October 19 1977 - "Sadha - two white men are here looking for you"

 

 

By Marimuthu Subramoney

 

At a time when most journalists in South Africa are still not certain whether the new rulers will withdraw their intended measures to get the media to "toe the line", it is appropriate to recall the day 35 years ago today when the former apartheid regime carried out the biggest and most extensive crackdown against the freedom of the Press.

October 19 1977 was the darkest day in the history of journalism in the country when the main black newspapers, World and Weekend World, were banned and ordered to cease publication along with Pro Veritate, a publication of the Christian Institute; and when editors and journalists were either banned, detained or interrogated and had their homes and offices raided and searched.

The action against the media, ordered by the infamous Minister of Justice, Jimmy Kruger, was carried out in conjunction with the banning of 18 anti-apartheid interest group, civic, student, religious and media organisations; and banning and detention of their leaders and officials. Kruger and the State President at that time, Dr Nico Diederichs, signed the banning proclamations.

With the stroke of a pen, the then apartheid regime had removed two newspapers that had played a crucial role in keeping the people informed. 

Mr Kruger just over a month earlier had described black consciousness leader, Steve Biko's death in detention as: "It leaves me cold".

The notorious security police or "special branch" of the time carried out systematic raids against journalists, newspaper offices and other publications in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and other cities and towns around the country.

In Johannesburg, security policemen arrested Mr Percy Qoboza, Editor of the World and Weekend World, at his offices at about mid-day, only a few minutes before he was due to hold a Press conference about the banning of his newspapers. He was taken to the then John Vorster Square police headquarters. Mr Qoboza was subequently issued with a five-year banning order. His deputy and news editor, Aggrey Klaaste, was also detained and locked up.

The Editor of Pro Veritate, Cedric Maysom, was also detained and issued with a banning and restriction order.

The security police in Johannesburg also carried out raids and searches at the homes and offices of other journalists and organisations such as the Union of Black Journalists(UBJ), which was one of the 18 organisations banned. They also arrested and detained a number of journalists, including Joe Thloloe, who is today the Press Ombudsman. 

In East London, the security police raided the offices of the Daily Dispatch and served its editor, Donald Woods, with a five-year banning order; and searched homes of some of his reporters, including Miss Thenjiwe Mntintso,  who later skipped the country to go into exile because of harrassment and intimidation.   

In Durban, the security police raided and searched the homes of Dennis Pather, who later became editor of the Daily News; and this correspondent.

I can clearly recall what happened when two white security policemen called at my former home at 30 Mimosa Road, Lotusville in Verulam in the unearthly hours of October 19. My wife and our two children were living at that time in the outbuilding.

My mother, her voice showing signs of fear and shock, called out to me in our Tamil mother tongue:

"Sadha (my traditional name) there are two white men here who want to talk to you. I don't know what they want."

When I opened the door, there were two white security policemen (one of them I recoginised as Sargeant De Beer) looking at me with cruel smiles on their faces.

"Mr Subramoney,  we have come to search your house."

They did not inform me that their political bosses had banned the UBJ and 18 other organisations and also banned the World and Weekend World.

They ransacked the house and confiscated papers and documents. When they finished they told my wife, Thyna, that "you are not going to see your husband for a few days".

"You will have to pack some clothes for him."

They then asked me to accompany them to the offices of the Daily News situated at that time in Field Street, Durban, where I worked at that time. Here too they searched my desk and confiscated documents from my desk. Unknown to me and the security policemen, one of my colleagues photographed the security policemen searching my desk and confiscating documents.

Thereafter, I was taken to the Brighton Beach Police Station and detained.

When representations were subsequently made to Mr Kruger for the release of detained journalists, he unapologetically responded by saying that the detentions were not meant to intimidate the Press and that his Government had good reasons to detain the journalists. 

The clampdown against the media on October 19 1977 had an ironic twist two weeks later when it was reported that the Government was planning to print postage stamps to celebrate 150 years of Press Freedom in South Africa.

A  Durban lawyer who was national chairman of the then Progressive Federal Party, Ray Swart,  launched a blistering attack against the National Party Government for talking of Press Freedom at a time when it was conducting one of the ruthless campaigns to suppress the media.

In an interview on October 28 1977, Mr Swart, a strong critic of the apartheid regime, told the Daily News that he was impressed that the Government should want to commemmorate Press Freedom but he would be more impressed if it grave greater indication of what it considered Press freedom to be.

He had said: "It seems strange that they intend doing this after having just banned three newspapers, incarcerated one editor and banned another. I find it difficult to reconcile the actions of the Government. I suggest the stamps they intend issuing to commemmorate Press Freedom should have the faces of Mr Qoboza and Mr Woods."

Of course the Government of the day did not take up Mr Swart's recommendation and despite his, the country and world-wide condemnations of the action against the newspapers, editors and journalists, the apartheid regime continued with its clampdown and suppression of the media much more forcefully.

But despite some of the most stringent regulations and harrassment and intimidation of media practitioners over the next 13 years, most journalists never gave up and used October 19 to continue with the struggles for Press Freedom.

They realised their dream of Press Freedom when the ANC and other organisations were unbanned and when Mr Nelson Mandela and other leaders were released in February 1990.

Now, nearly 23 years later after enjoying true Press Freedom,  our country is facing the prospect of new measures being introduced to force the media to become "pliant" and to "follow the politician".

The memory of October 19 1977 should ensure that we don't allow ourselves to follow the "Ya Baas" route. At this time when we commemorate the struggles for media freedom, we should make it crystal clear to the new ANC regime that there would be no true freedom in our new democracy if we do not enjoy Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Information.

ends - Marimuthu Subramoney