Mondli waka Makhanya
THE Pan Africanist Congress appears headed for a showdown with the government over demands for amnesty for its political prisoners.
The organisation this week threatened the mother of all mass action inside and outside prisons if the goverment does not release the 90-odd PAC members convicted of politically motivated offences or awaiting trial for such crimes.
A hunger strike by PAC prisoners at Pollsmoor prison near Cape Town was halted last week to allow for further consultation with the government.
The PAC is coming under mounting pressure from its rank-and-file members who want to see tangible benefits of the organisations decision to participate in the April elections. People are saying that if we cant even secure the release of our comrades, then what was the point of going to parliament? said a PAC leader.
The South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights has been roped in by the PAC to help organise protests, should this be necessary.
The PAC also wants halted the trials of PAC members currently under way. These include those accused of murdering American Fullbright scholar, Amy Biehl, and those accused of carrying out attacks on the St James Church and the Heidelberg Tavern in Cape Town and the Bahai mission in Mdantsane.
Minister of Justice Dullah Omar has already made it clear to the PAC that he will not move the December 6 1993 cut-off date for political offences to April 27, as the movement is demanding. Were he to do so, dozens of rightwingers accused of a pre-election bombing spree would also qualify for indemnity.
The PAC also claims that Azanian Peoples Liberation Army operatives who are surfacing from underground are being arrested by police for questioning, including an Apla cadre at De Brug army base. This has led to some Apla members being reluctant to sign up with the integrated defence force.