‘by Jean Holman
y comment both on the articles themselves and toamtioi a snd atheigtiS their publication. Mr. Strachan's bl tie? se
onsidered too horrifying for publication but : printed is sufficient to demonstrate the n i f Sat ae ae
; ecessity of "a prompt and proper oped oe by some inter-departmental committee, but in the fall View ae public by an impartial judicial commission with comprehensive terms of reference and sufficient powers to enable it to get at the truth, bearing in mind that the very nature of prisons tends to foster concealment."
This is the explicit intention of the editorial, b i i so ward this demand, the editor takes the opportunity withers a tea partiality of any other inquiries or inspections that the government might see fit to hold. He makes it clear that his paper will not be silenced by the pressures already brought to bear, with the severe threats implicit in them that the world knows are not empt Wa dunt: Pus
y rel of the editorial here: q elevant passages
"In the public interest it was our plain duty to publish Mr Strachan's story. This is what a newspaper is for if it is to act as the public's watchdog. .
."The response of the authorities has been swift. The public is already aware of the raid that took place on the Mail's offices on Thursday. That night unusual pressure from a high official source was brought to bear on the Mail's editor to suspend publication of the third and final article. Yesterday Mr Strachan was placed under house arrest for five years, the ban being announced personally by the Cormissioner of Police within hours of the appearance of the third an? final article.
"Thus it would seem that our informant's courage and public spiritedness in coming forward to testify under his own name have drawn down on him the retribution that is becoming so commonplace in South Africa these days. He has been silenced. And this under the Suppression of Communism Act. What have complaints about prison conditions to do with Communism?..see..."
"....This assurance we give to the authorities and to the publics: We shall not be deterred by threats or browbeating or angry noises from the Gov-= ernment or its press and radio minions, Unless speedy and effective action is taken to deal with the utterly deplorable situation which has been shown to exist in certain spheres of our prison system, we shall be obliged to . publish further evidence. We shall not wait, too long."
This has not been mere bravado. We now read in the British press that this paper has published further evidence of atrocities in a specific prison on the sworn affidavits of one of the head warders, another warder and two prisoners. When there is such pressure to prevent publication of events so easily verifiable as these must be, and when a storm of protest is aroused by them, it takes little imagination to guess how much more goes on in South Africa that the world does not hear about. The Rand Daily Mail has taken a courageous stand. Socialists all over .the world must see to it that such issues as these do not remain isolated, but become linked together in a struggle that will sweep away Verwoerd and all that he stands for.