Protest over ban on white dissident group

Press, 24 August 1988, Page 13

Protest over ban on white dissident group

NZPA-Reuter Johannesburg South Africa has effectively banned a white dissident group that campaigns against compulsory military service, drawing a barrage of criticism from anti-apartheid student and political groups. The End Conscription Campaign (E.C.C.), was the nineteenth opposition organisation to be virtually outlawed by Pretoria

this year. It was also the first significant white group to be hit by the Government crackdown on dissidents. Announcing the ban yesterday, the Law and Order Minister, Adriaan Vlok, accused the E.C.C. of urging young men not to serve in South Africa’s Armed Forces and helping draft dodgers to obtain permits to live in Britain. "The E.C.C. attempts to create an impression of

political neutrality, but it is not difficult to see the organisation’s role in the revolutionary onslaught against South Africa,” Mr Vlok said in a statement. The ban, which prohibits the E.C.C. from “carrying on or performing any activities or acts whatsoever,” provoked outrage among white middle-class -university students, the group’s main support base.