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The Issue of Conscientious Objection in Apartheid South Africa: Growth of the Anti-Conscription Movement

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The Issue of Conscientious Objection in Apartheid South Africa: Growth of the Anti-Conscription Movement http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1989_09 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org The Issue of Conscientious Objection in Apartheid South Africa: Growth of the Anti-Conscription Movement Alternative title Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against ApartheidNo. 9/89 Author/Creator United Nations Centre against Apartheid; Committee on South African War Resistance Publisher United Nations, New York Date 1989-11-00 Resource type Reports Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1957 - 1989 Source Northwestern University Libraries Description "The present paper deals with the growth of the South African anti-conscription and anti-war movement. It looks at the steady extension of military obliqations, religious opposition to conscription, the formation of ECC and, since its restriction, the emergence of a movement aqainst war and conscription in South Africa. Finally, it examines the current conditions in which mass defiance of apartheid legislation has encouraged the re-emergence of organized anti-conscription work." The views expressed in this paper are those of the author. Format extent 23 page(s) (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1989_09 http://www.aluka.org United Nations United Nations Contre ag8StAlOI i9id Notes and Documents 9/89 - November 1989 JAN 3 11990 THE ISSUE OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION IN APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: GROWTH OF THE ANTI-CONSCRIPTION MOVEMENT by the Committee on South African War Resistance [Note: The Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR) was formed by exiled South African war resisters in London in 1979. In 1980 it set up an office in Amsterdam. In resolution 33/165 of 20 December 1978 and in subsequent resolutions, the General Assembly of the United Nations, inter alia, recognized the right of all persons to refuse service in military or police forces which were used to enforce apartheid, called upon Member States to grant asylum or safe transit to another State to such persons and urged Member States to consider favourably the granting to such persons of all the rights and benefits accorded to refugees under existing legal instruments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author.] All material in these Notes and Documents may be freely reprinted. 89-32874 Acknowledgement, together with a copy of the publication containing the reprint, would be appreciated. United Nations, New York 10017 -2- INTRODUCTION Since their establishment, the South African armed forces have had one consistent function - to maintain economic and political inequality. Ideological justifications for apartheid have become increasinaly sophisticated, but the South African Defence Force (SADF) has remained its ultimate quarantor. As a consequence, it reflects strains within the oppressor group and its few African, coloured and Indian allies and between this group as a whole and the nationally oppressed majority of South Africans. These strains became increasingly apparent in the period becinnin early in 1975, when SADF entered Angola and was eventually forced to retreat back into illecally occupied Namibia, and in June 1976, when the uprisino started by black schoolchildren exposed the army's role in maintaininq apartheid. Exile was the earliest articulation of war resistance, followed by moral and religious objections to conscription. The deepeninq economic and political crises of apartheid have activated social and economic sectors that normally support the rime, such as business, into support for anti-conscription initiatives. To date, the greatest success of the South African anti-conscription and anti-war movement has been its ability to draw new areas of support without losing old ones. The current phase of struqale occurs on the eve of an election characterized by unprecedented divisions within the white communitv, while regional political developments have placed the r~gime in a strong position to make concessions that could weaken recently formed alliances within the anti-war movement. Simultaneously, there has been an upsurge in popular resistance by a broad range of forces from the oppressed majority and white anti-apartheid groups. The End Conscription Campaiqn (ECC) is among them. The present paper deals with the growth of the South African anti-conscription and anti-war movement. It looks at the steady extension of military obligations, religious opposition to conscription, the formation of BCC and, since its restriction, the emerqence of a movement against war and conscription in South Africa. Finally, it examines the current conditions in which mass defiance of apartheid lecislation has encouraged the re-emergence of orqanized anti-conscription work. CONSCRIPTION LBGISLATICN Only white males have military obliqations. Currently, the full-time, combat- ready SADF force is at about 178,000 soldiers, 111,000 of whom are fulfilling compulsory obligations to defend apartheid. Since 1957, when conscription was introduced, there has been a significant increase in the numbers wearinq the SADF uniform. 1/ -3- The ruling Nationalist Party has explicitly linked conscription to repression of internal resistance and the maintenance of inequality. In December 1959, Defence Minister Erasmus threatened to ban the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) and stated that he planned to reorganize SADF along the lines of the French army in Algeria "to maintain the internal security of the State". 2/ He cited the use of troops in the townships, in Transkei and in Pondoland in the early 1960s and in the 1976 uprisings. 3/ The basis for conscription into SADF is the 1957 Defence Amendment Act which established a ballot system and twice-vearly intakes for military training lasting three months. In 1961, after widespread internal resistance which led to the declaration of a state of emergencv and the mobilization of the army, conscription was increased to six months. At that time, J. J. Fouche, then Minister for Defence, called upon white mothers to aive up their sons "in defence of the land", i.e., in defence of apartheid. 4/ Bv 1964, the annual intake to SADF amounted to 16,500 men. 5/ Three years later, in 1967, South Africa's rulers perceived apartheid to be under even greater threat. Liberation struqles in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe led them to introduce a period of nine months compulsory national service for all white men. In 1972, national service was extended to 12 months and 19 days of service in "camps", periods of operational duty in the Citizen Force, spread over five years. 6/ During the 1975 Anqolan invasion, which required a massive mobilization, SADF extended the service in camps to three months. In 1977, SADF increased the period of initial national service from one to two years, intendina to replace three-month camps with one 30-day camp stay per year for eight years. But three-month camp service was retained to meet the reoime's aqqressive regional military and political strategv: SADF incursions into Anqola and other neiqhbourinq States had increased and more troops were required to retain control of Namibia. 7/ In 1980, the South African Parliament passed leqislation to stop young men givina up their South African citizenship to avoid military service. Anvone who gave up their South African citizenship would lose the right to permanent residence. 8/ In 1982, there was another increase in citizen force camps. The period of obligation after national service was extended from 5 to 12 years, comprising alternate annual commitments of one and three months. In addition, older white men who had not been called up in the 1950s and 1960s were conscripted into the Conandoes. This involved one months's basic training, followed bv 12 days per year until the aqe of 55 years and additional duty in emergency situations. According to Defence Minister General Magnus Malan, this scheme placed an extra 800,000 men at the disposal of SADF. 9/ The bulk of this mobilization occurred in rural border areas as part of the r&Time's "area war" strateqy. 10/ The next significant development was the 1984 amendment to the Citizenship Act. This measure automatically imposed South African citizenship on all resident foreign nationals between the ages of 15 years and 6 months and 25 years, making them eligible for conscription into SADF. Moreover, several thousand older resident foreign
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