Page 188 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

690 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

Stellenbosch and a branch of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC; Afrikaans: Be-eindig
Diensplig Kampanje) during 1986;
letters in the student newspaper, Die Matie arguing for the unbanning of the ANC and in
support of the UDF;
Articles on the issue of an unjust war, civil disobedience and anti-apartheid activities in
Die Matie;
Pamphlets of an activist nature distributed on campus despite attempts by the security
police to confiscate these materials;
The launch of a non-racial United Stellenbosch Front (USF) in April 1987;
appeals published in pamphlets and the student newspaper, as well as the Christian stu-
dent newspaper, Dinamiek to withdraw troops from the townships (19 September 1987).
Questioning and detention of students and members of the community by the security
police in the vicinity of the university. 53
Despite the high legitimacy accrued to the National Party government and the executive
(and hawk-like) president and a high repression potential the campus seemingly was divided.
Yet, despite the activism of left wing students the great majority of students remained loyal
to the National Party and its ideology. In contrast to the dissidents the Stellenbosch campus
also saw:
Visits of the Geography Society to the Military Academy at Saldanha, 19 May 1985;
The creation of the Popular Student Alliance (Afrikaans: Populêre Studente Alliansie),
funded by military intelligence 1986/1987 and the funding of Youth for South Africa (Afri-
kaans: Jeugkrag) on campus;
the Student Parliament voting against the right to peaceful political demonstration on
campus,13 March 1986 35 votes to 11);
Members of the University of Stellenbosch Military Unit (Afrikaans: Universiteit Stel-
lenbosch Militere Eenheid or USME) on their return publicly welcomed by the Rector, Mike
de Vries and the Mr. Piet Marais, Member of Parliament for Stellenbosch;
A visit of female members of the SRC to the Namibian border (“operational area”) funded
by the Public Relations Department of the South African Defence Force (SADF), February
1985;
The Popular Student Alliance hosting Brigadier Tito Chiminguni, third in command of
Unita, a rebel movement in Angola funded by the CIA and the apartheid government, April
1986. 54
By 1987 when a meeting in Dakar between a group of South Africans (the majority Af-
rikaans-speaking) and the ANC Executive took place Stellenbosch students were involved
and since 1986 Stellenbosch students publicly declared that they are unwilling to serve in the
apartheid military. Two demonstrations took place on campus. Despite this the relationships
between the military academy students and the majority of the Stellenbosch students re-
mained cordial if not warm. It speaks for itself that this did not necessarily apply to the objec-
tors to national service while open conflict was refrained from. In fact, the ECC Workgroup
retained an open attitude on dialogue around objection to military service and alternatives to

53 Kosie Gericke Library, University of Stellenbosch, Compaktus, editions of Die Matie, 1981 – 1987.
54 Kosie Gericke Library, University of Stellenbosch, Compaktus, editions of Die Matie, 1981 – 1987.