Evidence given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1998 suggested "a degree of deliberation in the decision to open fire" by the police. [9], During South Africa's rule under apartheid, the SAP operated to quell civil unrest amongst the country's disenfranchised non-white majority. In addition to the 300 prosecutions that the authorities have ignored, there are a further 1,200 cases of people who went missing during the apartheid era when South African police … (Photo by Ali Greeff/AFP) Police reports from the time of the massacre claimed that panicking officers spontaneously fired into an increasingly violent crowd; however, other sources claim that the demonstration was peaceful in the moment leading up to the shooting. In 1987, for example, the police recruited almost 9,000 kitskonstabels and gave them an intensive six-week training course. Jacob Zuma. 1 review Winter blows the whistle on his career as a journalist working for the South African intelligence forces during the Apartheid years. Former Security Branch police officer, under the apartheid government, Martin Naude has denied ever being involved in any cover-up of a detainee’s death during his 40-year career as an investigator. 2. The police increased the use of part-time, specialised personnel – such as the special constables (called kitskonstabels (instant constables) in Afrikaans) – to help quell the growing violence in the 1980s. Black citizens were displaced and saw some of their villages destroyed forcing them … In the 1930s, the Union of South Africa had formed an intelligence organization modeled after MI5 and MI6 as a special branch of the South African Police. [2]:Chp4, P.W. Among the SAP's spies during the apartheid era was the infamous Craig Williamson and his best-known female recruit Olivia Forsyth. It worked closely with intelligence services of other white-minority governments including PIDE of Estado Novo Portugal and its colonial empire as well as the British South Africa Police of Rhodesia to coordinate counterinsurgency operations between the three countries. South Africa–Politics and government–1948–1994. From 1923, the SAP also had its own long service medal, which doubled as a medal for gallantry. The basic police training regimen includes courses in criminal investigation procedures, self-defense, musketry, tactical weapons training, drills, inspections, public relations and law. South African police have made important strides to achieving democratic policing and the South African people have acknowledged such progress through their acceptance of the new South African Police Service. [1], The organisational structure of BOSS is said to have been composed of the following departments:[2]:Chp2, In the wake of the Information scandal (known as Muldergate) in which the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) had become mired, the head of the BOSS, Hendrik van den Berg, resigned in June 1978 and was replaced by Alec van Wyk. (Some volunteering and been called up more frequently.) The South African Secret Service (SASS) was the previous name of a South African intelligence agency.Currently, it is known as the Foreign Branch of the State Security Agency.It is responsible for all non-military foreign intelligence and for counterintelligence within the Service itself. Since 1990, South Africa also has provided training for police from Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and the (then) Zaire. A youth wing of this reserve force reported that it had inducted almost 3,000 students and young people to assist the police during the late 1980s.[14]. [13], The Police Reserve, established in 1973, enabled the government to recall former police personnel for active duty for thirty to ninety days each year, and for additional service in times of emergency. During the late apartheid era, the structure and ethos of the South African Police was animated by the task of containing an insurgency. Peter Hain, a South African exile, became the public face of the movement, leading a successful effort to get the South African cricket and rugby teams banned from Britain. Censorship Laws During Apartheid (Drawn from a list published by The Star in 1980): Electoral Consolidation Act (1946): Every report, letter, article, bill, placard, poster, pamphlet, circular, cartoon or other printed matter which is intended or likely to affect the result of an election or by-election to the House of Assembly or provincial council must bear the name and address of the … They were formed either to carry out a specific task or to deal with a particular area of crime. Apartheid—Afrikaans for “apartness”—kept the country’s majority black population In 2012, Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman before becoming president, encouraged police to end a wildcat strike at the Marikana Mine. [2]:Chp4, "Prime Minister John Vorster appoints a Commission of Inquiry under Justice H.J. Formed in 1992 in the run-up to the 1994 South African election following the end of Apartheid, 'Division: Internal Stability' were tasked with the important role of combating violence in the turbulent years leading up to and after the elections. The true consequences was not a blessing to her, and her children. Very little has been written about the South African secret intelligence, but revelations to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the new culture of confessions now make that possible. The police also increased recruitment among black youth and hired international police training experts to advise them on ways to improve race relations in the service. [3]:438, The 19 May 1969 saw the introduction of the Security Services Special Account Bill and that would pass into law on 16 June 1969, and saw the use of money allocated to BOSS as confidential and not subjected to an audit by the Auditor-General as with other government departments. People “fell” from high buildings while in the Police’s care. On 20 November 1978, the Bureau of State Security was brought under tighter control as a cabinet portfolio called National Security managed by Prime Minister who also held the Minister of Defence portfolio. Tricks of the trade included rape, torture and killings. The Vlakplaas farm became the site of multiple executions of political opponents of the apartheid government. The students became the target of the apartheid government’s security police and were often threatened and intimidated. The word “apartheid” means “separateness” in Afrikaans. Botha was looking for an alternative to the policing function of BOSS as well as an alternative to a military view of intelligence, one which would provide long-term strategic intelligence to the government about the southern African region and world. From 1948 through the 1990s, a single word dominated life in South Africa. The police were authorised to act on behalf of other government officials when called upon. To meet the new challenges, the 91,000 active police personnel in 1991, including administrative and support personnel, were increased to more than 110,000 by 1993 and 140,000 by 1995. Source: warwick.ac.uk . 70) of 1965 empowered the police to search without warrant any person, receptacle, vehicle, aircraft, or premise within one mile of any national border and to seize anything found during such a search. KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa, Transkei, and Venda, and was renamed the South African Police Service. 1 review Winter blows the whistle on his career as a journalist working for the South African intelligence forces during the Apartheid years. Potgieter's Commission of Inquiry on State Security is submitted to", This Day in History - The South African Bureau Of State Security (BOSS) established, Crimes and Mysteries of South Africa - The Information Scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bureau_of_State_Security&oldid=980538806, Defunct organisations based in South Africa, Defunct South African intelligence agencies, Defunct law enforcement agencies of South Africa, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Articles containing Afrikaans-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, National Evaluation, Research and Special Studies, This page was last edited on 27 September 2020, at 02:49. [1], During the middle of 1968, the South African cabinet approved the implementation of a centralised security service and on 28 August of the same year, General Hendrik van den Bergh was instructed to start planning the new organisation. I. Worger, William H. II. As the apartheid era ended, these programs were restructured to emphasise racial tolerance and respect for basic human rights. The South African Police were the successors to the police forces of the Cape Colony, the Natal Colony, the Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony in law enforcement in South Africa. [3]:438 The General Law Amendment Bill was introduced on 4 June 1969 and passed into law on 30 June, with two clauses of interest to BOSS. [2]:105 The SAP originally policed cities and urban areas, while the South African Mounted Riflemen, a branch of the Union Defence Force, enforced the state's writ in rural areas. It is also responsible for gathering, correlating, evaluating and analysing this intelligence. Thereafter they formed part of the new South African honours system. Apartheid-era death-squad leader Eugene de Kock, dubbed “Prime Evil” for his role in the torture and murder of black South African activists in the 1980s and early 1990s, was granted parole on Friday after 20 years in prison. The former head of a military research laboratory, Daan Goosen, told the commission that the project had the backing of South Africa’s then Surgeon General, who described it as “the most … Introduction Post apartheid South Africa is emerging as a new country from years of rule based solely on the color of one’s skin. [2]:Chp2, BOSS was actively involved in South Africa's foreign policy. After South Africa became a republic (in 1961), the government instituted an entirely new series of decorations and medals for the SAP. A black girl born to white parents during Apartheid South Africa was a national sensation. Abstract PIP: Male dominated power systems in South Africa coupled with a culture of aggression and domination have not allowed for the mainstream emergence of qualities such as trust, compassion, and gentleness, frequently associated with female virtues. 808 on 16 May 1969 announced the Bureau for State Security's formation and came into being retrospectively on the 1 May as a department under the Prime Minister. [6]:120 [6]:122 Beginning with the covert Operation Savannah in 1975, it helped organize operations against the MPLA during the Angolan Civil War with the assistance of the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. There is a specific scene where the white head of Secret Police made that statement and had emptied the prison of known black career criminals and paid them gold (krugger rands- the cops had stolen from the mint in South Africa) to attack each other and stroke tribal warfare. 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