Die Erika Theron-Kommissie, 1973-1976 : n historiese studie

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In the early 1970s the National Party government under B.l Vorster experienced seriousproblems due to its policy on the Coloured population. Issues concerning the mutualrelations between the population groups came strongly to the fore and the government'spolicy of separate development was subject to widespread and severe criticism.The period 1970-1974 is generally regarded as a time of change in South Afiica due tointernational and foreign pressures. South Afiica's position in the international communitydeteriorated dramatically and attitudes towards the Republic became increasingly hostile inthe rest of the world. Furthermore, the Vorster government was confronted with twoopposing schools of thought within the party itself, the so-called verligtes and theverkramptes. During the 1970s the political decision-making processes became entangledin a continuous struggle between the enlightened wing of the National Party, the so-calledCape Liberals, and a more conservative element, the verkramptes of the Transvaal. Racerelations issues and the government's Coloured policy in particular were often the sourceof contention.In March 1973 Vorster appointed a Commission of Enquiry into Matters Relating to theColoured Population Group. It was chaired by prof Erika Theron, formerly professor inSocial Work at the University of Stellenbosch. The Theron Commission, as it becameknown generally, consisted of twenty members, six of whom were Coloureds. TheCommission had to investigate the following: the progress made by the Colouredpopulation group since 1960 in the social, economic and constitutional spheres as well asin the fields of local management, culture and sport; constraining factors in the variousfields that could be identified as sources of contention; and any other related matters.The Theron Commission's report was tabled in parliament three years later on 18 June 1976. The Soweto riots that broke out two days before, however, forced news of thereport out of the newspapers and caused its influence to be largely dissipated. The Theronreport contained a number of recommendations that were directly in conflict with thegovernment's apartheid policy and were hence not acceptable to the government.Consequently, the government - by way of an interim memorandum and a later whitepaper - rejected those recommendations that affected the core of its apartheid policy. Therecommendations included the repeal of the Mixed Marriages Act (Act 55 of 1949) andSection 16 of the Immorality Act (Act 23 of 1957), two of the cornerstones of the policyof apartheid. Recommendation No. 178, in which the commission recommended directrepresentation for Coloureds at the various levels of government, was also rejected by thegovernment. The potential influence of the Theron Commission's report to influencechange was thus firmly nipped in the bud.The government's reaction caused bitter disappointment among the Coloured populationas well as enlightened Whites and at the same time fuelled the conflict between theverligtes and the verkramptes. It also ensured intensified criticism from the oppositionparties, especially the United Party.Yet the recommendations of the Theron Commision's report played a prominent role inthe late 1970s and early 1980s, when the wheels of political change began to tum, and letto the tricameral parliamentary system of 1984 in which the Coloured population groupwas also represented. The Arbeidersparty of South Africa (APSA) - Ministers' Council,which was in control of the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1992, consistentlyendeavoured to negotiate a better social, economic and constitutional position for theColoured population on the basis of the Theron Commission's report.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University