Urgent actions
Letter to President Mbeki
Mr. Thabo M. Mbeki
President of the Republic of South Africa
Union Buildings, West Wing, 2nd Floor
Government Avenue
Pretoria 0002
South Africa
London, May 10th 2004 Your Excellency, I have obtained information that sixty two members of the Gauteng "Landless People's Movement" (LPM) were arrested on April 14, 2004 in Thembelihle, south of Johannesburg, for wanting to hold a peaceful protest as part of the National LPM's "No Land, No Vote" campaign. Amongst those arrested are core leadership of the LPM Gauteng provincial structure and other activists. The arrests have been justified under the "Electoral Code of Conduct" and the "Regulation of Gatherings Act", the latter a law elaborated still under apartheid in 1993. The LPM members were not permitted to assemble although they were prepared to observe regulations allowing protests to be held in a perimeter of 200m from any polling station. They were arrested as they were alighting from vehicles before any gathering could take place. During detention, police acted with excessive force. A number of people were beaten, kicked, verbally abused and teargassed, with no provocation from their side. In addition four members of the LPM - Maureen Mnisi, the Gauteng LPM Chairperson and National Projects and Education Officer, Moses Mahlangu, an LPM youth activist, and Ann Eveleth as well as Samantha Hargreaves, members of the LPM Advisory Structure - were taken out of their jail cells by Crime Intelligence Services (CIS) at around midnight on the day of the elections. Three activists mentioned above were taken into an interrogation room, and then physically and psychologically very badly treated until the early hours of Thursday 15th April. These seem to be the first reports of concerted assault of activists in detention since 1994. The planned gathering was to be part of the National LPM's "No Land, No Vote" campaign. Since the launching of the campaign in 2003, the LPM has highlighted the continued failure of the government's land reform programme to deliver land to the landless. The mere 3% of land that has been transferred to the landless after 10 years of political democracy falls far short of even the ANC's own promises in the RDP to transfer 30% of land in the first 5 years. As a consequence of the sluggish implementation of land reform, the skewed distribution of land and the living conditions for black rural people have barely changed: of the 50% of South Africans below the poverty line - who are nearly exclusively black - 70% live in the rural areas. While over 80% of all agricultural land is owned by 60,000 white commercial farmers, more than 15 million black rural people are crowded into areas with poor soil quality and insufficient infrastructures. For much of the black rural population, hunger and malnutrition are permanent features of their lives. In addition, we are alarmed to hear that the National Organiser of the LPM, Mr Mangaliso Kubheka, has received death threats from a white farmer and his armed security company. He has been in exile for the past three weeks and fears for the safety of his family. We condemn the lawlessness that prevails in the rural farming areas of South Africa, where legislation is not enforced, where white farmers and their security companies and self-defence units continue to reign unchallenged, and where poor farm dwellers obtain limited justice in the Courts, which remain substantially untransformed. Despite interventions from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Mr Mangaliso Kubheka has not been provided with police protection to date. The police have also indicated that they are not prepared to pursue charges against the white farmer and the security company. As a concerned individual, we would like to ask you to take necessary measures to:
We thank you for your attention and kindly ask you to keep us informed about any measures you take to address the concerns we have raised.
Yours sincerely,
Thabo Mbeki Street: Union Buildings, West wing, 2nd Floor, Government Avenue, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 300 5200
Fax: (012) 323 8246 Copy to: Minister Thoko Didiza, Agriculture and Land Affairs Street: No 20, Agriculture Building, Block DA, 1st Floor, cnr Beatrix Street and Soutpansberg Road, Arcadia, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 319 6000
Fax: (012) 321 8558 Minister Ronnie Kasrils, Intelligence Services Street: Embassy House, cnr Edmond and Bailey Streets, Arcadia, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 338 1800
Fax: (012) 323 0718 Minister Charles Ngakula, Safety and Security
Street: Wachthuis, 7th Floor, 231 Pretorius Street, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 393 2800-3
Fax: (012) 393 2819/20
Chairperson Jody Kollapen, South African Human Rights Commission Street: 29 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown, JOHANNESBURG
Tel: (011) 484 8300
Fax: (011) 642 7057
President of the Republic of South Africa
Union Buildings, West Wing, 2nd Floor
Government Avenue
Pretoria 0002
South Africa
London, May 10th 2004 Your Excellency, I have obtained information that sixty two members of the Gauteng "Landless People's Movement" (LPM) were arrested on April 14, 2004 in Thembelihle, south of Johannesburg, for wanting to hold a peaceful protest as part of the National LPM's "No Land, No Vote" campaign. Amongst those arrested are core leadership of the LPM Gauteng provincial structure and other activists. The arrests have been justified under the "Electoral Code of Conduct" and the "Regulation of Gatherings Act", the latter a law elaborated still under apartheid in 1993. The LPM members were not permitted to assemble although they were prepared to observe regulations allowing protests to be held in a perimeter of 200m from any polling station. They were arrested as they were alighting from vehicles before any gathering could take place. During detention, police acted with excessive force. A number of people were beaten, kicked, verbally abused and teargassed, with no provocation from their side. In addition four members of the LPM - Maureen Mnisi, the Gauteng LPM Chairperson and National Projects and Education Officer, Moses Mahlangu, an LPM youth activist, and Ann Eveleth as well as Samantha Hargreaves, members of the LPM Advisory Structure - were taken out of their jail cells by Crime Intelligence Services (CIS) at around midnight on the day of the elections. Three activists mentioned above were taken into an interrogation room, and then physically and psychologically very badly treated until the early hours of Thursday 15th April. These seem to be the first reports of concerted assault of activists in detention since 1994. The planned gathering was to be part of the National LPM's "No Land, No Vote" campaign. Since the launching of the campaign in 2003, the LPM has highlighted the continued failure of the government's land reform programme to deliver land to the landless. The mere 3% of land that has been transferred to the landless after 10 years of political democracy falls far short of even the ANC's own promises in the RDP to transfer 30% of land in the first 5 years. As a consequence of the sluggish implementation of land reform, the skewed distribution of land and the living conditions for black rural people have barely changed: of the 50% of South Africans below the poverty line - who are nearly exclusively black - 70% live in the rural areas. While over 80% of all agricultural land is owned by 60,000 white commercial farmers, more than 15 million black rural people are crowded into areas with poor soil quality and insufficient infrastructures. For much of the black rural population, hunger and malnutrition are permanent features of their lives. In addition, we are alarmed to hear that the National Organiser of the LPM, Mr Mangaliso Kubheka, has received death threats from a white farmer and his armed security company. He has been in exile for the past three weeks and fears for the safety of his family. We condemn the lawlessness that prevails in the rural farming areas of South Africa, where legislation is not enforced, where white farmers and their security companies and self-defence units continue to reign unchallenged, and where poor farm dwellers obtain limited justice in the Courts, which remain substantially untransformed. Despite interventions from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Mr Mangaliso Kubheka has not been provided with police protection to date. The police have also indicated that they are not prepared to pursue charges against the white farmer and the security company. As a concerned individual, we would like to ask you to take necessary measures to:
- Drop all charges against the 62 LPM members detained on the day of the elections;
- Initiate a full investigation into the assault of political activists in detention and punish those that are found responsible;
- Stop the harassment of movements and activists by the police and intelligence services and ensure respect for the human rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of association;
- Place an immediate moratorium on all farm evictions pending a full enquiry into the limitations of existing legislation and the problems with the rural justice system; and
- Fulfil the human right to feed oneself by giving access to and control over land to the landless through the implementation of a comprehensive land and agrarian reform programme.
We thank you for your attention and kindly ask you to keep us informed about any measures you take to address the concerns we have raised.
Yours sincerely,
Thabo Mbeki Street: Union Buildings, West wing, 2nd Floor, Government Avenue, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 300 5200
Fax: (012) 323 8246 Copy to: Minister Thoko Didiza, Agriculture and Land Affairs Street: No 20, Agriculture Building, Block DA, 1st Floor, cnr Beatrix Street and Soutpansberg Road, Arcadia, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 319 6000
Fax: (012) 321 8558 Minister Ronnie Kasrils, Intelligence Services Street: Embassy House, cnr Edmond and Bailey Streets, Arcadia, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 338 1800
Fax: (012) 323 0718 Minister Charles Ngakula, Safety and Security
Street: Wachthuis, 7th Floor, 231 Pretorius Street, PRETORIA
Tel: (012) 393 2800-3
Fax: (012) 393 2819/20
Chairperson Jody Kollapen, South African Human Rights Commission Street: 29 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown, JOHANNESBURG
Tel: (011) 484 8300
Fax: (011) 642 7057
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