Massacres alleged

Press, 1 June 1981, Page 6

Massacres alleged

NZPA-Reuter New York A South African conscientious objector says that South African forces are massacring .civilians and torturing prisoners of War in ; South West Africa (Namibia). Mr Peter Moll, who. was released from an Aripy prison last December ' after serving a 12-month sentence for refusing military calf up, said that the alleged atrocities .were widely/discussed by many solders and, that he had-had them, confirmed by officers in the Army: He provided the names of the officers but asked that they hot be used for their protection., He said; “A . lot of people (in the Army) know about the torture.”' t :

But the general population was unaware of the atroci-

ties because of military censorship laws. Mr Moll is visiting New York and will travel to Bra-

zil under the auspices of the Fellowship of Peace and Ronconciliation, a pacifist

religious organisation based

in The Netherlands,

He said that secret squadrons, including a so-called

Reconnaissance Command, worked outside the regular armed.forees command. “They are a permanent force. A lot of their work is done independently from the rest of the Army. They include blacks and. whites, are as hard as nails, and not quite human beings.” Mr Moll said " that, for example;,a soldier in one of these units might be sent to a village in Angola to track down a supposed terrorist. “He has been told by intelligence that he (the guerrilla) ( is there. The soldier’s got to get him but he can’t find him so he just kills everyone. If they can’t get the fish out of the sea they dry up the sea.”