From: wsargeant@IGC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:South Africa, parties face tense mo'
Date: 12 Apr 92 21:35:34 GMT

/* Written  1:55 pm  Apr 12, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "SOUTH AFRICA: PARTIES FACE TENSE MO" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Trade & Finance
Title: SOUTH AFRICA: PARTIES FACE TENSE MOMENT AFTER REFERENDUM


an inter press service feature

by gavin evans

johannesburg, apr 9 (ips) -- south africa's far left, far right
and dead centre political parties face major internal tensions
as a result of a political alignment which ensued from the white
referendum on reforms in the country.

only the two leading parties -- the african national congress
(anc) and the national party (np) -- appear to be free from the
threat of splits and breakaways.

the np has been strengthened by the fact that 68 percent of
the country's white population voted in support of its reform
initiative, while the anc appears more confident now that the
ring threat can no longer be used by the government to stall the
political process.

following a conservative party (cp) executive meeting last
week, party leader andries treurnicht reiterated a policy which
showed no shift from the cp's pre-referendum line: dialogue with
ethnic leaders, campaigning for an ''independent and free
fatherland for the afrikaner'' and a rejection of the convention
for a democratic south africa (codesa).

''we talked out the whole question of codesa and of people
going over to it, and not one member of the council indicated
any interest whatsoever in attending it'', he said.

however, two days later, a cp member of parliament, koos
roots, shocked the party by speaking out in parliament in favour
of entering codesa, and was promptly expelled.

but for the moment the party's left wing members of
parliament are said to be biding their time.

pretoria risk analyst wim booyse believes the tensions could
burst into the open sometime in the next four weeks.

''we are only seeing the beginnings of what is possible. the
radical right is far stronger in the party's parliamentary
caucus than it is among their support base'', he says.

in stark contrast to the cp, the democratic party (dp) had
its programme vindicated by the pro-negotiations referendum
result. but the outcome has also ensured a further narrowing of
the gap between the np and the anc, and several mps are
considering their options either way. (more/ips)


south africa: parties (2)

pietermaritzburg north member of parliament mike tarr last
week ''flew a kite'' in parliament by calling for a new party,
slightly to the right of centre, to replace the np.

the following day houghton constituency mp tony leon
circulated a discussion document calling for the establishment
of a new party, which would include both the np and the dp.

speaking in parliament wednesday claremont mp jan van eck
took the opposite tack stating he would never enter a party with
the np's racist and repressive history, which had ''still not
apologised'' for apartheid and its human rights abuses.

''although the present fluidity can lead to some mergers,
breakaways, alliances, pacts in the short term, i believe that
these will merely be precursers to a much larger and more
fundemental realignment in south african politics.

''this realignment will basically be between non-racial
democrats on the one side, among whom i place most of the dp and
the anc and about 20 percent of the np, and on the other side
the alliance of democracy shy, ethnically-oriented political
groups'', said van eck.

according to dp sources, six of the party's mps are
considering joining the anc and at least seven others are for an
alliance with the np, but the majority favour retaining their
current status.

within the inkatha freedom party (ifp) the pressures are of a
different nature. no splits are likely but the party's options
have been narrowed.

prior to the mar. 17 whites-only referendum, the ifp floated
the option of a confederation of south african states. but the
referendum result has foreclosed that option and the ifp is
rapidly losing favour with the government.

the pan-africanist congress, whose national conference ended
in umtata, transkei, monday, is currently presenting a
militantly anti-codesa unity, in much the same way as the cp is.

behind the scenes, however, it is facing intense pressure
from the frontline states -- angola, botswana, mozambique,
namibia, tanzania, zambia and zimbabwe -- the united states and
several other pac benefactors to return to codesa.

''we don't feel any pressure. we've got our own programme
which we are following and we can't be pressurised by anybody.
people may not like what we are doing but nothing will
pressurise us'', said pac publicity director watters toboti.

the referendum result has confirmed that codesa is where the
country's future will be decided, and by staying out the pac has
already been removed from the central debate.
(end/ips/ge/ar/apc/92)


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