His announcement yesterday that the initial period of military service will be halved has been welcomed by anti-war groups, who say they will step up their campaign for alternative service to be extended to those refusing to serve on political grounds. They called for the release of jailed conscientious objectors.
Opening the new Armscor headquarters in Pretoria De Klerk said military service would be cut to one year. It will affect 35 000 conscripts due to begin their national service on February 1 next year and between 15 000 and 20 000 due to start their duty on August 1. De Klerk said the decision had been made by the Cabinet on Wednesday, following ”submissions and recommendations from the defence family”. He did not say whether this would affect camp requirements, but it is believed this will remain at the de facto maximum of 10 months.
De Klerk referred directly to an announcement in April by Defence Minister General Magnus Malan that citizen force and commando obligations were to be cut, implying this would not become the de jure position regarding camp allotments. It is also unclear if conscripts who have completed a year of their initial service will be de-mobbed in February 1990 or whether those who started in August 1989 will be required to continue serving beyond August 1990. Further announcements clarifying the implications of De Klerk’s statement are expected to be made later today by the head of the defence force, General Jannie Geldenhuys.
End Conscription Campaign representative Mandy Taylor said De Klerk’s statement was welcomed and suggested ”a response to the extensive dissatisfaction felt by conscripts and an acknowledgment that the perceived threat facing South Africa is no longer as great”. Anti-war groups will now work for a ”genuine non-punitive form of community service” to be introduced for all objectors, Taylor said. The ECC has also called for there¬ lease of jailed objectors, a moratorium on all objector trials and for the government to allow exiled objectors to return to South Africa without fear of prosecution. The current mandatory prison sentence for objectors who have not undertaken military service is six years.
In terms of the Defence Act those refusing military service are required to complete a prison sentence of one¬ and-a-halftimes the length of military service, without the prospect of re· mission or parole. The courts have calculated this on the basis of two years initial service and a maximum of two years camps. Those classified as ”bonafide religious pacifists” can do six years of community service under the Department of Manpower. If the current basis of calculation is maintained objectors will face a total of 33 months imprisonment (or of community service if they are accepted as religious objectors). The change in law, however, does not provide automatic relief for those jailed under the old legislation.
David Bruce, 26, has completed 17 months of a six-year sentence for refusing to serve while Charles Bester, 19, has completed 12 months. Saul Batzofin, 30, has completed half of an 18-month sentence for refusing to do a one-month camp, while Dr Ivan Toms is out on bail, having completed half of a 21-month sentence for refusing to do a camp. Judy Bester, mother of Charles, said she and other parents of objectors were now considering a personal appeal to De Klerk for the sentences of their children to be cut. ”It is morally indefensible that they should be required to continue with their present sentences which are three-and-a-third times the maximum period of current military service.”
Paul Boulle, a representative of the 771 conscripts who publicly refused to serve in September this year, said the announcement may explain the state’s tardiness in charging the latest spate of objectors. ”Several of us no longer had any ground for deferment but were being left alone. It’s now possible there will be a new batch of jailed objectors.” De Klerk’s announcement may have the effect of reducing the rate of emigration from South Africa, said David Shandler, researcher at Wits Business School’s Centre for Policy Studies. Shandler, who is completing a re· search project on alternatives to military service, said it would not entirely stem military-related emigration.
”For many of those leaving the motivating factor is they are not prepared to serve in the SADF under any circumstances until apartheid is ended.” In his Armscor speech De Klerk said it ”went without saying that this new order could in future be affected by South Africa’s security situation. ”Should circumstances change, this new dispensation will without hesitation be reviewed.” De Klerk also announced that military expenditure would be cut and that Armscor programmes would be rationalised. He said that ”certain units and facilities ”would be closed and indicated that this would lead to Armscor personnel being laid off.
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
