From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOUTH AFRICA: INKATHA REFERENDUM MAY STIR UP MORE VIOLENCE
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 04:38:34 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, north
Title: SOUTH AFRICA: INKATHA REFERENDUM MAY STIR UP MORE VIOLENCE


an inter press service feature

by philippa garson

johannesburg, dec 4 (ips) -- the african national congress (anc)
friday warned that inkatha freedom party (ifp) leader mangosuthu
buthelezi's intention to call a referendum on the question of
autonomy for kwazulu-natal could worsen tensions in the
violence-hit region of south africa.

buthelezi, also chief minister of kwazulu homeland, has
unveiled a draft constitution spelling out virtual autonomy for
the region which constitutes over 20 percent of the country's
electorate.

his moves have also met with fierce resistance from south
african president f.w. de klerk, who warned that his ''go-it-
alone'' stance would bring violence and put kwazulu on a
collision course with central government.

the anc described the move as ''a consequence of blind
ambition, confusion or sheer desperation

''given the repression, formal and informal, that is
pervasive in kwazulu, it would be impossible to hold a free
and fair referendum. the ifp and its backers would do well to
remember that the (ruling) national party tried over decades to
balkanise south africa and failed.

''the people of south africa are stll paying the high price
exacted for those hare-brained schemes''.

buthelezi says he is determined to push ahead with plans to
hold a referendum, fuelling speculation that he has taken the
first dangerous step towards secession.

however, he first needs the go-ahead for the referendum from
natal's provincial administration, which lacks the power to do
so. buthelezi has said that if his constitution is accepted, he
would push forward with the establishment of the new state
regardless of developments at national level.

the ifp leader's proposals have met with volatile responses
from anc militants in its three regions in the area who have
vowed to resist a referendum and are talking in earnest of
marching on ulundi, the kwazulu capital. representatives of the
three anc regions are to hold an urgent meeting saturday.

''we are not going to take this lying down. we are going to
organise the people against it, to denounce all these things
which are calculated to further increase friction in the
country'', said anc natal midlands leader harry gwala.
(more/ips)


south africa: inkatha (2)

indicating that the referendum would cause violence, gwala
said: ''we'll use any method to reject it. he (buthelezi) is not
the person to decide a referendum. this can come from central
government only''.

after managing to sell its constitutional proposals for a
limited period of power-sharing option to its more militant
regional representatives last week, the anc will now have to
contend with the potentially dangerous groundswell of opposition
to buthelezi's moves for those who engaged in daily battle with
inkatha, are distant from the political milieu at national
level.

buthelezi's move is no doubt calculated to woo whites,
particularly the business community, into embracing the idea of
an autonomous region and giving their full backing for a
referendum. already influential businesspersons in natal have
expressed support for the idea.

according to one business consultant, the white business
community in natal is ''split down the middle'' over the
proposals. while the south african chamber of business recently
endorsed a federal option for the country, extreme anger at the
move has emanated from some business quarters in the region.

sections of the indian business community have also received
the proposals with dismay.

while the right-wing has responded with glee to buthelezi's
proposals, the shrewd 64-year-old kwazulu leader now has both
the government and anc up in arms, having brought the ''inkatha
factor'' onto their table with an invited bump.

instead of diverting their wholehearted attention to
hammering out agreements at the three-day session of extended
bilateral discussions on interim government (due to end
saturday), both sides are having to contend with tensions within
their own ranks over the inkatha issue.

divisions within government over whether to go along with the
anc or inkatha are becoming increasingly apparent. several
cabinet ministers are said to be more and more hesitant at the
swift pace of agreement between the government and anc over the
formation of a government of national unity.

some in the government are also unhappy at having ditched
inkatha as its alliance partner -- if only for the moment.
(end/ips/pg/ar/92)
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