FBIS3-43257
"drafr001_c_94021"
FBIS-AFR-94-001
Document Type:Daily Report
3 Jan 1994
REPUBLIC of SOUTH AFRICA
South African Press Review for 3 Jan
MB0301130094
MB0301130094
Article Type:BFN
[Editorial Report]
THE CITIZEN
De Klerk Loses White, Afrikaner Support -- The world is "in
awe" that South Africa "could change so dramatically in less
than four years without a shot being fired, without a revolution
taking place, without civil war breaking out," declares the page
6 editorial in Johannesburg THE CITIZEN in English on 31
December. Yet, "by acting swiftly, Mr de Klerk has not been
able to take his people along with him, polls showing that he
has lost White, and particularly Afrikaner, support. And by
acting so quickly, he may have sparked a resistance that could
endanger the whole carefully structured change to a new South
Africa."
THE STAR
National Reconciliation Major Task of Country -- "National
reconciliation" will be the "major test" before South Africa in
1994, says Johannesburg THE STAR in English on 3 January in a
page 8 editorial. "Much progress" was made in 1993, but "with
political violence leading to more than 3,000 deaths in 1993, a
great deal of work remains to be done to bring peace to this
country. Reconciliation is not, however, incompatible with
political competition, provided the rivalry is tempered by
tolerance and permeated by a democratic ethos. We do not want
false reconciliation, a saccharine fraternity which denies
differences." The African National Congress, ANC, has a "special
responsibility" in the months ahead, because with its allies it
is the "dominant political force and its influence is especially
strong in the numerically important black community. The ANC's
unofficial status as the government-in-waiting brings with it a
proportionately heavy burden. By discharging it wisely, the ANC
can help secure the future and facilitate fulfilment of its
declared mission of reconstruction and reconciliation."
Labor Party Colored Adjunct to ANC -- Allan Hendrickse, the
leader of the Labor Party, is "amply entitled to be sour about
the Nats, whether or not his vitriol relates to an embarrassment
over the pension his co-operation with the Nats has given him,"
says a page 8 editorial in Johannesburg THE STAR in English on
31 December. "But it was odd to use an (intended) valediction to
virtually wish his party into oblivion. The Labour Party has
become a kind of coloured adjunct of the ANC, not quite a real
party, not quite a mere branch. It should make up its mind, and
preferably it should decide to fight on its own right. Small
parties should be allowed to flower." An alliance is good but
"a real alliance requires two parties with two identities."
BUSINESS DAY
1994 Promises Democracy, Challenges -- Johannesburg BUSINESS
DAY in English on 3 January in a page 6 editorial says a new
government must, among other things, "set in motion a long-term
plan to disarm the country." This should be done by "tightening
controls and imposing heavier penalties on people with
unlicensed weapons." As important to the country will be the
economic policies of the new government. "On monetary policy,
the status granted to the Reserve Bank, given the ambiguous
wording on the matter in the new constitution, will be the
critical determinant of economic confidence. An independent
Reserve Bank is crucial." Besides its economic policies, the
new government will need to restructure the civil service, "if
only to correct past racial imbalances. If that leads to
appointments being made on merit, we score a bonus. If,
instead, jobs are allocated as rewards for service to the
'struggle', we face disaster." The year ahead promises a new
democratic society, "but it also guarantees challenges which,
depending on how they are met, will determine whether that
promise materialises."
SOWETAN
Pub Massacre Path to Civil War -- Johannesburg SOWETAN in
English on 3 January in a page 6 editorial refers to the weekend
attack on a pub in Heidelberg, in which four people died and
five were seriously injured, saying "It will be very easy for
the perpetrators of this horror and their supporters to argue
that blacks are dying daily in the political violence in this
country and that the response is never as prompt and loud. They
may argue that they are avenging those killed in the townships.
This would be a puerile argument because, instead of solving
the problem, it worsens it. The massacre is one step down the
path to civil war."
RAPPORT
Stronger Moderate Middle Ground Needed -- "The horror attack
on defenseless civilians in a Cape Town tavern is a cruel
contradiction to South Africa's so-called Year of Peace which
began yesterday," says an editorial on page 16 of Johannesburg
RAPPORT in Afrikaans on 2 January. "Judging from this atrocity,
and similar earlier ones, and the continuing violence taking
place on the Reef and in Natal in particular, there are clearly
still segments of the population which do not see peace as the
top priority in this election year. Brutal violence is still
viewed by some as a necessary political instrument." The death
of hundreds "underlines the fact that not everyone is committed
to peaceful politicking within the framework of the new
constitution. And the urgent talks with the Freedom Alliance in
the days and weeks ahead confirm that those on the outside
number more than just the roving bands of murderers." Of
course, "not everyone can ever be bound by any new constitution,
and for the foreseeable future there will be militants who will
have to be held in check mercilessly. But atrocities such as
the one in Cape Town conjure up a frighening specter of much
more extensive violence if we fail to negotiate a more inclusive
constitution on time." "For that reason all right-minded South
Africans are focussing their hopes on the leaders involved to
intensify and broaden even further their search for solutions,
because we cannot afford the alternative." RAPPORT concludes:
"One can rightly says that South Africa will stand or fall by
the emergence of an even stronger moderate middle ground which
will do everything to eradicate radical violence totally from
our society."