Police contre soldats à Pretoria – août 2009
SAfrica police fire water cannons to break up soldiers’ march
Jeudi 27 août 2009
PRETORIA — Police used water cannons, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse about 1,200 soldiers who staged an illegal march on South Africa’s government offices, the defence ministry said Wednesday.
Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu called the protest « a serious and immediate threat to national security », and said soldiers who joined the protest would be placed on leave without pay.
Soldiers tried to climb the fence surrounding the main government complex in Pretoria, after a court refused their application to stage a march to demand better salaries, ministry spokesman Ndhivuwo Mabhaya said.
« The military police and other police informed them they have to leave, they refused and then they tried to climb the fence, » he told AFP.
Several cars were damaged as police pushed the soldiers back from the Union Buildings in the capital Pretoria, he said. Soldiers threw a petrol bomb into one vehicle, the SAPA news agency reported.
« Our position is that the march was illegal. The union needs to take responsibility for the actions of their members. We are now consulting with our lawyers whether the union can be held liable for damage to property, » Mabhaya added.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa told reporters that two soldiers had been arrested and handed over to military police.
The South African National Defence Union, which is not recognised by government as an official union, was demanding 30 percent salary increases which Sisulu called « deliberately provocative ».
« This potentially leaves our military bases unprotected and without sufficient numbers of soldiers available to assist the police as the need arises, » she said of the protest.
« Our courts have expressly recognised the military as constituting essential services, and that the prohibition on strikes in the military is not unconstitutional, » she told reporters in Cape Town.
Sisulu told AFP she was concerned about low morale among « certain lower ranks » of soldiers due to salary grievances.
« I would be very concerned about the conditions of employment of a force whose responsibility is to keep us safe, » she said.
In her first budget vote after becoming minister following general elections earlier this year, Sisulu expressed concern over soldiers’ salaries, which she said was one of her priorities.
S African police quell troop rally
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
South African police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and used water cannons against soldiers protesting in Pretoria, the capital.
The unrest – in which a policeman and several soldiers were injured – on Wednesday involved about 1,200 troops waging an illegal march on government offices, the defence ministry said.
One police vehicle and several other cars were set on fire during the day-long protest.
The rally was called a « serious and immediate threat to national security » by Lindiwe Sisulu, the defence minister.
The soldiers gathered on the lawns of the Union Buildings, where central government is based, with some people attempting to climb the buildings’ surrounding fence.
This followed a court refusal of the troops’ application to march to demand improved pay.
Arrests made
« The military police and other police informed them they have to leave, they refused and then they tried to climb the fence, » Ndhivuwo Mabhaya, a ministry spokesman, said.
« Our position is that the march was illegal. The union needs to take responsibility for the actions of their members. We are now consulting with our lawyers whether the union can be held liable for damage to property. »
However, local television footage showed police firing into the crowd, forcing protesters against a fence, over which many had retreated. Police were seen to continue firing in the area, which contains embassies and hotels.
The protest ended when police warned of further force.
Sisulu added that any troops joining the protest would be put on unpaid leave, and that those immediately involved had been suspended.
She said that two soldiers had been arrested and handed to military police.
The South African National Defence Union was demanding a 30 per cent increase in pay. The union is not officially recongnised by the government and Sisulu called the demand « deliberatively provocative ».
She added that there was now the potential that military bases were unprotected and that there was a lack of troops to support police if necessary.
SAfrican police clash with protesting soldiers
26 août 2009
JOHANNESBURG — Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as violence flared during a wage protest by South African soldiers in the streets of Pretoria, the capital.
A policeman and several soldiers were injured. A police vehicle was set alight and a number of other cars were also damaged in violence during the daylong protest.
Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu condemned the violence and said the soldiers’ action was a « threat to national security. »
Police tried to disperse over 1,000 soldiers who had converged on the lawns of the Union Buildings, the seat of government, even after a court denied them permission to hold their march.
Footage from a local television station shows police firing into the crowd, forcing the protesters against a fence. Many protesters retreated back over the fence, and police continued firing across a busy thoroughfare near many embassies and hotels.
The protest ended at about 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) when police warned that more force would be used, the South African Press Association reported.
Sisulu told reporters in Cape Town that she had instructed the head of the defense force to immediately suspend protesters. Two soldiers had been arrested and handed over to the military police, she said.
South Africa has been hit by a spate of violent strikes and protests and police have promised to crack down on unruly behavior.
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