Trying to Break the Hammerlock

By William E. Smith

Violence continued at home and diplomatic pressure from abroad accelerated last week as South Africa entered the third week of its state of emergency, the most severe crackdown by the country's white minority government against the black majority in 25 years. As the number of blacks detained without charge passed 1,300 and the death toll in the black townships reached 24, the government banned the holding of mass outdoor funerals in some areas. The services had become the focal point of black grief and outrage. Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel laureate who has emerged as the leading voice of moderate black protest against apartheid, conducted an outdoor funeral service beyond the restricted area, declaring that "I will not be told by any secular authority what gospel I must preach."

In the meantime, eleven more West European nations and Australia announced that they were withdrawing their ambassadors from Pretoria for "consultations." And in Washington, Congress took its toughest position yet against South Africa's racial policies. Late in the week the House of Representatives voted 380 to 48 for a package of economic sanctions to be imposed against South Africa, but the Senate delayed action until September after opponents of the bill threatened a filibuster to defeat it.

The week had started in South Africa on a somewhat hopeful note, when Bishop Tutu requested a meeting with State President P.W. Botha. Almost immediately Botha replied that he was too busy to see Tutu privately and suggested that the bishop might be included in a group of church leaders who would be calling on him on Aug. 19. Translation: the Botha government considers Tutu an enemy and is not prepared to grant him any special recognition as the leading emissary of the black community. "By requesting talks with the State President, I am putting my credibility on the line," replied Tutu angrily. "I am exposing myself to criticism. Our situation is desperately serious, and I had hoped for statesmanship from the State President and not the scoring of political points." Said the Daily Sowetan, the country's major black daily newspaper: "The man in the street will say that this is clear proof that the government is in no way prepared to speak to black leaders with credibility."

The government ban on mass funerals for the victims of violence in the 36 districts where the emergency laws are in effect was a sharp blow to blacks, who have been barred from holding political meetings of any kind. The funerals have been drawing as many as 50,000 mourners. In the future, the government decreed, a funeral can be held only indoors and for no more than one victim. Moreover, it may be conducted only by an ordained minister, who must not refer in any way to political systems, governments, boycotts, states of emergency or any action by the police or security forces. The use of public address systems was banned, along with the display of flags, banners, placards, pamphlets and posters. Those attending a funeral must travel to and from the service by car or bus, not on foot, and must use a route designated by police.

The new regulations quickly brought another round of protest. Said the Rev. Christiaan Beyers Naude, the white general secretary of the South African Council of Churches: "A funeral is a religious ceremony, which the church has a duty to perform even if it has political implications. In the African tradition, funerals are occasions where the whole community freely participates in the expression of its sorrow and sympathy for the bereaved. Any restriction on such expression will be viewed with deep displeasure." Agreed Bishop Tutu: "I think that the authorities are really playing with fire, in the sense that they are seeking new points of confrontation and friction with a people who are already embattled by vicious and draconian laws. I'm fearful for what may actually develop. I'm fearful for an explosion one day which we will not be able to control. The consequence of putting the lid on is to allow the steam to build up."

Later in the week, near the coastal city of Durban, a black civil rights lawyer, Victoria Mxenge, 43, was shot to death outside her home. She was the widow of a onetime political detainee killed in 1981 in a case the police have never resolved. Blacks and whites blamed one another for the death of Mrs. Mxenge, who was to have been a defense lawyer in this week's treason trial of 16 leading members of the United Democratic Front, a multiracial opposition movement. But despite the murder, the overall level of violence appeared to be declining as the black townships settled into the hammerlock of martial law.

All week long the Botha government remained obdurate against the rising criticism from overseas. The President repeated a previous threat to deport thousands of foreign workers if the South African economy suffered any further from international pressure. There were about 350,000 foreigners working legally in South Africa last year, but the number of illegal workers is estimated at 1 to 2 million. The government agreed to a visit by the Foreign Ministers of Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg but warned them not to interfere in the country's affairs. Pretoria also recalled its Ambassador-designate in Washington, Herbert Beukes, partly because the U.S. had not yet allowed the Ambassador to present his credentials.

The compromise economic-sanctions bill against South Africa that was passed by the House had been agreed on earlier hi the week by House and Senate conferees. The measure calls for a ban on the U.S. sale of South African Krugerrand gold coins, the export of U.S. nuclear technology and computer materials, and new bank loans to South Africa. The Reagan Administration has said repeatedly that it plans to stick to its standing policy of "constructive engagement" toward South Africa and opposes all the sanctions being discussed in the congressional measure as ineffectual and perhaps counterproductive.

Despite the anger and disapproval from inside and outside South Africa, none of it has had much effect on the Botha government's standing with its own white constituency. A poll by the Afrikaans newspaper Rapport found that if an election were held today, the ruling National Party would win with 48.3% of the vote. The liberal opposition, the Progressive Federal Party, would receive 18.4%, while the right-wing Conservative Party would get 15.2%. --By William E. Smith. Reported by Bruce W. Nelan/Johannesburg

With reporting by Reported by Bruce W. Nelan/Johannesburg