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WIN A LAPTOP COMPUTER WORTH R12 000! W^H hy South Africa truth a Editorial comment Digging in the dirt lmost a year ago, this maga 14, it's important that this anger is zine ran a ground-breaking dealt with. A article which looked at the 'Unless victims are encouraged question of a general amnesty for to express their anger in non-violent South Africa's war criminals. ways,' he states, 'it will more than We're doing it again. likely be taken out on those closest Only this time, there's a real to them — such as family mem sense of urgency. As we move bers. Alternatively, it will be directed towards a negotiated settlement, toward the self, resulting in tenden the amnesty debate takes on cies such as alcoholism, drug increasing importance. abuse and suicide. Why? Because a negotiated set 'And unless we create a South tlement isn't enough to ensure Africa which demonstrates to the peace and justice in South Africa. survivors that their trials and tribula We need reconciliation and political tions have meaning and have ted to something better, tolerance, to try and heal the wounds of the past. we will create a generation of cynics and misan Hundreds, even thousands of South Africans have thropes.' their own skeletons in the cupboard. For years, In this edition of W1P, we look at what is possible. they've run dirty tricks, covert operations and other Among other things, we try to warn of the danger of acts of terror. glossing over the amnesty debate — or trading away The murderers who deprived our country of lead an amnesty during political negotiations. ers like Matthew Goniwe, Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge, David Webster and so many others have a lot We also look at the feasibility of an official Truth to answer for. So too do the shady characters who Commission, set up by the negotiating forum to probe orchestrate other political violence — attacks on hos the past and investigate specific human rights tels, forays into informal settlements, drive-by shoot abuses. ings in white suburbs, grenade attacks on churches ... From our enquiries, there seems to be wide the list is almost endless. spread support for a Truth Commission. The challenge The operative word here is anger. Covert opera now is to ensure it is taken up within the negotiating tions have driven division into our society, leaving forum — and that the search for the truth is a key part thousands of angry South Africans in their wake. of any negotiated settlement. They've lost parents, children, relatives and friends. And, as Lloyd Vogelman argues in his article on page — ChriS Vick Work In Progress incorporating New Era EDITOR: Chris Vick No 91 • August/September 1993 ASSISTANT EDITOR: Hein Marais Published by the Southern African Research Service WRITER: Kerry Cullinan (SARS) PRODUCTION: Annette Griessel PO Box 32716, Braamfontein 2017 ADVISORY BOARD: Jacklyn Cock, Jo-Anne Collinge. Head office: 9th floor, Auckland House, cnr Smit & Moeletsi Mbeki, Glenn Moss, Ingrid Obery, Khehla Biccard Streets, Braamfontein, Johannesburg Shubane, Alan Velcich Phone (Oil) 403-1912 Fax (Oil) 403-2534 BUSINESS MANAGER: Hector Mbau Cape Town office: PO Box 13309, Mowbray 7705 SALES & DISTRIBUTION: Kenosi Sengati Phone & fax: (021) 448-3727 CIRCULATION: Lawrence Ntsamai Cover photo: Natasha Pincus Printed by Perskor ©1993 WIP 91 • Contents BRIEFS .2 WHY I'D WORLD BRIEFS 4 ELECTION WATCH 6 LIKE Politics by opinion poll — Bob Mattes TO BE A PERSONALLY SPEAKING .8 Albertina Sisutu KANGAROO Albertina Sisulu speaks COVER STORY: Digging for the truth 10 personally — and admits • Skeletons come out of the cupboard that she longs to have a — Hein Marais warm pouch where her • It's hard to forgive — even harder to children can hide forget — Page 8 dSft ^ — Lloyd Vogelman • When killers walk free — Louise Flanagan DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH • A very South African coup The amnesty — Rocky Williams * debate is far from DOCUMENT 23 dead and buried. Racism & sexism — you can't have WIP gauges sup one without the other port for a UN- — ANC supervised Truth GENDER .t 24 Commission to Breathing new I'fe into the abortion probe the sins of debate the past — Liz Walker — PaeelO POLITICS 26 Adventures in the wild. First stop: the World Trade Centre — Hein Marais STATE OF LEFT ALIVE 30 THE STATE A workers" party: Back to the future — Jeremy Cronin Hein Marais tries to make sense of the National Party. And it ain't easy DEBATE 33 — Page 26 Socialism's identity crisis — the Ernesto Laclau debate Middle road or cul de sac — Colin Bundy WILL A WORKERS' INTERNATIONAL 39 PARTY WORK? The Tete offensive — Heather Hilt We can learn a few lessons from Brazil, says Jeremy Cronin. Just a few REVIEWS 41 — Page 30 Collected poems by Dambudzo Marechera — Lisa Combrinck BABYLON BY BUS Mozambicans brave the Tete corridor "hell run' to make LETTERS .43 contact with long-lost relatives. We find out why LEFT BEHIND ...44 — Page 39 WORK IN PROGRESS briefs LAND Restructuring ried through a series of bills that cater slipped "through the back door", hidden for the privatisation of communal, trust in vaguely titled legislation like the through the and state land. There was no public General Law Second Amendment Act debate nor was there independent evi 108 of 1993. back door dence presented to the select commit In a statement, the ANC advises tees reviewing them. "the government and future recipients MERE MONTHS BEFORE A POLITICAL SET- Buried in nine pieces of legisla of the land that i( does not consider tlement, the governmenl has rammed tion are far-reaching measures that itself bound to honour transactions" through parliament a package of legisla form the framework for restructuring under the acts. It warns that "hasty and tion that seems aimed at sabotaging land tenure on the basis of large-scale ill-managed privatisation of existing tra democratic solutions to South Africa's privatisation. ditional and informal land rights can land problem. Similar measures were blocked by lead to large-scale dispossession, While eyes were trained on the groups in 1991 when they forced the removals and instability in land rights". multiparty negotiating forum, the gov withdrawal of the Rural Development The National Land Committee ernment during two weeks in July hur Bill. This time the measures were (NLC), which also objects to the moves, accuses the government of ignoring "the right and complex diversi ty of tenure forms existing in South Africa" and of implementing "policy that has been widely criticised and rejected ... months before a democratic No matter how you look at it, election". > we bring it into Focus Findings pre-empted The findings of a major World Bank study on appropriate tenure rights have been pre-empted with this manoeuvre, charges the ANC. Private ownership is the only form of tenure catered for in the acts facilitating the transfer of state, communal and trust land. Several of the acts also serve notice that the government is in no mood yet to relent to a year-long cam paign demanding a moratorium on the sale and transfer of state land. The legis lation provides mechanisms for trans ferring large portions of land to bantus- tan government and other apartheid-era institutions. This badly undermines a future land distribution programme, warns the Focus On Africa. The BBC's magazine on African NLC. "Land, as a physical asset, once news, sport, politics, people and programming. disposed of, is extremely hard to recov Unbiased. Informative. Invaluable. er." The legislation includes the Gener Aittilabtc on news stands and bookshops or tor local subscriptions contact: al Law Second Amendment Act, the Edusub. PO Box 30720, Brammfontein, 1017, Tel 011 726 5418 Distribution and Transfer of Certain State Land Act and the Provision of Certain Land for Settlement A ct. • — Hein Marais WORK IN PROGRESS LAND ••••^•^•^•^••M Congress of the (rural) people RURAL COMMUNITIES HAVE COME UP with a way of getting their issues on the political agenda — invite the key deci sion-makers to hear about those issues Firsthand. A rural summit — the first of its kind — is planned for next February, when more than I 000 rural representa tives will meet at what has already been dubbed the "Congress of the Rural Peo ple". And among those invited to attend, and hear about the problems, are the major players in the multi-parly negoti ations. One of the major objectives of the conference is an attempt to unite rural and landless people around comrrjon demands. Organisers hope these can be presented as a Land Charier, which in turn will give impetus to the develop ment of a rural social movement. Among those targetted for partici pation are farmworker communities, • BACK ON THE MAP: Trying to get rural issues on the political agenda labour tenants, people who were forcibly removed, people in informal tion within communities, and mandated elect two representatives to attend the settlements and landless people from all representatives, conference. Regional meetings are also over the country. "We want this to be a community- planned to prepare delegates. A key aspect of the conference is driven conference." says organiser Jabu The process is being co-ordinated the participation of all rural communi Dada. Communities have to hold at bv the National Land Committee and its ties. Because of (his, organisers are least one local meeting to discuss prob nine affiliates around the country. • putting a lot of emphasis on consulta- lems, solutions and demands, and to — Land Update SUBSCRIPTION RATES for 8 issues/1 year SUBSCRIPTION FORM • WIP91 Individuals, trade unions Companies, libraries & non-profit organisations & institutions Name SOUTH AFRICA R50 R132 Address....................................

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