Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-07-08

ADV GOZO COMMITTEE: That's correct yes.
	Further it issubmitted that the offences to which the applications relate were associatedwith a political objective committed in the course of the conflict of the past.Also that the applicants make full disclosure of all relevant facts as contemplatedby Section 20 of the Act. 
	It is furthermoresubmitted that the provisions of Section 22 and 23 of the Act have been compliedwith in that the applicants were members of the Pan African Students Organisation,a publicly known political organisation usually referred to as PASO which atthe time waged a political struggle against the State. 
	It is submittedthat they were members and supporters of the Pan African Congress, popularlyknown as the PAC, which is also a publicly known political organisation andliberation movement which waged a political struggle against the State at thetime. 
	The applicantswere active supporters of the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army, popularly knownas APLA. This is also a publicly known political liberation movement and italso waged a political struggle against the State at the time. The applicantsdid associate themselves with APLA as is contemplated in Section 22G of theAct. 
	Furthermore itis submitted, Mr Chairman, that the particular offences in respect of whichamnesty is sought by the applicants are offences associated with a politicalobjective when one has regard to the following:
	The motive ofthe applicants who committed the offences in question were clearly politicalin that at the time in question they were furthering the aims an objects ofan operation called Operation Great Storm. This was an operation adopted byAPLA and PASO. Just as much as there was at the time an operation adopted bythe Congress of South African Students, popularly known as COSAS, which wasa student organisation affiliated to the African National Congress, popularlyknown as the ANC. The main aim of both these operations was to make the townshipsungovernable, more particularly by preventing government and company suppliesand services from coming into the townships and also by killing, maiming andinjuring what was popularly known as settlers and this was a term that was usedto refer to White persons. 
	The context inwhich these offences were committed is that at the time a volatile politicalclimate prevailed, particularly in the township of Guguletu, when both operations,and that is Operation Great Storm and Operation Barcelona were put into operation.
	Underlying thefurther aims of Operation Barcelona was to secure the recognition of the SouthAfrican Democratic Teachers Union, popularly known as SADTU by the State. Massivesupport was shown by students for teachers belonging to SADTU and to furtherthese objectives, and that is to gain recognition for SADTU, PASO declared itselfto be fully committed to that struggle, and to that end had adopted the slogan,One settler one bullet. 
	The objectiveof the offence in question was primarily directed at making townships ungovernableand was also aimed at destroying State and company property, State personneland private property and individuals. State personnel was also targeted. Alsotargeted was private property and individuals who were seen as standing in theway of realisation of these objectives. The applicants acted on the instructionsand with the approval of PASO and APLA. 
	It will be submittedthat the offences committed by the applicants were directly proportional tothe political objectives pursued by PASO and APLA.
	In conclusion,Mr Chair, it is submitted that the offences committed by the applicants werenot for personal gain, they were not committed for personal malice, ill-willor spite but that they were purely politically motivated actions which werecommitted under the bona fide impression that the political objectivesof PASO and APLA were being pursued.
	Thank you MrChair.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Thank you Mr Chairman. Mr Chairman may I just - you and the learned Committeemembers all have copies of these affidavits, just for the record, these arethe originals if I could just hand them up.

CHAIRPERSON: Perhaps we should identify them for the purposes of the record. Is there anyspecial order in which you wish to hand them in?

NORMAN ARENDSE: Yes Mr Chairman the first, or let me just hand up the first on Ntombeko AmbrosePeni.

CHAIRPERSON: That will go in as Exhibit A.
EXHIBIT A HANDEDIN - AFFIDAVIT N A PENI

NORMAN ARENDSE: Thank you. Mr Chairman, learned members of the Committee, if I may just thenproceed to read into the record what is stated by applicant Peni.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Chairman can I just check for the record whether the applicants are comfortableand they can hear what is being said? Thank you.