WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-12-13 Time: 05:00:07 Posted By: Jan
Officials from the national Education Department have been instructed to visit the Xolobeni Junior Secondary School in Pondoland where several pupils were allegedly beaten with sjamboks by police.
The principal of the school allegedly asked police to beat the pupils because of their opposition to proposed dune mining in the area by an Australian company. But he has told education authorities it was because the pupils were “violent” and would not listen to him.
The officials are being sent to the school by Education Minister Naledi Pandor, who says the principal will be removed if he is found to have contravened any of the legislation governing teachers and schools.
Pandor was replying to Parliamentary questions by DA environment spokesperson Gareth Morgan, who has also put questions to Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa about the September 17 incident at the school, which is close to the proposed mining area in Pondoland, south of Port Edward.
| ‘The principal says the pupils were beaten because they were violent’ |
Australian company Mineral Resource Commodities, and its South African partner Transworld Energy and Minerals, wants to mine titanium along a 22km stretch of coastal dunes.
Those opposed to the mining say it will have a major impact on the rural way of life of the AmaDiba people, who have lived in the area for centuries, and devastate the pristine natural environment.
Morgan said that if the highly controversial mining licence was eventually granted, several pupils from the school and their families would need to be relocated to make way for the mining.
In September, Minerals & Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica gave provisional approval for mining to start on October 31, but she subsequently issued a staying order.
Morgan, who described the alleged police action as “barbaric” and said there was no role for the police in the disciplining of pupils, asked Pandor whether her department was investigating the incident.
He also wanted to know whether the department would offer counselling services to the affected pupils, and whether she would visit the school to assure pupils the matter was being dealt with, and that there would not be any repeats.
Pandor, whose reply was tabled this week, said the Eastern Cape Education Department’s preliminary report indicated “differences of fact and opinion” in statements made by police and the principal.
“(Police) members say they searched (the pupils) for dangerous weapons and in the process forced those who resisted against the wall. The principal says the pupils were beaten because they were violent and did not take instructions from him.”
The provincial authorities were conducting further investigations and she had delegated officials to visit the school. The department would offer counselling services if there was a need, Pandor added.
“However, a circuit manager visited the school on October 24 where she had an open session with the pupils. There were no indications of traumatised pupils unless they were absent from school on that day.”
Mthethwa has not yet replied.
Sonjica told the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), which is supporting the anti-mining AmaDiba Crisis Committee, that she had delayed the mining permit so she could consult the Pondo royal family and traditional leaders.
She would also hold hearings where the LRC could make submissions on why she should withdraw the decision to allow the mining.
The LRC had earlier sent an ultimatum to Sonjica, saying it would go to court if the mining licence was not suspended.