m - DISA

Ma+i-lightwd soee of the IMUN involved; further
attentions, the death in security police custody of
Neil Agoett, the hospitallMtlan of e nuaber of
MCtiort 6 detainewe and the report of the Beble
Coeertsslan itself continued to focus attention on
the systssi of interrogation and detention. In tha
aejor urban arees-detainee support group* vara tat upt
aeetlnge held, publicatiora produced.
But ifv aa haa baan argued above, the atata naads
security legislation to Maintain society in its currant
fom, it auat ba aaKad any opposition groups hava
given so wuch attantion to this particular Issue,
After all, tha systaa of detention is Just ona eore
aspact of an undaaocratio ruling group attempting to
•iinUin its poser, thile tha call aay hava baan
for tha unconditional ralaaaa of all datainaaa
and tha abolition of dstantion-ralatad legislation,
fee hava aarloualy baliavad that govamaant aould taka .
nota of such a doasnd. It tharafora bacoass
i»port«nt to look at ahat aort of issue datsntlon Is -
and ehy it has racantly oosaaandsd so auch attantion.
| Ona obvloua anaaar to this question ralataa to
stteepts at protacting thosa who ara currently in
detention, and thoea who may ba hald In tha future.
Ear liar, it aas argued that in ruling class terms,
Rsbla was correct to rare— nd tha aaintananca of a
syatsn of interrogative datantion if South Africa was
to ba rsproducad as an undaaocratlc, non-participatory
society. But it aas also arguad that ona could hava
expected tha Ooaaleoton to put forward proposals
ahlch provldad for tha protactlon of detainees froa
solitary conflnaaant, sleep deprivation, phyaical
assault and osntal torture. Glvan that such ssfs-
guards hardly exist in tha currant situation, a focua
on tha ahola datsntlon syataa aarvas tha function of
Monitoring ahat occurs in datantion, and bringing
prassura to baar regarding datantion conditiona. Thia
aay, in cartain casaa, ba of protactlva valua to
thosa undargoing Interrogation,
In this contact, attsapta to organisa profasaional
bodias and groupa -ith a direct concern in tha aystaa
of intarragatlon and datantion * lawyers* aadical
practitionars, paychologiata and paychiatriata *
aay ba ona aay of trying to protect detainees froa
tha affaota of tha systaa. *-
7 A sacond raason for focusing attantion on »
detentions Involves tha aay in ahlch that iasus oasts
light on othar aspects of tha social aystaa. OVar tha
past faa yasrs, it haa becoew* fashlonsbla for cartain
privileged raprassntativas of tha ruling claaaaa to
argue that tha South ATrlcan stata is bant on a
reformist progrs—•. All that is holding govamaant
back from iaplaaantlng a aida ranga of reforms, thay
argue, la tha right aing natura of cartain National
Party alaaanta, sactiona of tha civil asrvioa, ate.
rwnat tha datsntlon issua doaa is to ahoa that tha
I so-callsd rafora progra—« of tha *varlig' wing of
1 govamaant lnvolvaa a high dagraa of coarclon,
frapraasion and control. Elections to tha South African
Indian Council go hand in hand -ith tha datantion of
entl-BAXC activists; thosa unionists aha opposa
tha 'nee deal' on labour relations, and she assist
lnstaad in tha building of strong, democratic unlona,
ara detained. Qpsn oppoaltion political activity,
if it lnvolvaa aasa participation, sasas to load to
tha calls. Tha ahola ayataa of datantion
demonstrates that currant atata initiatlvaa mmy
involva changs - but not nacaaaarily in tha direction
in shlch tha aajority of South Africana went. Thosa
oho ara involved in organising and facilitating aasa
opposition to government** pollclss — ba thay tha
progresses of PV Boths's ganarala, Plat Koornhof *s
bureaucrats or Fania Botha's Dapartaant of laanpowor
Utilisation - face tha dsngsr of atata rapraaaion in
ona of ita forms.
But having said this. It auat ba notad that
detention In ltaalf is a Halted lsaua. Rejection of
'datantion-aithout-trial*, of datantion in conditions
of solitary conflnaaant, of interrogation tachniquaa
ahlch involva coarclon and astipulation of aind and
body • this is a platforai shlch a broad apectrua of
organised intaraata, froa raprasantativaa of
' enlightened * capital through to tha left, can
support. But precisely bacausa auch a broad and
potentially conflicting sat of Interests can support
tha issua, ita content, limits and paraemtera nwed
to ba assaasad vary carefully.
•ith thia in aind, a nuabar of points can ba
raiaad in tha hopa that consideration of thaa will .
ba conatructiva for those involved in tha datantion
lsaua.
1. It needs to ba asked ahlch groups and individuals
ara bast placad to facilitate tha Mobilisation and
organisation of those profsssions ahlch hava en
intaraat in tha lssusa and conditiona of datantion,
(Thia la ona of tha activities ehicn can potentially
provide soas protactlon for datainaaa, in tarsal of
aonltoring conditiona, prasauring for safsguards, ate).
Of ita natura, thia la a limited activity: tha
Majority of thosa involved In tha profassiona ara
likely to occupy lntsrasdiata positions on tha
political spactrvj*. Aa such, it U unlllcaly that
profasaional bodias can go aach bayond attaapts to
laprova conditiona aithln tha aystaa of datantion.
In thasa taraa, it should ba esfced ahathar thosa
on tha political laft ara bast suited for engaging
•ith tha profassiona ovsr tha issua of detention,
or whathar this is better undartafcan by individuals
within tha profassiona sho ara kaan to consolidate
progrsaalva viewpoints in thair sphsrs of activity.
Thar* aay ba an argument that attaapts by tha
political laft to intarvana with profasaional
groups on an explicitly left-wing basis ara counter-
productive, and Unit tha role strlch such professional
groups can play vis-a-vis tha datantion issue.
2. Much of tha activity around detentions haa involved
a protest coaponant - public eoetlngs, picket
protests, petitione, letter writing* religious
services. It can ba arguad that this is a lag it lasts
and iaportant terrain of activity for cartain groupa -
especially aooarate lntarasts which hava retained or
developed a concern end conscience about tha direction
in shlch South African society la sjoving. Thle, for
sMeapls, hee been en area of activity for the
Johannesburg Oetainaee* Parents Support Cowaittee,
shlch has been both active end successful in its
chosen sphere of politics.
But it dose need to be asked whathar thasa ara
tta aorta of activities or issues shlch tha left