Army being called into Alex township?

[semaphore]

This thread is disappointing to read, from OP to bottom...

Then don't read it.

 

[LazyLion]

COPS AND ALEX RESIDENTS CLASH

Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades on Friday to disperse protesting residents in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, police said.

"Approximately 300 to 400 people gathered and burned tyres outside the court in Alexandra, protesting about the suspects arrested for public violence last night," Brigadier Neville Malila said in a statement.

He said police instructed the group to disperse, but they refused and barricaded streets.

"Police had to use stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, 44 people were arrested for public violence," Malila said.

"More police and metro police were deployed in the area to contain the situation."

Malila said later in the afternoon that the situation had abated and that the township was quiet but tense.

There was still debris and rocks in the streets, but the roads were now open, he said. No injuries were reported.

Earlier, the police said the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) centre in Alexandra was set alight by residents.

A room in a community centre that was used by the IEC was burned by residents on Thursday night, Malila said.

There were people inside the centre at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported.

Thirty-one people were arrested for Thursday night's fire. Malila said the motive was unknown.

Both groups would appear in the Alexandra Magistrate's court on Monday.


Source : Sapa /mr/aa/lp
Date : 09 May 2014 19:43

 

[LazyLion]

ARMY MOVES INTO ALEXANDRA

The army has been called in to quell a violent protest in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Friday.

"The provincial police commissioner [Lt Gen Joel Mothiba] has informed me that people in Alexandra have been attacking buildings and assaulting others... the army is moving as we speak," Mokonyane said on the sidelines of the Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) results centre.

African National Congress spokesman Keith Khoza said the party was informed that the Economic Freedom Fighters had been bussing in people into Alexandra to fuel the protests.

"A certain political party, which took part in this elections, is bringing people into the township, we do not condone violence and destruction of property," he said.

The protesters demanded the release of those arrested during a protest on Thursday, he said.

EFF Gauteng leader Dali Mpofu denied that his party brought in protesters into Alexandra.

"Members of the EFF, the DA and the IFP were all involved in yesterday's hostage situation over allegations of vote rigging, the EFF sent out lawyers to deal with the situation. We do not condone violence... and of course they would single out the EFF out of all parties involved," Mpofu said.

The IEC spokeswoman Kate Bapela said the commission had heard about the protest, but had not received a complaint regarding the voting process in Alexandra.

Gauteng police said rubber bullets and stun grenades were fired on Friday afternoon to disperse protesting residents in Alexandra.

"Approximately 300 to 400 people gathered and burned tyres outside the court in Alexandra, protesting about the suspects arrested for public violence last night," Brigadier Neville Malila said in a statement.

He said police instructed the group to disperse, but they refused and barricaded streets.

"Police had to use stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, 44 people were arrested for public violence," Malila said.

"More police and metro police were deployed in the area to contain the situation."

Malila said later in the afternoon that the situation had abated and that the township was quiet but tense.

There was still debris and rocks in the streets, but the roads were now open, he said. No injuries were reported.

Earlier, Malila said a room in a community centre in the township that was used by the IEC was burned by residents on Thursday night.

There were people inside the centre at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported.

Thirty-one people were arrested for Thursday night's fire. Malila said the motive was unknown.

Both groups would appear in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court on Monday.


Source : Sapa /gm/mr/aa/lp
Date : 09 May 2014 20:18

 

[Mila]

Yoh!

Hope this turns out oke.

 

[eltherza]

Wow... not even a week after elections... are the next 5 years going to be like this? Is there a threat of military enforced rule?

 

[MickeyD]

And when we requested that they send the Army in to keep the peace in the PE area they refused it on the grounds that the State President has to declare martial law before it can happen!!! Double standards much?

 

[Mila]

And when we requested that they send the Army in to keep the peace in the PE area they refused it on the grounds that the State President has to declare martial law before it can happen!!! Double standards much?

From the ANC? No never.

Wth is wrong with adults in this country? FFs. What about the bloody kids?

 

[Spliffcat]

Just another Banana Republic.

 

[Paul Hjul]

And when we requested that they send the Army in to keep the peace in the PE area they refused it on the grounds that the State President has to declare martial law before it can happen!!! Double standards much?

Jep, the double standards on PE are an order of the day

technically there are distinctions though:
IIRC [as in I am not going to check the authorities - particularly the statutes]:
[1]SANDF deployments of an operational nature require the President to issue instructions to deploy in writing and in conformance with the Defence Act (I think of 2003, the old behemoth has been replaced except for Schedule 1) and this is regulated under the Constitution and would see Parliament receive a notification etc ...
[2]The use of a section of an active service branch of SANDF (almost always the army) by the SAPS is regulated by the SAPS Act (1995) and requires that a Commissioner (IIRC Provincial or National only) makes a specific request and that SANDF have the means to respond to the specific request in a supporting role- so the commissioner can utilize a SANDF helicopter to carry cops and commandeer the chopper and pilots from SANDF.
[3]The conducting of multiple operations under military command in a civilian area would require the declaration of a state of emergency and the consequence of a state of emergency wherein the military are deployed in combat form (remember a state of emergency can be for a natural disaster).

Now if you are going to have SAPS take over functioning from the SAPS you need to go the 3 route and there are very real political questions that need to be asked etc ... On the whole my inclination is that preserving a civilian police service accompanied by the necessary force to preserve the Rule of Law means that when gangs start to flair up and you have gang violence the police are out of their depth in the might department and launching a military containing operation is the way to go. If this means declaring a state of emergency in a magisterial district or part thereof then do so.

Public order policing (which is now handled by visipol) has the ability to call on the national intervention unit of SAPS who in turn are able to plan and execute operations involving SANDF in a supporting role. For an election undoubtedly there are dozens of operational plan sets and one expects (well sort of expects more a hopes and asserts it to be required) that SANDF members are briefed on the supporting role they may be called upon to perform. This means that using SANDF when a riot breaks out is a lot simpler. If you look at the SAPS Act and the RGA you can see the thinking that is in place to come on stream after 1996 such that "civilian pure" structures (municipalities) facilitate gatherings to self-regulate with SAPS in the wings but if a riot breaks out it is an intervention unit approach to normalize the situation and get it to an RGA situation as soon as possible. SAPS intervention manpower though is a little stretched during an election and election violence isn't precipitated by an identified gathering etc ... so you need to be able to isolate it and have somebody keep the cauldron while the police become available to deal with another potential riot that can spur up.

 

[Grant]

Kinda like apartheid days where the army was also used to police townships, the more things change the more they stay the same...

exactly what i was thnking

things dont usually end well when the military is called upon to act against the very citizens it's tasked with to keep safe

 

[Kornhub]

Heard on the radio something about shops being looted? Related?

 

[satanboy]

You thought ANC would have a fair election ?

They lost support...how does that compute?

 

[Necuno]

Heard on the radio something about shops giving handouts? Related?

FTFY

 

[koeksGHT]

Drove through Alex last night by accident haha,

police everywhere and helicopter with beam lights, made a quick exit.

 

[Grant]

Drove through Alex last night by accident haha,

police everywhere and helicopter with beam lights, made a quick exit.

there are few things that compare to the beam of a helicopter search light landing on you, to restore your fear of god

 

[semaphore]

They lost support...how does that compute?

There number is barely what they got last time. More people just got off their arses and voted against them. But the numbers are still strong. Fair? Ballots found in shacks.

 

[akescpt]

Fsuckn ridiculous. Innocent bystanders are dying on the cape flats. They have requested the army to come but it was refused. But they can send in be army to quell disgruntled ifp supporters.

Anc is fulla kark.

 

[R13...]

And when we requested that they send the Army in to keep the peace in the PE area they refused it on the grounds that the State President has to declare martial law before it can happen!!! Double standards much?

I don't know gang violence is like low level organised crime that can't be dealt with by deploying soldiers. You need concerted police effort, you can't just disperse gang members and off home they go.

 

[xumwun]

They lost support...how does that compute?

cANCer doesn't want to make too obvious.

 

[akescpt]

I don't know gang violence is like low level organised crime that can't be dealt with by deploying soldiers. You need concerted police effort, you can't just disperse gang members and off home they go.

Tell that to the parents that need to walk their kids to and from school everyday. It's not to solve gangsterism but to keep normal citizens safe. Long term solution? No, short term only to restore some order.