Surprised to be invited to this month’s SANDF `live firepower demonstration’, Sheen Duncan, human rights campaigner, wrote this letter to the defence force chief, Brigadier van Graan
I HAVE received the invitation from General Georg Meiring to the fireworks display on November 16 (at the Army Battle School, Lohatle). I do not understand how my name came to be on his invitation list and I must decline the invitation for the following reasons:
I fully support the claim of the Lohatle communities to have their land restored to them. It should never have been taken away from them in the first place and the present delay in dealing with their claim is unnaceptable.
I strongly disapprove of the continuing militaristic stance of the present South African government as represented in the Department of Defence.
I do not think that the new South Africa should pride itself on the size of this battle ground nor do I think we should continue with these military exercises which continue to pollute the land with junk from war games. We should rather be spending the money this exercise will cost on clearing the land of the military rubbish deposited there in the past so that people can peacefully reoccupy it and put it to good use.
I especially deplore the fact that our country seeks to profit out of the manufacture and sale of armaments.
I would fully support any actions by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to address the critical socio-economic problems of the people of this country when called upon to do so by other government departments. I would support emergency relief actions by the SANDF in situations of natural disaster. I support the SANDF when it is called upon to act in support of the police to assist in addressing the current crime wave (though I hope this will be a temporary measure).
I cannot in any way support the SANDF in its displays of firepower and military exercises which only serve to frighten our neighbours and increase suspicion and insecurity in the South African region and the rest of Africa. This is how wars are made – displays of military power which lead others to respond with their own build-up of arms until one or the other fires the first shot. The very existence of such military might prevents the possibility of peaceful negotiations to resolve mutual problems because there can be no trust where one party has a gun at the throat of the other.
I resent being used as an exercise in public relations which is clearly the motivation behind the invitation to me at the Black Sash address.