Vol. 387 No. 4
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government intend to take any initiative either directly or through the United Nations or the EC to secure the release of the hundreds of detainees held without trial in South Africa, a number of whom are now on hunger strike and in danger of death; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
26.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on such initiatives as he and the Government are taking, either unilaterally or in the context of European political co-operation, to address the situation arising from the present hunger strike of Dr. Alan Boesak and the detainees in South Africa protesting at detention without trial by the racist regime.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 26 together.
As Deputies will be aware, we and our other partners in the Twelve have urged repeatedly on the South African Government the need to take urgent and active steps to initiate a genuine national dialogue with all sections of the South African population. An essential first step in this process is the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and detainees. The Twelve lose no opportunity to repeat their views in this regard and have also made several approaches to the South African Government in this sense.
Deeply concerned by the potentialy tragic situation arising out of the decision by up to 300 prisoners detained without trial to go on hunger strike to oblige the authorities to charge or release them, the Twelve made a joint approach to the South African Government on 16 February. We conveyed our concern about the situation of all those detained without trial and stressed the importance of respect for human rights in this regard.
The Government have noted and welcomed the series of meetings which the South African Minister of Law and Order has had over the past week with family and legal representatives of the detainees as well as with a delegation from the South African Council of Churches. We have also welcomed reports that following this, the hunger strike was suspended in a number of prisons and that a number of detainees have been released in recent days and many more may be released in the next two weeks.
The Government nevertheless wish to take this opportunity to call once again on the South African Government immediately and unconditionally to release all political prisoners and detainees and to seize the opportunity this would afford to initiate a meaningful process of change towards a fully democratic and multiracial South Africa.
