ACDP Parliamentary newsletter - 19 September 2003

In this issue:

1. Citizens abroad given the vote!
2. Ncguka investigation double standards, says ACDP
3. HIV infections in prisons due to overcrowding
4. Firearms and Freedom
5. Heritage Day: Celebrating our Freedom, Celebrating our Symbols

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1. Citizens abroad given the vote!

South African citizens living abroad will be allowed to vote in next year's general election, following objections by ACDP spokesperson on home affairs Steve Swart and ACDP-organised petitions from citizens living overseas.

The ACDP welcomed amendments to the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill passed in the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee in Parliament today, allowing three categories of special votes: South African students, citizens temporarily out of the country such as holidaymakers and people abroad for business reasons.

"From the time this Bill was tabled before the committee, the ACDP has advocated that such an amendment should be included, allowing all South African citizens to vote rather than limiting it to just government officials overseas," Mr Swart said.

"We therefore welcome this extension proposed by the Independent Electoral Commission after I raised this issue with the IEC during previous hearings.

"We believe this amendment was brought about inter alia as a result of efforts by the ACDP in organising a petition for South Africans abroad to voice their concerns about being excluded from the voting process," Mr Swart said.

"If this action had not been succesful, the ACDP would have made use of the services of Senior Advocate Mike Maritz and Marius Helberg to take the matter futher in the Constitutional Court."

According to the Bill which will now go before the National Assembly and National Council or Provinces for approval, the right to vote will be limited to those who have registered to vote in South Africa, have a residential address and an identity document but will exclude people who have emigrated or taken citizenship of other countries.

"We encourage South Africans who qualify to take this opportunity and register to vote as soon as possible. We also encourage potential voters who do not yet possess a bar-coded identity document to apply for one at the department of home affairs, which has waived the fee for the issuing of IDs as well the cost of photographs, until the closure of voter registration.

"We would like to see as many people as possible to have their say in the governing of our country," Mr Swart said.

For more information: Steve Swart MP at 083 285 6290
Media Liaison: Charmaine Horne at 084 370 3550 or 021 403 3307


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2. Ncguka investigation double standards, says ACDP

Media statement by ACDP leader Revered Kenneth Meshoe

Cabinet's decision to appoint a judicial commission to probe claims that National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was an apartheid era spy are strange, considering its reluctance to investigate allegations of corruption against the deputy president, says ACDP leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe.

"We find it odd that the government has been so quick to initiate a commission of enquiry to investigate claims against Ncguka when they have been incidents in the past where they have been asked to establish enquiries and they have been reluctant to do so. They are applying double standards in choosing to investigate Ncguka, as the evidence against Deputy President Zuma reported in the media seems far more serious than that against Ncguka," Rev Meshoe said.

"If the government believes this about Ncguka, it shows the ineffectiveness of their intelligence that has failed to discover such activities in the past. A person in such a high position should been thoroughly screened.

"We believe there is more to this investigation than meets the eye - it is indirectly intimidation. If Ncguka is removed as a result of these allegations, it sends a clear message to the next Director of Public Prosecutions not to investigate top government officials or former Cabinet MInisters."

Rev Meshoe said he also finds it strange that spy allegations against Ncguka only came out during the investigation of a high-ranking ANC official.

"Why did these allegations not come out earlier? Perhaps it is a case of the ANC playing 'If you don't tell, I won't tell'. If the Scorpions had not investigated Mr Mac Maharaj, would he still have supported allegations against Ncguka?" Rev Meshoe asked.

"This could be the reason the government chose to take the route of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe. Perhaps it is a case of if they don't push Mugabe too hard, he won't tell all he knows about some top members of the ANC.

"We would be curious about how many others in the ANC government will be accused of being spies. If there is anyone who has information about this, they should come forward so that Ncguka is not isolated," Rev Meshoe said.

"Most South Africans support the work by the Scorpions and instead of ostracising them, the government should show that their work is appreciated."


For more information: Rev. Kenneth Meshoe MP at 082 962 5884 National Media Director: Rev. Selby Khumalo at 082 476 4990 Media Liaison: Charmaine Horne at 084 370 3550 or 021 403 3307

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3. HIV infections in prisons due to overcrowding

The rising level of HIV infections in prisons reported by Inspecting Judge of Prisons, Johannes Fagan is concerning, says ACDP spokesperson on correctional services Steve Swart.

"The dramatic rise of the natural death rate among prisoners mainly as a result of HIV/Aids is a clear indication of the high levels of sodomy in prisons due to overcrowding," Mr Swart said.

"While we welcome attempts to alleviate prisons overcrowding, much more needs to be done. Although there has been a decline in the number of awaiting trail prisoners, this issue remains a problem and inordinate delays in the finalisation of court trials contributes to the large number of awaiting trial prisoners.

"The ACDP believes that non-violent people should not be kept in prison merely because they cannot afford bail. There are many people that should not be in jail and these people are creating a backlog in the criminal justice system."

Alternatives such as restorative justice, rehabilitation programmes and juvenile offender diversion programmes can offer solutions, says Mr Swart.

"A restorative justice approach should be implemented whereby awaiting trial prisoners who are not a danger to society acknowledge their guilt at the outset and are held accountable for their actions. Even though they may have limited financial resources, some form of repayment to the victim or community service is considered.

"A restorative justice process together with a plea-bargaining arrangement will go a long way to speed up the finalisation of court cases and cut down on the number of awaiting trial prisoners.

"This approach does not however apply in the case of those accused of serious offences such as murder, rape or hijacking. The ACDP is on record as advocating death penalty for serious offences such as murder and rape and particularly the rape of babies and children," Mr Swart said.

For more information: Steve Swart MP at 083 285 6290
Media Liaison: Charmaine Horne at 084 370 3550 or 021 403 3307

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4. Firearms and Freedom

Speech given by ACDP MP (NCOP) Mr Kent Durr at a Fire-arms Society Dinner in Durbanville

Life is full of paradoxes.

In 1963 I arrived in Juba in the Equatoria province of the Sudan on my way down through Africa and landed in the middle of a civil war and uprising. I met with a column of Land Rovers led by a tall young very good looking Spanish grandee who had been hunting elephants in nearby Chad... In 1994 I attended a black tie dinner at the Savoy Hotel of the Shikar club. It is a club run by Scottish and English aristocrats that share a love for field sports. To belong to this club one is supposed to have hunted plains game with success and you have to be someone good to dine with.

As I was seated at the main table, a tall and distinguished man entered and was introduced as our guest speaker. He was introduced as the greatest elephant hunter of all time having hunted elephants all over Africa. But now he headed a large international trust for the preservation and protection of the African elephant. He has done more than anyone in his field this past 20 years, to protect the African elephant. Many members of the Shikar club supported his trust financially.

He looked at me, I looked at him and we instantly recognized each other: Juba 1963. "The horseman" he exclaimed. "The elephant hunter" said I.

Life is full of paradoxes. One is that it is so often the hunters and the field sportsman that are the greatest conservationists. Another is that it is in giving that we receive! He told us a compelling story of huge herds of elephants in places that are no more. It was not the sportsman that killed them, but the poachers. It was a gruesome tale.

Life is full of paradoxes.

Another paradox is that it is in bearing and owning firearms and being skilled in their use that we contribute most to peace and the protection of our persons, our families, our societies, our nations and to our peace of mind.

It amazes me that with all the evidence so overwhelming and so graphic that we still have to contend with people like the Gun Free lobby. Have they not read their history?

It is not only true of individuals, but of communities and nations also, that to be well armed is to be prepared for the worst.

Like the defence of liberty, which in every generation has to be defended; we need constantly to parry attempts to deny weapons and side arms to law abiding people and nations. The right is an essential parakleet to liberty, along with free speech.

Rather like the local authority that uses its traffic wardens to raise revenue from soft targets by ticketing cars of church-goers on a Sunday, instead of focusing their resources on the real traffic hazards and dangerous law breakers: The state targets the law abiding gun owners whilst being poor custodians of weapons in their own charge and doing very little that is effective in denying weapons to the criminal and law breaker: A.K. 47's are available on demand and at low cost to those criminals that want them.

Criminals don't respond to amnesties - only law-abiding citizens do.

The American War of Independence was (for not the least reason) won because the American people were armed and could shoot straight. That War of Independence resulted in the 1789 United States Constitution being adopted, followed in 1791 by the Bill of Rights. The 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights declares: "a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to bear arms shall not be infringed".

The lessons of history are legion.

King Saul lost his kingdom to the Philistines who put the Jews into bondage and would not allow Jews to have blacksmiths, in case they made swords and arms.

Christians were not allowed firearms in Turkey. This led to the massacre of 1.5 million Christian Armenians from 1915-1917.

The Christians in the South Sudan experience the same persecution today.

The Soviet Union murdered 36 million peasant farmers and Christians between 1917-1953 (Particularly in Ukraine)

The Nazi's only exempted Nazi party organizations and government officials from the 1938 gun law restrictions in Germany which was the precursor to tyranny in that country.

People were disarmed in Mozambique and Angola after Independence in the 1970 's, before the general slaughter of all opposed to the collectivist states began.

As King Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.

It is said that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Quite so.

One of the greatest examples of this was the story of Finland under General Mannerheim, the Chief of Staff, before the 2nd World War and later the President of Finland.

Between the two world wars he had consistently warned that Finland needed to arm and prepare itself for the dangers ahead. He succeeded in preparing and training a relatively small but effective Finish defence force.

In 1939 Stalin's Soviet Union demanded to set up bases in Finland. Finland refused. On November the 30th, 1939, Stalin attacked with 23 divisions made up of 450,000 men. Stalin expected to do the business in a month or two and then to install a puppet communist regime, as they had done elsewhere in Europe and Asia.

He had not reckoned on Mannerheims Finns. The 160,000 Finish troops were prepared for the fight in white uniforms and on skis in the harsh - 40 degrees Celsius temperatures. Even the Finish communists stood by their countrymen.

By the end of the winter of 1940, the Russians had had enough and draft peace terms where presented and an armistice was signed on the 6th of March 1940. After four months of fighting the Russians had lost 400,000 men that lay with broken eyes in the snow. The Finish lost some 30,000 heroes.

General Mannerheim had laid the foundations of Finish sovereignty, that after much compromise, has now culminated in Finland joining the European Union, and having one of the highest standards of living in the world.

The tree of liberty is indeed watered by the blood of patriots.

The Swiss story is no less heroic in the way they resisted the Nazi Juggernaut in the last war.

When Europe was a Nazi lake, little Switzerland was a pool of liberty in a sea of gathering oppression.

The Swiss were next on the menu to form part of Hitler's gross-Deutchland, with the majority of Swiss being German speaking.

The Swiss solution to Hitler's plans was total resistance, by the entire population.

Switzerland achieved the highest military mobilization in World War II. A full 20% of the population. They successfully fought several air battles.

Hitler attacked every super power of the time: Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the USA, and every neighbouring country, including Denmark, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Austria.

Only Switzerland deterred them. Every road, bridge and pass into that country was manned and mined and the country was prepared and armed. The Germans calculated that they would have to deploy up to 5 million men in order to invade and occupy Switzerland successfully. German intelligence must have reported what Commanding Officer General Guisan said to his Swiss officers in the Rütl Meadow: "I decided to reunite you in this historic place, the symbolic ground of our independence, to explain the urgency of the situation and to speak to you as a soldier to soldiers. We are at a turning point in our history. The survival of Switzerland is at stake". His order was to fight to the last man - never surrender.

The result was the German and Italian armies, massed on the Swiss borders, never attacked. The German army went around Switzerland on its path of conquest.

As the sinister Niccolo Machiavelli wrote in The Prince: "The Swiss are masters of modern warfare and are well armed and enjoy great freedom".

Switzerland is the oldest republic and democracy in the world. It also has the distinction of having the highest per-capita gun ownerships in the world. The two things are related.

Eternal vigilance: True for nations and for individuals alike today.

That is why the ACDP continues to support the responsible and lawful ownership of firearms, as a building block of liberty, whilst supporting security efforts to deny unlawful weapons to criminals.

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5. Heritage Day: Celebrating our Freedom, Celebrating our Symbols

Speech by ACDP MP (NCOP) Kent Durr during the Deputy Presidents Debate

If we examine our freedom and our heritage, we may well ask what has been the greatest contributor to that freedom and what is the greatest guarantor of that liberty? The answer of course must lie in the values we largely share and the principles that flow from those values; and the policies those values give rise to. Of course there are competing values but there are also shared values.

South Africans know full well what separates us: language, culture, history, geography, education etc. The new challenge is of course to bind and to build upon those values and structures and activities that unite us.

Sameness is not unity. Unity lies in respecting, understanding and accepting the diversity of our country and not allowing for any differences to be debilitating or to become an obstruction to living out ones life to ones full potential.

We must seek the synergism from our differences; The sum of the whole must be greater than the sum of the constituent parts.

We need to harness the centrifugal forces in our society, those things that hold us together and to diminish the centripetal forces that threaten to pull our nation apart: And we are one nation.

One of those great centrifugal forces in our society is of course the value system most of us share that flow from our common Christian heritage.

With few exceptions the most successful states in the world that have escaped tyranny and poverty are those states that are the inheritors of those values and that apply those principles and drivers.

These Christian drivers and characteristics have been and remain (in no particular order) love, faith, honour, order, duty, truth, integrity, diligence, perseverance, hard work, respect for family and authority, humility, selflessness and tolerance.

The distinguishing features that underpin societies founded on Judeao Christian norms and values include: Respect for life; law and order; peace; a hard currency; independence from others and dependence on God; limited government; Freedom of Religion and worship; growing democracy; charity; stability; health; chastity; kindliness; generosity; a sense of maintenance; eternal vigilance; never pinning ones faith on Princes; separation between Church and State; freedom of the press; honouring and putting a high premium on property ownership; an independent judiciary; long term thinking (Westminster Abbey took 400 years to build, Milan Cathedral 500 years), in other words an intergenerational view of life.

Physical characteristics of these successful societies are unwalled villages, unfenced houses, churches in every town and village and active and charitable giving.

Lying at the heart of the Christian conscience and human creation is liberty. The freedom to choose between right and wrong: to make conscience driven choices.

At a worldly level, the rules that govern us that flow from our values ideally should be made in democratic parliaments, founded under God. If those parliaments are to survive they need to have a significant ongoing Christian presence to guard the values and norms upon which they have been founded and to guide the decision makers. That is what we in the ACDP seek also to do.

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