Ivor Markman

Ivor Markman

 

In 1986 violent resistance to the Government’s apartheid policies reached a climax.

Under the iron fist of Prime Minister (1978–84) and State President (1984–89) Pieter Willem Botha, a state of emergency was declared.

A decision was taken to use young white servicemen, who were doing their compulsory national service in the South African Defence Force, to suppress their black and coloured fellow South Africans living in the townships.

Neighbouring countries, such as Angola, were being destabilised by the SADF as they went into the country searching for “terrorists” and members of Umkhonto we Sizwe (the armed wing of the African National Congress) and South West Africa Peoples Organisation (Swapo).

Thousands of young men were “called-up” to fight in these wars.

Repulsed by the thought of fighting  in Angola and South African townships, a group of young activists, with support from the Conscientious Objectors Support Group, founded the End Conscription Campaign (ECC) in Cape Town in October, 1983 and encouraged conscripted school-leavers to reject the national service call-ups.

By the end of the year the organisation existed in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

1984 is regarded as the founding date of the ECC because that is when they held their first public meeting in the Claremont Civic Centre.

It is estimated 15 000 men either left the country to avoid the draft or simply moved and refused to notify the authorities where they were living.

The first two objectors, in 1982, who refused to serve in the army on religious or pacifist grounds, were Billy Paddock and Pete Hathorn.

For refusing to serve in the SANDF the two were jailed.

In 1983 the maximum penalty for avoiding military service increased from two to six years imprisonment.

Another early objector, Brett Myrdal, travelled around the country and spoke at various university campuses.

The Black Sash also joined in the call to stop compulsory military service and passed a resolution to this effect in 1982.

By 1985, when the ECC hosted an international peace conference in Johannesburg, there were branches in Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Stellenbosch, Pietermaritzburg and Pretoria.

When Botha declared a state of emergency in 1986, the SADF deployed national servicemen into the townships.

The ECC campaign was very successful but after only two years it was restricted by the Government.

Then in 1988 it was declared a banned organisation.

For refusing to serve in the SADF, 13 conscientious objectors were jailed and by the time the apartheid regime stopped the compulsory call-up, more than 700 hundred had publicly refused to serve.

In the late 1970’s, in London, political exiles founded the Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR).

This organisation provided support for those young South African men seeking political asylum after refusing to serve in the South African army.

A branch of the organisation was founded in Amsterdam and together with other European anti-apartheid movements, fought to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime.

Banning the organisation had little effect on the draftees and the ECC continued to operate as an underground movement and was even more successful.

Minister of Police, Adriaan Vlok and Chief of the SADF, Gen Magnus Malan referred to members of the ECC as “Public enemy number two - after the ANC”.

A key ECC figure in Cape Town, Crispian Olver, said 23 conscripts declared publicly they would not serve in the SADF in August, 1987.

“The second time, there were 143. Two years later, the number that refused to go was 771. Then it grew to 1021.

“By the fourth call-up, they were not prosecuting people if they didn’t pitch,” he said.

Objector Michael Evans said “It was an illegal act to persuade someone not to do military service. It was not illegal to call for an end to conscription.

"We realised (the resolution) had massive strategic value.

"Our campaign was not saying ‘Don’t go to the army’ — it was simply that people were given a choice.”

After Peter Hathorn was jailed for refusing to serve, his sister Paula joined the ECC.

It was widely suspected the security forces would try to cause accidents by cutting brake cables and over-inflating car tyres.

“Checking tyres before driving was always an absolute must,” said Paula.

 

SOURCE: Business Day; SA History Archive.