Factsheet: South Africa's "State of Emergency"¶
Washington Office on Africa (1985). Factsheet: South Africa's "State of Emergency". The Washington Office on Africa.
| Type | primary source |
| Scope | Wider apartheid literature |
| Method | primary document |
| Period studied | 1985–1985 |
| Regions | Transvaal (Johannesburg/Witwatersrand and Vaal), Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth/Uitenhage), South Africa |
| Themes | politics ideology elections, resistance social movements, sanctions divestment, business and state |
| Citation key | africa1985 |
Argument¶
This two-page advocacy factsheet from a church- and union-sponsored lobby records the declaration of the 21 July 1985 state of emergency in 36 magisterial districts. It sets out the police powers under Section 3 of the Public Security Act of 1953, the early arrests and deaths, and the contrast with the 1960 and 1976 episodes. It then collects reactions from domestic opponents and international governments (France, UK, US). It is a descriptive news digest with no economic analysis; its value is as a dated primary record of the political crisis and of early international responses, including France's investment cut-off and the US defence of constructive engagement.
Evidence and method¶
Press-derived reporting and official statements as quoted in the factsheet: the declaration by State President P.W. Botha, police arrest and death tallies, and statements by Tutu, Naude, Boesak, Sizani, Slabbert, the French, British and US governments and Shultz. No sources are cited formally.
Place in the debates¶
- sanctions effectiveness / constructive engagement vs. pressure (see Sanctions, disinvestment and the anti-apartheid movement). The factsheet comes from a sanctions-supporting lobby. It records France's investment cut-off and the Shultz defence of constructive engagement, but offers no analysis of effectiveness.
Findings¶
-
Arrests were rapid and targeted civil society leaders during the first five days of the emergency. (p. 1)
By July 25, the fifth day of the "state of emergency," police had arrested at least 792 people, mostly blacks, including many church, labor and community leaders.
-
Official reports admitted police killings during the first days of the emergency. (p. 1)
Official reports admitted that 15 had been killed by police since the "state of emergency" went into effect.
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The emergency was the first since 1960, when the Sharpeville killings prompted one. (p. 1)
was in 1960, following the killing of 67 peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpevi11e.
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The Public Security Act gave security forces sweeping powers. (p. 1)
Under the. Act, police and security forces are given virtually unlimited powers.
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The emergency was geographically concentrated on the Witwatersrand/Vaal industrial core and the Eastern Cape. (p. 2)
grouped around Johannesburg in the northern Transvaal region and Port Elizabeth in the eastern Cape Province
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Opposition leader Slabbert said the reform project had failed. (p. 2)
This government has neither the ability, the plans nor the talent to cope with the demands of genuine reform.
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France responded with a diplomatic and investment measure. (p. 2)
recalled French Ambassador to Pretoria, cut off all new French investments, claiming South Africa has
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The US administration kept to constructive engagement and rejected sanctions. (p. 2)
and reiterating his opposition to economic sanctions.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Security Act of 1953, Section 3 (emergency powers) | legislation gazette | 1953; invoked July 1985 | Supplies the legal basis for the July 1985 emergency declaration and the police powers, duration limit and penalties the factsheet describes. |
| Official government reports on deaths in police action during the emergency (unspecified) | commission or official report | 21-25 July 1985 | Source for the figure of 15 killed by police since the emergency began. |
| Unspecified reports on arrests (792 detained by 25 July 1985) and on police shootings at Tumahole and the Cradock funeral bus | newspapers periodicals | July 1985 | Establishes arrest totals and specific incidents during the first days of the emergency. |
| Public statements and speeches of South African and foreign actors (Tutu, Naude, Boesak, Slabbert, Howe, Shultz, State Department communique, French government) | other | 20-25 July 1985 | Quoted to document domestic and international reactions to the emergency declaration. |
| Speech by Sir Geoffrey Howe before the Royal Commonwealth Society, 23 July 1985 | other | 23 July 1985 | Quoted as the British government's response calling for Mandela's release and an end to the emergency. |
Inference¶
Quantification: Illustrative figures.
Short advocacy factsheet: descriptive news-style reporting of a single event, with a legal summary of the statute and quoted reactions. It adds historical comparison to the 1960 emergency and the 1976 unrest. No systematic data or analysis.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| A state of emergency took effect on 21 July 1985 in 36 magisterial districts around Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. (p. 1) | Government declaration under the Public Security Act, with the districts listed; no source cited. | Partial data |
| By 25 July police had arrested at least 792 people, mostly black, including church, labour and community leaders. (p. 1) | Unnamed press or official reports on arrests; no source cited. | Partial data |
| Official reports admitted that 15 people had been killed by police since the emergency began. (p. 1) | Unspecified official reports. | Partial data |
| The emergency gives police and security forces virtually unlimited powers, including detention without charge, curfews, movement controls and press censorship. (p. 1) | Summary of the Public Security Act of 1953; the text is not quoted or cited by section. | Asserted |
| Police actions during an emergency are not subject to judicial review. (p. 1) | Summary of the Public Security Act; no citation. | Asserted |
| No emergency was declared in 1976 despite some 600 or more deaths at the hands of police in over a year of unrest. (p. 1) | Historical comparison with no source given. | Asserted |
The author's caveats¶
The factsheet gives no data caveats. It describes the arrest figure as 'at least' and notes that it is not yet known whether any National Key Points have been taken over.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The factsheet cites no documents for its figures on arrests, deaths, the 1960 emergency and the 1976 unrest. It would need the official proclamation and regulations, police and Ministry of Law and Order statements, and independent monitoring such as Detainees' Parents Support Committee or SAIRR lists, all of which existed in 1985. Later sources such as the TRC records and SAIRR Surveys would allow verification of the casualty and detention counts.
Replicability: Data poorly documented.