[PEN-L:3795] news from Azania and Zambia (fwd)

[D Shniad <shniad@xxxxxx>]

> TRUTH-AZAPO
> DURBAN April 10 1996 Sapa
>
> TRUTH COMMISSION IS TRYING TO APPEASE AGGRESSORS: AZAPO
>
> Azanian Peoples' Organisation KwaZulu-Natal chairman Patrick Mkhize on
> Wednesday branded the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as nothing more
> than a platform to whitewash those who had committed crimes against
> political activists, SABC radio news reported.
>
> He said the commission would fail to deliver justice because it was trying
> to appease those who had been the aggressors rather than those who had been
> the victims of violence.
>
>
> AZAPO
> DURBAN April 10 1996 Sapa
>
> LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS FRAUDULENT, SAYS AZAPO
>
> The forthcoming local government elections in KwaZulu-Natal would have
> "disastrous" consequences for the province, the Azanian People's
> Organisation said on Wednesday.
>
> Election preparations had already revealed fraudulent administration, Azapo
> provincial chairman Patrick Mkhize told a media briefing in Durban.
>
> The absence of visible voter education and the high rate of illiteracy
> among voters would also cause major problems, Mkhize said.
>
> Elections were unlikely to be free and fair due to high levels of political
> intolerance evidenced by recent political massacres in the province.
>
> "As both the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party have
> war-mongers, the local government elections in this province are going to
> be a disaster".
>
> "The Shobashobane, Impendle and Donnybrook killings will look like a Sunday
> school picnic during the elections if nothing is done right now," Mkhize
> warned.
>
> Azapo would not participate in the elections because they were a product of
> the Kempton Park multiparty negotiation "fiasco", he added.
>
> Local government elections in KwaZulu-Natal are scheduled for May 29.
>
> At least two election candidates have been killed in the past two weeks,
> prompting many others to withdraw their names from candidate lists.
>
> Elections in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape were postponed last year
> following ward demarcation disputes.
>
> TRUTH-PAC
> JOHANNESBURG April 10 1996 Sapa
>
> PAC TO PARTICIPATE IN TRUTH COMMISSION
>
> The Pan Africanist Congress on Wednesday said it would participate in the
> Truth and Reconciliation Commission in an effort to secure the release of
> its Azanian People's Liberation Army cadres.
>
> PAC political affairs secretary Johnson Mlambo told a media conference in
> Johannesburg although the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation
> Act criminalised the victims and equated them with the perpetrators of
> apartheid, it would be insensitive if the PAC did not participate.
>
> Mlambo said the PAC was not taking part in the commission to "confess"
> because it had never initiated aggression during the liberation struggle.
> "We are going to set the record straight," he said.
>
> He said hundreds of Apla cadres were incarcerated in jails around the
> country, many of them at Grootvlei Prison in Bloemfontein. It would be
> insensitive of the PAC not to participate in the commission with a view to
> seeking their release.
>
> Mlambo spoke out against alleged "ill-treatment" of Apla cadres by the
> security establishment.
>
> He said many had contributed their services to the liberation struggle, but
> the security establishment was now apparently reluctant to utilise their
> skills.
>
> Despite its financial crisis, the party would also participate in the
> upcoming local government elections in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape,
> Mlambo said.
>
> Regarding resolutions adopted at the PAC's weekend conference in
> Bloemfontein, Mlambo said a convention would be held no later than
> September to pave the way for a fifth PAC congress to tackle issues
> including finance and leadership problems.
>
> The convention would adopt policy issues in an attempt to meet
> post-election challenges, the PAC said in a statement issued at the news
> conference.
>
> These policies would be adopted by a PAC congress that would be held no
> later than December - one year ahead of schedule.
>
> Mlambo said the PAC's financial position had been put to members in an
> effort to solicit subscriptions that would finance the party.
>
> The PAC is reeling under a financial crisis which has cut its communication
> links with the outside world.
>
>
> ZAMBIA-RAILWAY
> LUSAKA April 10 1996 Sapa-DPA
>
> IN ZAMBIA, TAZARA RAILWAY DISMISSES 22 STRIKERS
>
> The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) Wednesday said 22 striking
> workers had been dismissed with immediate effect for gross negligence of
> duty.
>
> More than 2,000 Tazara workers have downed tools demanding a 150-per-cent
> salary rise. The management offered 5 per cent which the workers rejected.
> The average minimum salary for Tazara workers is 100 dollars per month.
>
> The Tazara management statement faxed to Lusaka from the Mpika regional
> headquarters said the affected workers included traffic controllers,
> shunters and train examiners. Operations at Mpika ground to a halt
> disrupting Tazara's entire operations.
>
> Tazara managing director Austine Mweemba appealed to the Railway Workers
> Union of Zambia to persuade its members to return to work. Zambian
> Communications Deputy Minister Gilbert Mululu also appealed to workers to
> resume their duties because the strike was illegal.
>
> "While I sympathise with the workers' plight, my ministry does not condone
> illegal strikes nor wildcat walkouts," Mululu said.
>
> Source: ANC Department of Information and Publicity
>