OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday
THE South African public has been “severely traumatised” by viewing television footage of three black illegal immigrants being attacked by police dogs, according to the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.
Speaking on SABC’s Newsmaker programme, the Centre’s Ntsiki Matsilo said some members of the public had suffered symptoms similar to those of the victims of trauma.
National television last week showed footage of six dog unit policemen spurring their dogs to attack three illegal immigrants in a 1998 “training exercise”.
Matsilo said many individuals who contacted the centre after viewing the footage questioned how such actions could take place at this time in the country’s history.
Some callers were also concerned that the actions of the policemen would invoke retaliation from the black community.
Members of the centre tried to “normalise” the callers’ symptoms, and reflect that those feelings were normal after trauma.
Some people said the programme evoked “feelings of the past” and referred to incidents of racism in their workplace.
Most of the black callers to the centre saw the events as the collective conduct of all white people, Matsilo said.
There should be some education programme to make it clear that this was an isolated incident, she felt.
She added that it was difficult to say whether the SABC was justified in showing the footage, although it could have helped to bring issues out into the open.
The Centre’s Gareth Newman said authorities had to institute a programme of action to change the attitude of some police force members who joined the service before the change of government in 1994.
Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete repeated his assertion that psychologists would evaluate new applicants and existing members of the police dog unit, and defended the pace of transformation in the police service.
Tshwete rejected accusations that his tough comments against criminals including that police would handle them “like a bulldog” could have contributed to the actions of the six dog unit members.