of around 10 deaths a day on average,
nevertheless January recorded the sixth successive declining
month since the explosion of July. If the trend continues, the
country could be experiencing a controllable level of violence
by the date of the elections.
During January, HRC [Human Rights Commission] recorded 498
incidents of political which is a little in excess of last
year's average incident count of 463.
The deathtoll in January of 317 is nearly 50 percent down on
the highpoint of 605 last July., but still very much higher than
last January's figure of 175. The injury count for January was
269, a low figure in relation to the deathtoll.
No major massacres were reported in January.
During January the magisterial district of Hoopstad in the
OFS [Orange Free State] was deproclaimed as an unrest area. This
left 14 unrest areas at the end of the month, all of them in the
Eastern Cape. On 28 January, the Abolition of Restrictions on
Free Political Activity Act came into effect on the advice of
the TEC [Transitional Executive Council] but excluding the
clause abolishing Section 29. Thus detention without trial under
Section 29 is still in force.
During January 57 persons were detained without
trial,including 39 under Section 29. At month end, 2 persons
were still being held.
During January 4 deaths in police custody were reported.
The total of 117 political arrests During January was
substantially lower than the monthly average for last year.
During January another 5 political trials were completed,
with a further 38 trials ongoing at month end.
Only one person was sentenced to death during January. Death
row now has 326 occupants.
A number of incidents during January indicate clearly that
the Bophuthatswana government has no intention of allowing free
political activity to take place in the territory.