Politics 2.0

THE NEW ARMED STRUGGLE

I hate discussing crime. First of all, it is a perpetually depressing topic of a dinner conversation which leads to no result other than despair. Secondly, discussing crime seems to pigeonhole one into the DA loving, Hyde Park shopping, 94.7 listening white South African who lives in a kraal mentality, out of touch with other existing issues such as inequality, AIDS, township crime and the realities of South African life.

But considering I run this blog, no-one can stop me from throwing a spanner in the works and discussing crime with the unusual twist of actually providing, or attempting to provide, a solution to the problem.

The solution to our problem in South Africa lies partially in the military. Why only partially? Because the roots of crime must be addressed, through education and employment opportunities, which is a topic of conversation for another time. But at the moment, our armed forces are largely out of work, barring our AU commitments in central Africa, Sudan and of course along the Beit Bridge border. I cannot understand why it has not even been a topic of conversation in the daily papers for the military to become more involved in our domestic urban war. This is not to say that there must be a military state of emergency, but why can’t the military help carry the burdens of the police by assisting in road blocks and other minor tasks, leaving the police officers to devote more time to paperwork?

I can understand why public opinion would be reluctant to see “Caspers” and rifles back on the street, as it is a reminder of our violent past. Also, perhaps the reason we don’t see the army tackling crime is the same reason why we did not see Nevirapine in government hospitals for such a long time - the government has a hear no evil, see no evil domestic policy.

Amending legislation to empower the military to assist the police and placing some of the military’s capabilities (very restrictively) under the Minister of Safety and Security, is by no means a declaration of a state of emergency nor will it incite a Musharaf styled coup. But what about basic freedom and the Constitution’s proportionality test? Well I would rather have a corporal holding a rifle in Hillbrow than a Nigerian holding a Kalashnikov to my head.