Soweto buses stoned

Press, 18 June 1982, Page 6

Soweto buses stoned

NZPA-Reuter Johannesburg Blacks stoned buses at Soweto yesterday as Johannesburg’s black satellite city commemorated bloody township riots in which more than 400 people died in 1976. The bus company said that two of . its drivers had been stabbed.

The police held nearly 50 corresponents for three hours at a central Soweto police station, preventing them from approaching churches where memorial services were • being held. They said that the presence of journalists in the township could provoke incidents. The stone-throwing started in the late afternoon as buses returned to. Soweto carrying people returning from work in Johannesburg.

Many blacks regularly stay away from work oh June 16, which they call “Soweto Day,” in memory of those who died in the 1976 riots which started as a protest against the use of the Afrikaans language in black schools. ■

A bus company spokesman said that a group of blacks had hijacked a bus near Regina Mundi Church, where thousands attended the .main memorial service.

Among the speakers at the service was the Anglican Bishop, Desmond- Tutu, secretary-general -of the South African Council of Churches.

Witnesses said that Bishop Tutu, an outspoken critic of apartheid, intervened to try to stop the stone-throwing