Doctor to fastin protest at use of troopsCAPE TOWN — A Sohth African doctor and anti­apartheid campaigner, Dr Ivan Thoms, said yes­terday he would fast for three weeks in a local cathedral in protest against the use of troops in black townships.

Dr Thoms (33), a mem­ber of the End Consrip- tion Campaign, runs a clinic in Crossroads.

“The use of troops in our townships is effec­tively declaring civil war,” he said.

Dr Thoms said his fast would begin on Septem­ber 17, the United Nations international day of peace, and end on October 7, the first anni­versary of the introduc­tion of troops to the townships in the current w a'^B unrest — Sapa.

>11 Ulwnjhij

w

Why I will tightI HAVE given birth to two sons. By these acts I have assumed two fun­damental responsibili­ties.■ I have a responsibili­ty to my sons to ensure that they are equipped to love and appreciate life, to know and cope with its problems ra th e r than fear them.■ I have a responsibili­ty to society. 1 must en­sure that my children are motivated to respect and promote life to contrib­ute to its continued exis-

^ n e r 17 years’ careful torching and hard work, however, my children

z- \ D A R M Y I N THE TO WNSHIPS

ill be faced, as voung sometimes fne lives of South Africans who are denied, but fight for, the right to lead the kind of

. See what our writer has to say

will be faced, aS young South African white men, with conscription.

They ,will be forced to follow orders — to sjam­bok, throw teargas, kill and maim the spirits and

lives 1 have endlessly striven to provide for myown sons.

To fight effectively, they will be taught to hate and see those they are fighting as the “com­munist enemy” — they will be taught to fear something which, in their

country, is banned.I cannot be neutral.

For myself, my children, and society, I will fight against conscription.

SandyPort Elizabeth

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1

Priests to fast for peaceHe *—*-j —CAPE TOWN — Thirteen

Roman Catholic priests will fast for three weeks in St Mary's Cathedral in Cape Town for a “just peace”, in conjunction

. wilVi - otner priests Iff Johannesburg, Durban andGrahamstown.

The fast, which begins next Tuesday, was an­nounced yesterday by the administrator of St Mary’s, Father Roger Hickley.

The call for a fast and vigil of prayer emerged from a meeting of clergy called by the vicar-gen­eral of the Roman Catho-

c Archdiocese, Monsig- nor Laurie Henry, to dicuss the crisis facing the country.

One priest will fast under medical supervi­sion for the entire period, taking only water, and the others for 24 hours each.

Dr Ivan Toms, a doctor in Crossroads and mem­ber of the End Conscritp- tion Campaign, will fast for the same period in St George’s Cathedral.

The fast will end on October 7, which is a nat­ional day of fasting for a just peace. —Sapa.

PRETORIA — Sofdiers shot and killed a man when a stolen car burst through a roadblock in Soweto at the weekend.

A n o th e r m an was s e r i ­ously in ju re d and a man and a w om an ra n away.

A b la c k p o l ic e m a n wasb u rn t to d ea th w hen a mob p e tro l-bom bed his Soweto house on S a tu r ­day morning.

in Langa tow nsh ip n e a r Port E lizabe th , police d iscovered the c h a r re d body of a b lack pe rson u n d e r ty res on S a tu rd av a f te rnoon , ac­cord ing to a spokesm an fortheS.A.P.

In B eaufo r t West, a sol­d ie r was se r iously in_ ju re d when m obs stoned a n SADF vehicle.

In kwaZakele in the E as te rn C ape a man f ired shots a t a mob s ton ­ing his house . A woman was slightly in ju red . — Sapa.

MeetingW ■*' * v- 1to mark

end of ECC fast

W itness ReporterA MEETING in the city tonight will mark the end of the End Conscription Campaign’s three-week fast for a just peace.

The meeting will be held at the St Mary’s Hall in Loop Street and the keynote speakers will be Mrs Helen Joseph, Arch­bishop Denis Hurley and the Reverend M. Tisane.

In a statement the ECC called on the public to join a 24-hour fast in sup­port of their call for troops to be withdrawn from the townships.

“Today is the first an­niversary of the SADF’s entry into the townships and our fast is being acti­vely supported by a num­ber of organisations around the world,” the statement said.

The fast also backs a call for the state of emer­gency to be lifted. The statement, noting that 268 people have been killed in unrest since the declaration of the emer­gency, concluded that: “far from containing the unrest the state of emer­gency appears to have exacerbated” it.

>2

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p ro

Tutu joins ECC fastJO H A N N E SB U R G — Bi-

Ighop Desmond Tutu, the k glican Bishop of Khannesburg, begins a 24-hour fast today in sol­idarity with members of the End Conscription Campaign who are fast­ing as part of a call for the removal of the SADF

■bom the townships.™ An ECC campaigner,

Mr Harold Winkler, who has been fasting in the Khotso House chapel in Johannesburg for '10 days, will continue until October 7 — the day troops first entered the townships last year. — Sapa.

100 join ECC fast ^ 'for a ju st peace’

Witness Reporter MORE than 100 Pietermaritzburg people have joined the End Conscription Campaign’s two-week fast, call­ing for a just peace in South Africa.

The fast, part of the ECC’s “troops out of the town­ships” campaign, began on Sunday outside the Cathe­dral in Church Street where members of the ECC and other organisations are to fast in relay.

Local ECC chairman Ms Jacque Boulle said the theme of the fast was “a just peace”, but it also called on the SADF to get out of the townships.

Groups supporting the ECC call for a fast include the Pietermaritzburg Association for Christian Social Action (Pacsa), the National Education Union of South Africa (Neusa), the Joint Academic Staff Association of the University of Natal (Jasa), the Nat­ional Union of South African Students (Nusas)Young Christian StudenUJYCS), the Students Union for Christian Action (Su M k id the Black Sash.

The churches’ In te n tio n a l Year of the Youth committee is to fast on Saturday and Sunday. Anyone wishing to join the IYY fast can contact Bentley Da­vids at Ubunye House, or telephone54ai9_

reaft,1

1 _ Fundamentalprinciple of democracy

ACCORDING to the Government, South Africa is a democratic country. This, of course, is not true, but let us suppose for one moment that it is. . . . e

One of the fundamental principles oi a democracy is the right of group A to disagree with group B, and the right of any such group to state its viewpoint without fear of retribu-

11 Why then, in this “democratic” society of ours, does the Government react to just such a group, by invading its members’ houses, tak­ing documents and detaining the members of such group? I refer to many groups, but I wish to write of one in particular.

The End Conscription Campaign in no way advocates violence and is in fact against the escalation of violence caused by the SADF presence in the townships. I also imagine that the ECC is not sponsored by any Muscovites, intent on regional de-stabilisation? In fact, the ECC is guilty of only one crime, a crime that does not occur in the statutes oflaw — the crime of disagreeing with the Government.

The Government has said that it would talk to any group which renounces violence. It would seem that any hope of dialogue has ended and would in reality be a monologue.

I therefore call upon the Minister of Law and Order to illustrate the Government’s good intentions by releasing the detained mem­bers of the End Conscription Campaign.

HILARY J. REYNOLDS Holliday Street

Pietermaritzburg

lers w rite-Jb-'"? w w

State of crisisOUR country is in a state of crisis. The Gov­ernment is conscripting our men, not to de­fend our borders but to “p olice” our town­ships under the present state of emergency. The declaration of the state of emergency indemnifies the Security Forces in advance against legal action which could arise from actions which would be considered illegal under normal conditions.

One must accept that violence committed while “following orders” cannot be con­doned, although this is used as an excuse by those who perpetrate such violence. The Nuremberg trials proved that this excuse of “following orders” is not an- acceptable excuse under international law. Yet South Africa conscripts its men, gives them no freedom of conscience, no freedom of choice. Individual freedom of choice, like freedom to follow your conscience, is funda­mental to human dignity. This the South African Government denies our men.

Conscription is not part o f South Africa’s history. The Frontier Wars, the Boer Wars, the two World Wars were fought by volun­teers. Now, while the rest of the world is in­creasingly rejecting violence as a means of settling differences, this country conscripts men, not to fight foreign invaders or to fight for the freedom of mankind, but as an instru­ment of oppression.

We must call, as a nation, for an end to the state of emergency, the release of political prisoners and detainees, the withdrawal of the SADF from the townships, for an end to conscription, to the degradation of our people by the denial of freedom of choice as to whether or not we commit acts of vio­lence. We must meet, as friends, around the negotiating table and reach consensus.

I call upon everyone who supports this point of view^ to support the resolution of the National Initiative for Reconciliation by spending October 9, 1985 in contemplation and repentance of the wrongs of our nat­ional way of life which have led us to the present crisis, rather than to attend our usual places of employment. This should not be seen as a “strike” or “boycott” but as the start of a new' life for South Africa.

JENNIFER VERBEEK, Shores Road, Pietermaritzburg

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Dr Ivan Toms, who ended his "fast for a just peace" yesterday, was given a standing ovation last night when he entered a packed City Hall where a rally was held by the End Conscription Campaign to mark the end of its "Troops Out" campaign and the end of Dr , Toms's fast. Dr Toms is holding a symbolic candle. The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Rev Philip Russell, is just behind hlnn_

• Report, page 4

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................................S T S

DR IVAN TOMS finishes his fast today, thinner but richer. He has saved himself the cost of three weeks’ foodJ

The economy of fasting is just one of its many spin-offs. Ten or 12 years ago I fasted weekly, on Thursdays, as much to practise self-discipline as anything, but quickly realized I was also sav­ing lunch money.

This was particularly u se fu l on u p c o u n try trips when, like most of my journalistic kind, I had difficulty working out my expenses. Claim­ing for a Thursday lunch and dinner I never had, bu t was e n t i t le d to, helped to account for other money I couldn’t remember spending.

All over South Africa people have fasted, are fasting, or intend to fast (on W e d n e sd a y th is week, for example) for th e sa lv a tio n o f th e country. Coincidentally, if a sufficient number fast long enough, they will also find it easier to balance their household budgets.

My late father always used say, when prices went up: “There’s only one thing for it. We’ve got to stop eating.”

But it wasn’t until the R e v e r e n d B e r n a r d Wrankmore nearly fast­ed to death on the slopes of Table Mountain that I did stop eating, at least for short periods. Not to protest against anything, only to break my en­slavement to food. To give my digestive system a rest. And to benefit from th e p u rifica tio n process thaJM^l fasting sets off.

There was another bo­nus, besides the econom­ic one. In the right condi-

tain point, fo

ve

John Scott

tions, you get high on fasting, without fear of prosecution under the Dependence-Producing Substances and Reha­bilitation Centres Act.

F a s tin g i s n ’t easy , though. I quickly discov­ered that my emotional need for food was great­er than the physical. It was the stresses of a working day that made it h a rd es t to re s is t the t e m p t a t i o n s o f th e takeaway shop, not the grumblings in my empty stomach.

At the age of 33 I felt com pelled to make a spiritual gesture, and for three days I fasted alone on top of the mountain above Tokai. Lack of food made my imagina­tion run riot.

At dusk one evening I spotted a man standing a little way off from my tent, and asked what he wanted. He refused to reply, which wasn’t sur­p ris in g b ecause next morning he turned out to be a tree-stump.

I t was in te re s tin g , th erefo re , to see how brigh t-eyed , m entally alert and quietly sane Dr Toms was when I visited him in the St George’s Cathedral crypt on F ri­day, the 17th day of his water-only diet.

Smells of cooking waft­ed round one of the arch­es of the crypt, where a kitchen provides cheap meals for people who sometimes have to fast involuntarily. Dr Toms said the smells didn’t worry him. Beyond a cer-

pOint, food is no lo n g e r th e g r e a te s ttemptation.

(To do the right deed for the wrong reason is, said a poet about an- other protestor, in an­other cathedral).

Dr Toms looks well, if pale, but if he stands up too quickly he becomes dizzy which is all ex­plained in terms of ke­tone bodies, gluconeo- genesis, hypoglycemia and other jargon by a book I have on fasting.

He has a c o n s ta n t stream of visitors, 1 500 until that point. Nearly all to wish him well in his cam paign against conscription, some to fast with him. One ill- disposed exception had come in raving the day before.

“You can’t be more passive than simply not eating,” said Dr Toms, “but even that was too much for him.”

While we sat chatting, two building society se­curity guards came in and warmly greeted him, offering him their bless­ings. They grasped my hand too, apparently un­der the impression I was a member of the fasting team.

Pointing at my waist­line bulge, I explained I had only recently had breakfast, and was look­ing forward to my lunch. Indeed, before writing this column, I rushed out to buy a doughnut, to give my creative juices the necessary emotional support.

But fasting is infec­tious, and I think I’ve caught the bug again. It’s as good a way of trying to save the country as any suggested by the politi­cians, and helps you to beat inflation into the

:ain.barfja

In the Durban area, the fa s t a t t r a c te d w ide­spread support. Apart from someone who ac­com panied Mr Steele daily on a rotation basis during his fast, about 50 others let him know they are also fasting.

Close to 400 people are expected to join the 24- hour International Day of Fast from this evening un til 6 pm tom orrow night when it ends. Mr Steele will break his fast with a meal of yogurt.

The gentle, soft-spoken Christian pacifist and End Conscription cam­paigner who was jailed in 1980 for refusing to do military service, fasted

>regularly during that time to- protest against being held in solitary confinem ent. But his present fast had been the most difficult, he said.

D uring the tw elve hours a day he spent at the church, a candle was lit “as a symbol of light in a dark environment and a reminder to us of those who are suffering in detention”.

To Mr Steele and other fasters around the coun­try, burning candles is a symbol of hope and re­m em brance of people who are involved in a struggle for justice and peace whether as vic­tims, oppressors or as “com m itted actors of hope"

f t “You know, in prison it is possible to have hope. It comes from having a relationship with even jailers — people — earth and God,” said Mr Steele Whose greatest message to the world can be read from his tee-shirt: Gent­leness is Strength. Sup­port non-voilence in men.

ABOVE: Bernie Wrankmore today. LEFT: During his 66-

day last in 1971

Fast? It’s a farce, says SA’s best known faster

By Linda VergnaniSOUTH Africa’s famous political faster, the Reverend Bemie Wrankmore, strongly disagrees with the present fast for the withdrawal of troops from the townships.

“ It makes me sick the way people mis­use the Gospel of Christ. They never talk of the casualties or the bombings or the burnings which necessitated the troops going in.”

“ However,” he added, “one has to go along with the fast for a just peace.”

Mr Wrankmore sprang to international prominence when he fasted for 66 days in 1971 on Signal Hill to try to get a judicial inquiry into the death in detention of Imam Abdullah Haron.

Later in his fast he asked the Govern­ment to allow judges to visit detainees.Mr Wrankmore said: “ If they had lis­tened to me they wouldn’t have had the death of Steve Biko, they wouldn’t have bad the death of Neil Aggett, we wouldn’t be skunks in the eyes of the world.”

But since the fast he had been a “dif­ferent person”. He no longer believed in confrontation, but love and negotiation.

Mr W rankm ore, chaplain at Cape Town’s Mission for Seamen, said he did not mind people fasting and praying, but he disagreed with the motives and the methods being used. The “ troops out" people were fasting publicly on behalf of End Conscription Campaign rather than fasting and praying privately at the di­rection of God.

He claimed the fasters acted as fronts for organisations whose members called him “a security police stooge” .

“That crowd don’t want law and order. They are revolutionaries not evolution- aries.

“The troops they are talking about are

But Dr Toms, a committea vjnrisuan ana cuu- ■ scientious objector, was still in good spirits, smil­ing, and joking with visitors.

Support has come from people of all colours, a variety of religious denominations, and church and political organisations around the world.

During his fast, he has been joined by others who have fasted for short periods. Tomorrow, he will be joined by hundreds around the world who support his call for a just peace, and to get the troops out of the townships.

“We wanted to draw attention to th is and make people aware of what is going on,” he said.

Among his v is itors have been several nation­al servicemen, uncom­fortable with their role in th e t o w n s h i p s , and schoolboys who have been called up.

“About 20 national ser­vicemen have been here and they have all been hassled about going into the townships, and were looking for advice and support.”

Dr Toms, an End Con­s c r ip tio n C am paign member and the leader of the fast in Cape Town, Durban and Johannes­burg, emphasised that the ECC had nothing against conscriptees.

“We are against con­scription, not conscrip­tees.

“About 40 people who have been called up have also come around. We have been able to help by explaining what they can do and by reducing the conflict they are feel-

our sons. I have three sons, two of them are Navy divers and one is a submariner. Are they trying to insinuate all our boys are Nazis,” Mr Wrankmore asked?

“ It’s the people in the townships who are intimidated and rejoice and are glad that the Army is bringing law and order.

“ As far as I’m concerned, the Govern­ment is changing. Thank God they are at last admitting they are wrong. W e should acknowledge it instead of building hatred where there should be love.”

He said he had spoken to Dr Ivan Toms before he started his 21-day fast in St George’s Cathedral. “I told him I didn’t agree with the motivation or the manner of the fast. For me it took two years of preparation and a lot of praying before I began fasting. It wasn’t an organisation I fasted for. He fronts for a whole organi­sation that I don’t agree with.”

Dr Toms said he knew Mr Wrankmore was “very unhappy” with the fast, but he did not wish to have a public Tight with him.Dr Toms said: “One cannot separate one’s Christian commitment and concern from one’s political commitment and concern. C hristian com m itm ent means you are concerned with the individual, but also that you are concerned with changing the structures that cause oppression and in­justice. If one looks at the Old Testament prophets they often fasted publicly.”

Dr Tom s said the ECC had “ never thought of or accused Mr Wrankmore of being a security police stooge”.Laurie Nathan, national organiser of the ECC, said the Presbyterian, Congrega­tional, Methodist, Catholic and Anglican churches all supported the call to endconscription.

ing.“Many of them are not

straight conscientious ob­jectors, but they can’t stomach the possibility of going into the tow n­ships"

The fast ends tomor­row night with a peace rally in the Cape Town City Hall

Dr Toms works at the E m p ilisw en i SACLA Clinic in Crossroads.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 6,1985

‘Army out’ fast is tough on the body but the resolve is Steele m

RICHARD Steele m ay show signs of a w eakening body but he is an “ac to r of h o p e ” w ho h a s a n in n e r s t r e n g th w hich d ra w s on deep s p ir i tu a l r e ­

sources and an unsw erv ing co m m itm en t totru th and justice.

In the past two weeks the conscientious objector, who will end a two-week fast tomorrow night marking the day Defence Force troops first entered the town­ships last year, has suffered several stomach cramps and headaches and his moods have fluctuated.

But what perturbs him most, is that “so much blocks our fundamental desire as human beings for unity and friendship”.

“I do despair sometimes,” he said giving a rare

Srl“But the crisis of living and working for justice ant" ^ ^ c e is very important. The blocks that exist don t w lvent me from working for it. I can't control the outcome but I can believe in hope. When I hear birds and see sunshine then that is new life. I believe in re-birth and the natural rhythms of changing seasons and that gives me a very profound, deep hope.”

Mr Steele began his fast at St Anthony’s CatholicChurch in Durban, two ------- — . .___days after being released By Dominiquefrom detention, as part of Gilberta nation-wide campaign to get the troops to with­draw from the townships.

He had prepared him­self for the fast “on a more self-reaching spirit­ual level” while in deten­tion. Now he is able to rely on “deep spiritual resources related to the appreciation of natural beauty and sound”.

“Love and care from family and friends has been a source of energy

me,” he said on his day of fasting.

Underweight before he started the fast and still learning to deal with the “psychological aftermath of detention”, Mr Steele was weak and has not ex­perienced “spiritual clar­ity and near euphoria” which is often associated with fasting.

But believes this meth­od of “vindicating one’s

! self, although it is greet­ed “with a certain degree of scepticism”, is “a well- chosen means a t this time”.

“I feel fasting is appro­priate in term s of the campaign as it’s a non- voilent means of action.Also, fasting is about choice. Choosing not to eat, a social custom, for a strong reason fits with our campaign about con­scripts being given the

* freedom of choice,” ex­plained Mr Steele.

“ A fa s t evokes an which we

By Chri* Whitfield

P R IVAN TOMS w ill enjoy his firs t m eal in th ree weeks tom orrow night.

An average of 80 people a day, and 1600 in all by the weekend, had visited the Cross- tor at St George’s Cathedral, a landmark in

Cape Town.Support — local, national and international — has

been overwhelming. Negative reaction has been con­fined to a few irate passers-by.

He has lost eight kilograms, run a gamut of physical and emotional reactions, and described his experience as “very nice”.

“I feel a little bit weaker now and find it difficult to get up in the mornings . .. my body has slowed down a bit and doesn’t want to move,” he said this week­end. . .

Late in the fast, he experienced dizziness when he stood up, and his blood pressure had dropped. At bed­time, he was taking a long time getting to sleep: "My mind just carries on thinking and workingthrough things.”

A walk up two flights of stairs leaves him short of

lends his weight

□ Richard Steele . . . full of hope Picturw by M orrit Reddy

A doctor

Fast an ‘act of solidarity

Stafe'hTEs bacIf at ECC

DR IVAN TOMS is a doctor at the SACLA Clinic in Crossroads. His experiences have convinced him to be­come a conscientious objector. In his words, “Could I continue to serve in the SADF with war declared on the very people I work with and believe I am called by God to serve? Could I put on a SADF uni­form — the same uni­form that symbolises the oppressors in the townships?

Some people want peace at any price. I belie^L the only peace that ^w ieaningfu l is a just peace — where apartheid is abolished and people can live freely as citizens of a unified country, with a truly democratic gov­ernment.”

Dr Toms is presently fasting for three weeks in St Georges Cathedral. GRASSROOTS visited him a few days after the start of the fast. He was looking surprisingly spirited for someone who has had nothing but water for several days — and spoke cheer­fully to his several visitors.

“I see the fast as an act qL solidarity with thost^nffering in the townships. I also feel that it is a chance to show my committment to the struggle for peace and justice in our land.

demands, and put pressure on the govern­ment to stop violence against our people.”

Judging from the visitors book, Dr Tom’s action has captured the imagination and interest of a wide range of peo­ple — from housewives to National Servicemen. Within the first week, over 500 people had visited the cathedral.

“The Naitonal Ser­vicemen I spoke to were very concerned about the issue” said Dr Toms. “They said that many conscriptees did not want to go into the townships, but were afraid to disobey orders. I believe that people should at least be given the right to choose not to take up weapons against fellow South Africans.

“Many people feel paralysed at the mom­ent. They are shocked and outraged at the police brutality in our townships, but they don’t know what to do.I hope that they will join me in fasting, and use the chance to show their support for the Troops Out demand.

“As a Christian, 1 believe in the power of prayer and fasting. Andt i. ♦!*«»♦ fV*ic a r t -

“For the three weeks that I fast, my prayer is that many will recognise, with the ECC, the injustice of the use of troops in the town­ships, and will support the ECC’s call - that troops be withdrawn I from the townships) now, and that we work for a just peace in our land.

“I am inviting every­one to join in a 24 hour fast from 8 p.m. on October 6 to 8 p.m. on October 7. I would like to have over 1000 people fasting together in the cathedral!”

Many other individ­uals will be taking part in the fast, in Cape Town and other centres. Harold Winkler, Wits student, will be fasting for three weeks in Johannesburg, and Richard Steele is fasting for 2 weeks in Durban. In 1980, Richard Steele spent 12 months in military detention for refusing to serve in the SADF. He was recently detained for two weeks

THE government is clearly worried about the growing support of ECC’s call for peace. Shortly before the launch of the Troops Out campaign, the state attacked the. or­ganisation by: —- Raiding the homes of ECC members in Jo­hannesburg, Port Eliza­beth and Pietermaritz­burg.- Detaining 3 ECC members in Durban — Richard Steele, Anita Kromberg and Sue Britton. Their offices were searched and documents confiscated.- Detaining the chair­person of the Western Cape ECC, Michael Evans.

“ Rather than listen to the voice of South Africans the state chooses to detain and harass our members” an ECC spokesperson said. “We are commit­ted to the cause of justice and peace. The Nationalist government,

by its action, is clearlynot.”

But the state’s ac­tions have not broken the spirit of the organi­sation. The members who were detained were released after two weeks, and are con­tinuing with their work.

P e f e fast

nears end for Toms

Chris W hitfieldC A P E T O W N - D r Ivan Toms, who is on a protest fast “to make people aware of what is going on in South Afri­ca”, will enjoy his first meal in three weeks to­morrow night.

An average of 80 peo­ple a day have visited the Crossroads doctor a t St G eorge’s Cathe­dral, Cape Town.

D r T om s has lo s t 8 kg. He described his conditoon at the week­end as: “I feel a little weaker and find it diffi­cu lt to get up in the mornings.”

Late in the fast he ex­p e r ie n c e d d izz in ess when he stood up, and his blood pressure had dropped. At bedtime, he was taking a long time getting to sleep.

A walk up two flights of s ta ir s leaves him short of breath and his muscles sore.

But Dr Toms, a com­m itted C hristian and conscientious objector, was still in good spirits, smiling, and joking with visitors.

S u p p o rt has com e from people of all co­lours, a variety of reli­gious denom inations, and church and political o rgan isa tions around the world.

During his fast, he h a s been jo in e d by others who have fasted for short periods To­m o rro w he w ill be jo in e d by h u n d re d s around the world who support his call for a just peace, and to get the arm y out of the townships.

“ About 20 national servicem en have been here and they have all b een h a ss le d ab o u t going into the tow n­ships, and were looking for advice and support,” said Dr Toms.

“Many of them are “not conscientious objec­to rs , bu t they c a n ’t stomach the possibility of going into the town­ships.”

ECC TROOPS OUT OF THE TOWNSHIPS CAMPAIGN“THE day the first SADF soldier entered the townships was the day the government declared war on our people. That was when P W Botha ‘crossed the Rubicon’ — and entered the highway speeding towards civil war.”

This was said by Crispian Olver at a meeting to launch the End Conscription Committee’s “Troops Out” campaign. The meeting was held on Septem­ber 22 — the United Nations International Day of Peace.

“When have we in South Africa ever known peace?” Crispian asked. “We are told the SADF is a “peace-making” force, that Inkatha beats up UDF members in the name of “peace” .

“This word peace is bandied about until it is meaningless. But the word belongs to those who suffer. Our task is to reclaim the word peace, and restore its true meaning”

The ECC believes that the presence of SADF troops in the townships is “distancing us by the hour from peace in South Africa.” The Troops Out Campaign aims at making people aware of the suffering of township residents at the hands of the SADF and the police.

But as an organisation fighting conscription, ECC is also concerned for the white conscriptees being forced to take up arms against their fellow South Africans.

“Many young white conscriptees don’t even know what is going on. They are given weapons and told to enter the townships. They learn that their black brothers and sisters are their enemy.

“ But a growing number of National Servicemen are unwilling to enter the townships. These are faced with strong disciplinary action. Recently, Alan Dobson was courtmartialled and heavily fined for refusing to go into the townships.”

The ECC is organising a number of activities around the Troops Out demand. The central thrust is a three week fast by Dr Ivan Toms in Cape Town, and fasts by a number of other individuals in Cape Town and other parts of the country. Other activities include:• A daily programme and evening church services at St. George’s Cathedral where Dr Toms is fasting• Vigils• An art exhibition at the Baxter Theatre.

The campaign will culminate on October 7 —the anniversary of the day SADF troops first entered Sebokeng last year. On this day, people in South Africa and other countries will be encour­aged to join the fast.

Cape Town City Hall - .. .Mon. Oct 7 8.00 pm A" ^Icome

WE WANT PEACE’ FAST!

Odr 1* 3

Dr. Toms Lights the candle that w ill burn throughout his 3 weekfast for peace.

PEACE RALLY

U n sett I i n g art Troops in JhgJgwnshiPsDALE LAUTENBACH T ^ 0 _0P!5 I " . ' * 2 ^ 1 *7 — __________ _______ i fam ^ar s ght m C^pe low r‘ • _ eas^ res,sta

& r <

llST* art embraces one cause or another, no

m atter how implicitly and individually: even “art for a rt’s sake” is a cause of a kind.

Art For Peace, a protest exhibition of 92 works by local artists and on show now in the Baxter ! Theatre foyer, has artists collectively embracing a very specific cause and shouting out loud their association with an exhibition th a t not only makes worthy viewing but is based on a worthy concept.

The event is sponsored by the Cape Town End Conscription Campaign, an effort all the more in one’s consciousness now with the organisation’s Fast For A Just Peace action.

And with this and a host of related agonies on people’s minds now and in our daily news, it is fitting that these artists have pinned their co­lours to the mast too.

It is a universal truth that for the writer, a rt­ist, activist or armchair ideologue there is al- w ^ s protest; no m atter how apparently comfort- a .^ ^ a society, there is always something with which to take issue — if one chooses.

The voice of protest in societies less torn apart than ours finds its expression in art and is often criticised for being too literal, caught up in pro­selytizing first and concerned with the making of a rt second.

A number of the works on this exhibition are literal but I prefer to call them documentary. And I found it interesting that this was exactly the kind of work 1 wanted to see now. Interesting too that few works here fail artistic consider­ations while making their bold statements.

In a warm and rousing introduction to the ex­hibition, Dr Eve Bertelsen of the University of Cape Town English department, spoke of art as “intrinsically radical”. The artist, she said, could free the viewer’s seeing from habit and con­straint, could fill those silences in our minds which are all the more anguished now.

“The.artist unsettles habit,” she said. These works do it — and rightly so.

She read Jeremy Cronin’s poetry and spoke of the_artist’s effort to speak (or create in whatever p A m ) with the voice of Africa.

TOat effort is on show here.Given the social context and the concept of Art

For Peace, writing about the individual merits of single works does not feel right. There are works which are better than others — more sophisticat­ed, refined and technically adept. But I want to review the exhibition as a total event — an event greater than the sum of its parts.

Art For Peace moved me, unsettled me. I high­ly recommend that experience.

The artists exhibiting are Lauryn Arnott, Mi­chael Barry, Marguerite Bolland, Hardy Botha, Hamilton Budaza, Jochim Burger, John Burnt, Peter Clarke, Jonathan Commerford, Peggy Del- port, Garth Erasm us, Paul Grendon, Patrick Holo, Sidney Holo, Chris Julius, Craig Masters, B rett Murray, Emile Maurice, Shelley Sacks, Mario Sickel, Pippa Skotness, Andrew Steyn, Jan Vermeiren, Louis van Vuuren, Roger van Wyk, Sue Williamson, Gavin Young, Manfred Zylla.

T R O O P S , a re ~ T a " $ " £ 5

b la “ “ c d S le d a r e £ as they hostility increases a n d In s ta n c e to

have become in townships in o d ?^ “ ^ “ S r c ^ u l d not be

so — «national sem eem en. is a disturbing required by politicians to spend sodevelopment. It should be stopped, much of their time m _no t e n c o u ra g e d , fo r it is a which can contribute to further dangerous trend. The effects on the unrest. if gatherings were not civilian populace, and on civilians megal they would not have to temporarily in uniform, are not in ^ dispersed with force. If police this am ntry’s long-term interests. were kept away from funerals.

The use of troops to maintain ^ ere wouid be fewer subsequent law and order is an emergency {unerals. T he solu tion is not measure because the police, whose increasjng militarization or, worse, duty this is, cannot cope. So troop- tQtaj take-over of township carriers b ristling w ith young by the army. It is up toservicemen carpang nfles are sen t » ,itidans to make sensib ein to cordon off an area, to patro arran g em en ts which would

r r - was - tatovmship-dweller has been shot first place.

1 A10 * 2 j r o I t s

teachers join fast

Staff ReporterTHE steering committee o f th e n ew ly -fo rm ed Education for an Aware South Africa (Edasa) has joined the nationw ide fast in support of de­mands for peace and jus­tice in South Africa.

The 10 white teachers ! and s tu d e n t .teachers began their fast on Mon­day and they will contin­ue, on a roster basis, till next Monday.

Bishop Charles Alber- tyn, bishop of the East­ern Region of the City’s Anglican Diocese, will | tomorrow join the fast by Dr Ivor Tom s, w hich began on the night of September 17.

A Edasa spokesperson said the fast was “in line with one of Edasa’s spe­cific aims, which is to i promote a peaceful and j just society by discour­aging m ilitarization in I our schools and actively | supporting the peaceful resolution of conflict”.

Mr A Richman, Obser­vatory: “ Y e s te rd a y s front-page picture shows dramatically how young white conscripts could find themselves in mili­tary action against young people on the Cape flats. This makes many of us even more determ ined never to be conscripted to fight for aparthe id and find ourselves or­dered to shoot friends of o u rs on th e cam p u s down the road.”C .T > (W

Dr Ivan Toms from the Sacla Clinic in Crossroads sits on the steps of St George's Cathedral yesterday to mark day 16 of his 21-day fast for "a just peace" and the withdrawal of troops from South Africa's townships. His fast w ill end on October 8, when a rally to be addressed by Dr Beyers Naude wiJI be arranged in the City.

Pictur,:Pierr* Schoem,,n

bution o f thousands of pamphlets, posters, stickers and badges and the convening of public meetings.

“ We expect thousands o f people to rally to our call and participate in our campaign,” said ECC press officer, Dave Shandler, “we are confident that we have tine support o f people in all sections o f South Afri^on sn r ie tv ” .

D r Ivan T om s - in his th ird w eek o f fasting .

The ‘T ro o p s O u t’ cam paign will end w ith a m ee tin g at the C ity H all on O c to b e r 7. S peakers w ill be B eyers N aude, M olly B lack­b u rn

Fasting for peaceCONSCIENTIOUS objector, Dr Ivan Toms, who is entering his third week of fasting for a just peace in South Africa, has become a focal point for the End Conscription Campaign’s massive ‘Troops out of the Townships’ campaign.

Ivan - a doctor at the Empilis- weni SACLA clinic in Crossroads - began his fast on September 17, the International Day of Peace, and will end it on October 7, the first anni­versary of the troops entering the townships. It is hoped that many other people will join Ivan and others in fast on October 6 and 7 in St. Georges Cathedral.

“We call people nationally and internationally to join in a 24-hour fast to express solidarity with those who are suffering at the hands of the SADF in the townships and in so doing call with us for a just peace in South Africa” , Ivan said recently.

The UCT SRC also began a fast on September 17 and each member has volunteered to fast for a day or more during the three-week period.

Since September 23, Ivan’s parish priest, Rev John Freeth of St John’s Parish, Wynberg, has joined him in St George’s Cathe­dral where he will fast with him until October 7.

The words of Wits student Harold Winkler who is also fasting, illustrate the conscripts dilemma: “ Fasting for three weeks will bring home to me that I am affected by all that goes on around me. The person on top of the casspir could be my brother, or my friend — or me, and the one being sjambokked, teargassed, or shot could be my

Bishop Bruce E vans adressing the launch of the ECC fast.

fellow-student from Wits. I feel that to put myself in such a situa­tion or to support it, would simply be wrong” .

Richard Steele, a Durban con­scientious objector who was recent­ly released from detention is fasting for two weeks.

The presence o f the troops in the townships, said Mr Laurie

Nathan, ECC National Co-ordinator is “ an effective declaration o f war on the people living in those town­ships” . This, he said should not be allowed to continue. Their presence “ is distancing us by the hour from a peaceful resolution to the conflict in South Africa” .

Besides the fasts, the ‘Troops Out’ campaign includes the distri-

Picture: PETER STAN FO RD, The A rgus.

Dr Ivan Toms with Bishop Charles Albertyn of the eastern region of the Cape Town Anglican diocese, who joined the

fast for one day yesterday.

tW b lu j lO [S I* .Dr Ivan Toms: Dizzyspells

Staff ReporterDR Ivan Toms, who entered his 17th day of fasting today, has reported a decrease in blood pressure and spells of dizziness.

Dr Toms, a Christian conscientious objector and head of the Sacla clinic a t Crossroads, left the crypt in St George’s Cathedral yesterday after­noon for a brief meeting with report­ers on the steps outside.

Weak but still in high spirits, he said his blood pressure had dropped and he had experienced his first bout of dizziness after waking up yesterday morning.

Dr Toms said he had received more than 1 500 visitors, an average of 80 a day.

When his fast ends on Monday — the anniversary of troops entering townships for the first time — Dr Toms will not be able to tuck into a substantial meal immediately.

“My body will be too weak to cope w ith a lot of food, so it looks as though I’ll have to lim it myself to fruit juice and steamed vegetables atfirst.”

A spokesman for the End Concrip- tion Campaign (ECC), said the ECC had received a call from the execu­tive secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in West Germany, Ms In- geborg Wieck, who said her organisa­tion and the Green P arty had a r ­ranged a fast in solidarity on Monday.

BISHOP BRUCE EVANS addressing a meeting in Cape Town to aunch a fast calling for the removal of South African troops from the townships.

A number of people are the country are fasting in support of the call by the End Conscription Campaign including a Cape Town doc­tor, Ivan Toms, in the third week of his fast at St George’s Cathedral (Picture by Dave Hartman Afrapix).

FREE US CALL UP

fastingcould have become a vegetable; secondly, some church leaders wanted to have him certified.

“ I didn’t want to be certified or suffer brain damage,” he said, “ but what conJ cerned me was I had promised that when I came down from Signal Hill I'd visit two people in hospital — one who was para­lyzed and the other with cancer.

“ When I was o ff the mountain I went into hiding and felt I hadn’t kept my word.”

At risk to his life he visited these two and realized that his own death was close and blacked out. When he came to he had an incredible feeling o f peace and was shown he’d done everything through his fast that was humanely possible and now “God would take over” .

'Like a drfeam'“ Here I am all these years later and it’s

like a dream I dreamt.”After his fast he became caught up in

many organizations, such as Amnesty In­ternational, and was approached by the Progressive Party.

He also found himself on the ANC mail­ing list.

“ I don’t agree with many o f the frontal organizations to which idea lists are drawn. They turn into revolutionaries, in­stead o f evolutionaries.

“The whole time there is this talk of power — sharing black and white power, Mr Wrankmore said, “ but it is power that corrupts everything for it is coupled with pride.

“ As a Christian there is only one thing for me to aim at all my life and that is humility.

“There has been a cancer in this country and now surgery will take place which is painful but there will be recuperation and healing.”

“ I think the majority o f people deplore what is happening in this country and think: ‘What the heck can I do? ’ ”

He believes each individual has a unique contribution to give to the world and must not get caught up with the herd.

"Life is a journey and a testing ground. At long last I don’t like the adage o f an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

“ Since I was six I fought like the Leo I am but now I’m learning to love and be­come a lamb o f God.

“ You’ve got to show people goodness, bring out the trust and if they don’t re­spond, well they’re the losers.”

______ ANNE BARON

Spiritual peace frontON SEPTEMBER 17, Dr Ivan Toms began his 21-day fast in St George’s Cathedral for a just peace and the withdrawal o f troops from the townships.

Before his vigil he spoke to the Rev Bernard Wrankmore, who fasted for 67 days in a Muslim shrine on Signal Hill in 1971 in a protest against the death in de­tention o f Cape Town Muslim leader Imam Haron.

For two hours these two men, who share a common goal o f creating an awareness to injustices, chatted about the best way for Dr Toms to apply himself to such a strict discipline and discussed their differing views on how to achieve this.

Bernie Wrankmore, who in 1971 was known as “ the man on the hill” and came periliously close to death after extending his original 40-day fast for an extra 27 days, said the first stages o f a fast were the most difficult.

“ The sixth to the ninth days are the worst, then the hunger pangs pass.”

We chatted at the Mission to Seamen, where he is the chaplain, and he said fastitig up to 21 days was “ a good health kick” as the body draws on fat deposits and excretes toxins.

“ Your tongue becomes very furry during this period but when it turns pink like a baby and your appetite returns with a vengeance this is when there are no more waste products for the body to feed on. You feel wonderful.

“ But after this period it is dangerous as your body turns on you and starts deplet­ing itself. There is also the danger o f hal­lucinating and it is necessary to take quan­tities o f vitamin C.”

Changed spirituallyBernie’s fast changed his life spiritually,

leading him to searching for truth and love, “ a perfect love that casts out fear” .

He refers to his fast as a watershed and ever since he’s been mentally climbing mountains, always reaching for another rise. Physically he has always been in peak condition — diving, rowing and climbing.

Looking back 14 years, he said that when he was fasting he was not in this world anymore. “ I was so sensitive you wouldn’t have to tell me anything — I knew."

It was God’s will he was carrying out, he said, but as he came close to losing his life — which didn’t perturb him — there were two things to consider.

Firstly his blood pressure was so low that it didn’t pump to his head and he

The Rev Bernard Wrankmore, who fasted for 67 days on Signal Hill in 1971.

Picture: PETER STANFORD, The Argus

The Rev John Freeth, left, of St John's Parish in Wyn- berg, with conscientious objectc Dr Ivan Toms in St

• Ip riest joins Dr Toms in cathedral fast for peace

Religion ReporterCONSCIENTIOUS objector Dr Ivan Toms — feeling “a bit weak­e r” on the seventh day of his three-week “fast for peace” in St George’s Cathedral — has been joined for the remainder of his fast by his parish priest.

The Rev John F ree th of St John’s parish in Wynberg will fast for 15 days until October 7, called as a national day of prayer and fasting.

A Roman Catholic priest, who has asked not to be named, is fasting for th ree weeks in St Mary’s Cathedral.

Dr Toms, who is fasting in sup­p o rt of the End C onscription Campaign’s “troops out of the townships” call, spends his days in the crypt beneath the cathe­

dral in a small room decorated w ith cam p a ig n p o s te rs and flowers from well-wishers.

The crypt is crammed with a divan and as many chairs for vis­itors as possible.

• The 21 priests and “anywhere between 100 and 200 people” who have joined the fast for peace in St Mary’s Cathedral were doing very well, said F a th e r Roger Hickley, administrator of the ca­thedral.

He said the priest who is fast­ing for three weeks was healthy and feeling fine and other priests were fasting on a roster basis.

Many members of the public had signed up to fast in relays and there was a constant flow of concerned people, he said.

Fast in protestprovesSADF

CAPE TOWN — A South African doctpr and anti­apartheid campaigner. Dr Ivan Thoms, said yes­terday he would fast for th ree weeks in a local cathedral in protest against the use of South African troops in black townships.

Dr Thoms, 33, is well known locally for his work at a clinic in the Crossroads shanty town and for his support of the End Conscription

.Campaign.“The use of troops in

our townships is effec­tively declaring civil war," Dr Thoms said in an interview yesterday, adding he had seen what

he called the “vicious­ness of apartheid" in the riot-torn slums of Cross­roads.

Dr Thoms, who plans to be accompanied by other fasters at various times across South Africa and overseas, said his fast would begin on September 17, the United Nations in ternat­ional day of peace, and end on October 7, the first anniversary of the introduction of troops to the townships in the cur­rent wave of unrest.

“It will be great,” he said of the fast. He will take only drinking water. — Sapa-RNS Rise in draft dodging.

P ll .

Peterin

mmeck m y fast

Religion Reporter CAPE Town actor Pe­ter Krummeck will fast for 24 hours in solidar­ity with conscientious objector Dr Ivan Toms who is fasting for three w eeks in St G eorge’s Cathedral for a “just peace”.

K rum m eck, who is perform ing in Isn’t it Romantic at the Baxter Theatre, will remain in the cathedral for the d uration o f his fa st, leaving only to appear in the show tomorrow night.

Although not a mem­ber o f the End Con­sc r ip tio n C om m ittee who have organised the national fast and pray­e r v ig i l , K rum m eck said be supported the call for the removal ol police and troops from the townships.

By fasting he hoped to “crea te an aw are­ness o f the power ol p ea ce fu l p rotest and a lso dem onstrate the

Peter Krummeck

need for individual in­volvement”.

Dr Toms, who began his fast last Tuesday, has been joined for the past 15 days by his par­ish priest, the Rev John Freeth of St John's par­ish in Wynberg.

Dr Toms has been vi­sited by more than 500 p eop le in nine days, most of whom dropped by to ch a t and g iv e moral support. Others have fasted in solidar­ity.

11 oms nas no illusions over ‘troops out’ fast ., jCONSCIENTIOUS objector Dr Ivan Toms has no illusions that his three-week fast will change the mind of M inister of De­fence General Magnus Malan and lead him to w ithd raw troops from the townships.

Dr Toms is fa s tin g in St George’s Cathedral in support of an End Conscription Com­mittee “troops out of the town­ships” campaign.

He told about 200 people at the University of Cape Town medical school yesterday in his ' first public appearance since becoming Exhibit A in the ca­thedral” that someone had jok­ingly suggested he fast until

troops were withdrawn.™ EIGHTH DAY

“But I’m not in terested in committing suicide,” he said.

Looking drawn and tired and with his clothes hanging loosely on his body on the eighth day of his fast, he said people in the townships often felt that white people did not care about their plight.

tiampaign rejects Vlok allegation

H I T P D A M __ \ ________• _ _| DURBAN — The End Conscription Campaign yesterday rejected the allegation that it was

j “doing the work of the ANC” or any other orga­nisation and said it rep-

I resented only those or­ganisations affiliated to

i the campaign.The ECC was reacting

j in a statem ent to a speech by the Deputy M inister of Defence, Mr Adriaan Vlok, who said the campaign was being used by the ANC to achieve the banned or­ganisation's “evil” goals.

‘Our ' campaign against conscription and the presence of troops in the townships is in no way an attack on South Africa,” the ECC state­ment said.

“Rather it is directed against the use of young white men to uphold the evil system of apartheid, which is condemned the world over. Our iaeals are those of a just peace, which cannot be achieved through force on the part of the De­fence Force.”

Mr Vlok had said

South Africa’s youth needed courage to face the future and added: “We have but one father­land and if we are not prepared to defend it with the weapon, when necessary, we are going' to lose it.

“That is why I, in the strongest term s possible, reject the efforts of cer­tain people, specifically the End Conscription Campaign, to break down the will of our young men and women to defend our country.”

He said South Africa’s course was a just one and “we are prepared to put right what is wrong,” but nothing would be solved by giving South Africa to the ‘enemy.’

“Those people who ap­prove of the ECC’s aims and are prepared to pro­mote it are like clay be­ing moulded by our ene­mies — at this very moment they are being used by the ANC to achieve the ANC's evil goals in South Africa,” he said. — Sapa

13 RC priests tofast fo rj weejis

CAPE TOWN. — Thir­teen Roman Catholic priests will fast for three weeks in St Mary’s Cathe­dral in Cape Town for a

| “just peace” , in conjunc- | tion with other priests in Johannesburg, Durban and Grahamstown.

I The fast, which begins next Tuesday, was an­nounced yesterday bf the administrator of St Mary’s, Father Roger (Hickley.1 The call for a fast and

'vigil of prayer emerged from a meeting of clergy called by the vicar-gener- al of the Roman Catholic archdiocese, Monsignor Laurie Henry, to discuss the crisis facing the coun-K

One priest will fast under medical supervi­sion for the entire period

— taking only water — and the others on a “re­lay” basis, each for 24 hours.

Dr Ivan Toms, a doctor at the Sacla Clinic in Crossroads and member of the End Conscription

forSt

Cahipaign, will fast the same period in George’s Cathedral.

The fast is intended to end on October 7, which will be a national day of fasting for a just of peace in South Africa. — Sapa.

3~W k St f° r P eaCeDispatch Correspondent

CAPE TOWN — The main thrust of the E n d C o n s c r i p t i o n C a m p a i g n ’s “Troops Out" action is a nation-wide three-week fast for “a just peace” to start today — the United Nation’s International Day of Peace.

The fast will also be taken up in Johannesburg, Durban, Pieterm aritz­burg, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth and Stellenbosch.

The fast will be spear-headed by Dr Ivan Toms, a Cape Town doctor who for the past five years has been in­volved in the setting up and operation of the Empilisweni Sacla clinic at

Crossroads, and Mr Harold Winkler, a student at the University of the Wit- watersrand.

Both plan to fast until October 7, the first anniversary of the SADF’s first entry into townships, ECC press offic­er, Mr David Shandler, said yesterday.

Dr Toms will fast at St George’s Cathedral and a solidarity relay fast will take place at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Cape Town.

In a statement, the ECC’s national co-ordinator, Mr Laurie Nathan, said the presence of the SADF in the tow nships fur ther po larised “our already divided society”.

Collection Number: AG1977

END CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN (ECC)

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