DATE=9/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SAF - TERRORISM (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-266370
BYLINE=CHALLISS MCDONOUGH
DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Last week's murder of a Cape Town
magistrate has sparked an angry exchange between
South Africa's national security minister and the
vigilante group he accuses of carrying out the
killing. The group, People Against Gangsterism
and Drugs -- known as PAGAD -- says it may sue
Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete (pron:
SHWET-ay) for defamation after he accused the
group of sponsoring a series of recent terrorist
attacks. But as VOA Southern Africa
Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports, the
minister has not backed down.
TEXT: Within hours after Cape Town magistrate Pieter
Theron was gunned down in his driveway last week,
national Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete
publicly accused PAGAD of orchestrating the murder.
The slain magistrate had recently sentenced one PAGAD
member to prison, and he was presiding over the trial
of two others accused of a 1998 bombing.
But PAGAD has vehemently denied any involvement in the
assassination. The group rejects allegations from Mr.
Tshwete that it is carrying out a reign of terror in
the Western Cape region.
PAGAD national secretary Abidah Roberts told South
African state radio the group's legal team is
gathering information about the minister's comments,
and may file a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Tshwete.
// ROBERTS ACT //
We feel that for people in such responsible and
high positions to make such utterances is
unacceptable. It's ridiculous, it's
unsubstantiated. [There is] nothing based on
fact, nothing linking us with clear evidence.
And we've always said to them, please, get your
proof, get the evidence, do proper investigation
and let the process of law go ahead.
// END ACT //
Other politicians have encouraged Mr. Tshwete to look
beyond PAGAD for the culprit in the latest attacks.
Local law enforcement officials say it is still too
early to say who murdered Mr. Theron. They have
called in help from the F-B-I and Scotland Yard.
// OPT // They are also investigating the link between
the Theron killing and a car bombing the next evening.
Two people were injured when the stolen car used in
the assassination exploded outside a popular student
hangout late Friday. It was the fifth bombing in the
Western Cape in the last month. // END OPT //
But despite criticism that he is jumping to
conclusions, the safety and security minister has
refused to back down. Mr. Twshwete told reporters in
Cape Town the connection between PAGAD and terrorism
is clear. He says 42 PAGAD members have been
convicted of terrorist activity, and cases are pending
against another 78. He blasted the group for refusing
to renounce terrorism and violence.
// TSHWETE ACT //
In all these incidences where people have been
convicted -- people who are directly associated
with PAGAD -- we have not heard a single word
from PAGAD to say that we are going to institute
disciplinary action against our members who are
involved in any given way in terror acts.
// end act //
One local analyst says PAGAD has threatened to sue
other officials for defamation in the past, but no
court cases have ever emerged. Another analyst says
PAGAD is such a diverse umbrella organization that its
leaders may not even know what its members are up to.
// REST OPT //
Shazahd Ahmed heads the program on intelligence and
terrorism at the Institute for Security Studies in
Pretoria. He says public support for PAGAD has eroded
considerably since it first appeared in the 1980's.
// AHMED ACT //
It actually says a lot about PAGAD, where people
in the wider public just don't believe them
anymore. And it may be that they could be
innocent.
// end act //
Whoever is responsible for the bombings and the
assassination of Mr. Theron, there have been many
calls for the government to do something to bring the
situation in the Western Cape under control.
Parliament is considering a strongly-worded anti-
terrorism bill aimed at reigning in the lawlessness in
the Western Cape. If passed, the law would give
police and security forces wide authority to deal with
suspected terrorists. But critics say it would
threaten civil liberties.
Mr. Ahmed says he is afraid the recent spate of terror
attacks around Cape Town will prompt lawmakers to pass
the bill without enough public discussion.
// AHMED ACT //
[Many] of these measures are very draconian, as
a matter of fact, and they could be an
overreaction to what's going on in the Western
Cape. And I don't think any real public debate
has been done around the terrorism bill.
// end act //
Some politicians have expressed skepticism about the
effectiveness of passing new laws to combat terrorism
in the Western Cape. Parliament is scheduled to hold
a closed-door debate on the matter Tuesday, after a
briefing from local authorities about the latest
series of attacks. (SIGNED)
NEB/CEM/KL/FC
11-Sep-2000 18:02 PM EDT (11-Sep-2000 2202 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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