Marion Edmunds
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela has been personally lobbying political parties for support on new legislation to crack down on the causes of violence in Kwazulu-Natal.
This was confirmed by the president’s spokesman Parks Manka- hlana, who said the president was eager to close the loopholes in certain laws which made it possible to carry dangerous weapons in potentially explosive situations.
This follows three weeks after Mandela, in his speech at the opening of Parliament, mourned the extent of the violence in KwaZulu-Natal, and said that measures would be introduced to ban the carrying of dangerous weapons during public demonstrations.
Mankahlana said the talks, held separately with each political party in Parliament, were in anticipation of draft legislation which would come from the justice and safety and security departments.
He said the legislation would not introduce a direct ban on all weapons, but merely try to control the carrying of them under certain circumstances.
Mankahlana said Mandela had been meeting IFP leader Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi continuously to discuss the violence in Kwazulu-Natal, but would not say whether Buthelezi had given Mandela support for the proposed new legislation.
The carrying of dangerous and cultural weapons has been a bone of contention between political parties since the negotiations over the transition from apartheid rule to democracy. The Inkatha Freedom Party could not be contacted for comment by the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has given its unequivical support to the measures, on the condition that new laws are implemented in an unpartisan way.
DP leader Tony Leon said Mandela had promised that the measures would not be used as a “club with which to beat Inkatha on the head”. Leon said Mandela had promised that ANC members who had transgressed the law would also be brought to book.
Sources in the Freedom Front said General Constand Viljoen was reserving his position on the proposals at this stage.
The National Party said they had given their support to Mandela on the principle of the legislation and would discuss the details in Cabinet.