text: 16.Duringtheperiodunderreview, Pretoria undertook further repressive measures initsattempts toeliminate evenpeaceful opposition toitsrule.Therewasan escalation ofrepression against ant1-APArthel~ opponents, inparticular, inthe build-Up totheSeptember 1989elections. Thisrepression hadtwomain objectives: first,tocurbtheability ofanti-~aI.theid organizations and individuals toundertake actIvities atanational levelJandsecond, to re-establish theregime's control inblackcommunities soastoimplement the reformprogramme without opposition. Underthefour-year-old stateofemergency, policeviolence increased, asdidattacks byvigilante grou?s anddeathsquads against apartheid opponents withinthecountry, resulting ivthecreation ofanew category ofpeopleinSouthAfrica: internal refugees fromrepression. Thecourts becameanincreasingly important instrument usedbyPretoria toquashits opponents. Adraconian presscen;Jorship, thetightest SouthAfdcahaseverknown, hidfromworldscrutiny humanrightsviolations, including incommunicado detention withouttrial,deathsentences, torture anddeathsinpolicecustody, bannir.gs and restrictions andforcedremovals ofpopulation. Inthisclimate ofincreasing fear andintimidation, ~9rOUPofleading SouthAfricans formedtheHumanRights Commission inSeptember 1986toinvestigate andmonitor violations ofhumanrights inSouthAfricaonanongoing basis.AIThe26percentincrease inthebudget allocation forthepolice andtherenewal ofthestateofemergency on9June1989 forthefourthconsecutive yearwouldindicate thatthelevelofrepression is unlikely toabate. 2.PolitiCAl trials, de~thsentences andexecutions 17.Shifting itspatterns ofrepression, Pretoria madeselective useofthecourts tosilence peaceful opposition toitspolicies and,atthesametime,toassert thatthejudiciary inSouthAfricaisindependent. Th~Appellate Division hud already begunthistrendin1967byreversing aseries ofsucceGsful challenges -6-madebytheopposition totheemergency regulations. ItsJecisions conferred legality onaspects oftheemergency regulations thatgranted widest powers and immunity forsecurity officials. Legalubservers within andoutside SouthAfrica pointoutthattheactiveroleofthecourtsinrepression -withafew exoeptions -constitutes a"determined judicial activism" byanall-white judiciary operating undertheguiseofindependence. 11 18.Thesubstantial escalation inthenumberofpolitical trialswasevident in thenumberofpersons beingtriedfor"hightreason". SOin1988alone,someof theminvolving theprosecution ofnotable community leaders ontenuous charges of conspiracy withANCtooverthrow theregime. Pre-trial detention, refusal ofbail andlengthy sentences effectively removed theseleaders frompolitical activity. Thebestknownofthesetrialswasthe"Delmas Trial"ofthreeUnitedDemocratic Front(UDF)leaders, inwhichthejudgement effectively criminalized pe~ceful dissent. Patrick "Terror" Lekota, MossChikane andPopoMolefewereconvir.ted of treason andgivenharshsentences forpeaceful political activities that w~~ldbe considered appropriate inanysociety abiding bytheruleoflaw. ~IThe tria~, whichinvolved originally notonlythethreesouior UDrleaders butalsovarious religious an6~ivicleaders, lasted ~~repyears. Thejudgement waswidely condemned bothwithin andoutside ~~.~rica. ~I 19.Another important trialinvolved Ilo~esMayekiso, theGeneral Secretary ofthe National UnionofMetalworkers ofSouthAfrica (NUMSA), anaffiliate ofthe Congress ofSouthAfrican TradeUnions (COSATU). Mayekiso, oneoftheleaders of theAlexandra Action Committee, wasactiveinorganizing jointpolitical initiatives bytradeunionsandcommunity organizations. Mayekiso andfourother activiRts wereaccused oftreason, sedition orsubversion forforming civic associations inAlexandra township. Although theywereacquitted inApril1989, theirlengthy detention formostofthetrialremoved themfrompolitical activity. 20.Atotalof88persons wereawaiting execution forpolitically related reasons byJune1989.Inthelast10years,thehasbeenanincrease inthenumberof
analysis: The text appears to focus on the political situation in South Africa during the late 1980s, specifically highlighting the repressive measures taken by the government to silence opposition and maintain control. The text mentions the use of courts, police violence, and human rights violations, which suggests a strong connection to human rights and political issues. The text does not mention economic development, natural resources, or environmental issues, and it does not seem to be related to agriculture, forestry, fishing, industry, transport, communication, international trade, health, education, or employment.