SILi for the preceding five days has reached ten tims of the police murder squads.
Since August of last year, when a massive campaign against Botha's constitutional retorms led the farcical elections for the new tri-cameral parliament elections which excluded the overwhelming African majority and when less than 20 per cent privileged black minority groups turned - the unrest in OL LO VULC the urban black townships Mr Louis le Grange Minister of Law Order, has admitted parliament that there has been a total of 400 deaths since September. The liberation organisations the figure much higher.
The police terror has not stopped the AS THIS article is being written, the death toll of black people in the townships east of Johannesburg an average of two murders a day. By the time this appears in print there will, undoubtedly, be more vic.
UDF were arrested. Their trial, on charge of treason opened 1n Durban last week. South Africa, LI CASULI convictions can the government thought that the arrest of some of the leaders would Gelderen result in dampening the the townships, they must now be realising that they hav seriously miscalculated. Since the arrests began las year the tempo ot revolt has intensified.
The scenes in Kwathema township, about twenty-five miles east of Johannesburg capitalism's pro duced, is only the lates manifestation of this continuing violence.
On Tuesday, 10 July a vigil was being held in a township cinema for four previous incident. police claim that they died when hand grenades with which they were going to attack homes policement exploded prematurely. This version is disputed by people close to the victims.
According to Nicholas Shata. a membe.
Confederation of South Africa Students (Cosas) he and his colleagues were approached on 21 June by two men who took their addresses and arranged to meet them on the evening of 25 June When they arrived at the rendezvous they realis ed that the men waiting there were members of the armed . security police they dispersed as quickly as they The next morning he saw that three of his companions ecutive members of Cosas, were lying dead, their bodies surrounded by police or security branch members in camouflage uniforms.
could see that they had all been shot dead, said Mr Shata of miennaele top of his head blown off by what the police later described newspaper reporters as a nano grenlade It was during the vigil for these victims i of apartheid that the police lobbed teargas cannisters into the cinema. As the crowd fled, they opened fire and added to the evergrowing total.
The next day, during the amed two more were shot. Ap.
Other had beer stoning the nearby home of the stooge mayor of the township when two black policement arrive fired three shots at point-blank range. ment's response to the reign of terror in South Africa must be to step up solidarity action with the victims of apartheid. This must involve direct action by the organised working class. Appeals to Thatcher only stony ground This is again illustrated when the British govern ment, alone among comHowert refused to support the call against South Africa if continues to ignore Unite Nations resolution 435 on Namibian independence.
On the initiative Australia and Canada, the government. sented at meeting in Marlborouen House. LOr don last week agreed that *approprate under the UN charter' will be needed it South Africa persists in Ignoring the directions of the securit! Council in New York Mrs Thatcher had given prior instructions to British delegate MI John Johnson of the Foreign Office, that no outs anale l anything that amounted to with CONTONEAO Mrs policy, like Reagan's IS sanctions against revolutionary Nicaragua - • yes! Against racist South Africa, No!
The workers at Dunnes Dublin supermarket who refused handle South Africa goods lost their jobs as a conse quence, has shown the cor TeCI response to apartheid. Such acts tremendous boos to the embattled fighters South Africa.