THE '\V ASHINGTON OF'.FICE ON AFRICA 110 MARYLAND AVENUE. N.E. WASHINGTON, D. C. 20002 October"1984 <202) 546-7961

SOUT H AFR ICAN ARCHBISHOP TO BE TRIED

The president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, Arch­ bishop Denis Hurley of , appeared in court on October 19, 1984 to answe r a charge under the Police Act of 1958, which makes it illegal to disclose the activities of South African police without approval from the government. If convicted in the trial, which begins on February 18, 1985, Archbishop Hurley could be liable for up to 8 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $12,000.

The charge stems from a February 1983 news conference in Pretoria, when Archbishop Hurley released a report on South African atrocities against civilians in , which illegally occupies. Hu r ley specifically referred to the December 1982 deaths in detention of Mr. Jona Hamucwaya and Mr. Kadima Katanga, and the killing of several Nam ibian c ivilians in Northern Namibia of which the church has detailed evidence and photographs. Hurley criticised the South African police counter-insurgency unit Koevcet, which operates in Northern Na~ibia and has been charged by church leaders and others of frequent torture, rape and murder of non-combattants inside Namibia. In recent months, the South African government has conducted a major public relations drive inside Namibia to boost the image of Koevoet.

Archbishop Hurley is charged under Section 27B of the Police Act of 1958, which makes it illegal to publish any information in relation to the South African police ''without having r~asonable grounds for believing that the statement is true.'' Hurley pleaded not guilty to the charge. /

The charge awakens speculation that the South African government is begin- ning a campaign against the because of its increasingly critical statements and activities against . Earlier this year, the General Sec­ retary of the Bishops' Conference, Fr. Smang::iliso Mkhatshwa, was acquitted of charges of inciting students to violence in the South African "homeland" of Ciskei. Mkhatshwa, who was under "banning" orders from 1976 to July 1983, had been detained in Ciskei in October 1983, and is a co-patron of the United Democratic Front, a major leader of the recent boycott of elections in South Africa. Namibian Catholic leaders have supported the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), which is carrying on a war of liberation against the South African regime. In June, 37 SWAPO officials were arr~sted on church property near the Namibian capital, Windhoek, while celebrating the release of SWAPO co-founder Herman Toivo ja Toivo. All 37 have since been released.

II In a related development, Zodwa and Peter Mabaso, two leaders in the Catholic Marriage Encounter movement in South Africa, were detained without charge in a police raid on their home at 3:00 a.m. on October 1. Marriage Encounter, a world­ wide Catholic movement, has in South Africa been increasingly critical of South Africa's apartheid policies and migrant labor laws which break up black families. The Mabasos are being held in Protea police post in solitary confinement. Am nesty International has adopted them as Prisoners of Conscience. Letters and cables protesting the detention of the Mabasos may be sent to the South African Embassy and State President Botha.

What You Can Do:

1. Write the South Africa~ Embassy, State President Pieter W. Botha and Secretary of State George Shultz protesting the trumped-up charge against Archbishop Hurley (addresses below). 2. Write letters of support to Archbishop Hurley and the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, telling of your solidarity with their struggle against the injustice against apartheid. 3. Protest the detention of prisoners of conscience Zodwa and Peter Mabaso by writing the South African Embassy and State President Botha. Ambassador B. G. Fourie State President Pieter W. Botha Embassy of Sout~ Africa Union Buildings 3051 Mass. Ave., NW Pretoria Washington, D.C. 20008 South Africa Secretary of State George Shultz Archbishop Denis Hurley, President U. S. Department of State Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference Wasington, D.C. 20520 P. O. Box 941 Pretoria 0001 South Africa