South Africa We Cannot Be Held to Ransom

Bulldozers last week razed the charred ruins at Crossroads, a black squatter camp five miles southeast of Cape Town, where fierce fighting between radical youths and conservative vigilante groups left at least 36 dead and more than 30,000 homeless. At the same time, the South African government was debating new measures to grant security forces sweeping powers to control the turbulence that has wracked the country for the past 21 months. Critics charge that the proposals, which would allow police to detain people for up to 180 days without trial, will reinforce the apartheid system and virtually reinstitute the harsh state...