havetakenplace,over70percentofalldetentions since1960.Humanrights monitors estimate that75to80percentofalldetentions endinrelease without anychargeinacourtoflaw.Specific groupsthatappeartobethetargetof -8-6etention withouttrialinclu6e stu6ents an6youthgroups,political an6religious bodies, civicandresident associations andtradeunions. 27.Theplightofdetainees wasunderscored on25January 1989byanindefinite hungerstrikebegunby20detainees he16un6erthestateofemergency atDiepkloof Prison. Theirdemandfortheimme6iate andunconditional release ofall6etainees sparkedoffanational waveofhunger-strike protests bydetainees, aswellasa seriesofsolidarity a~tions inSouthAfricaandaroundtheworld. Bytheendof March1989,over700detainees hadparticipated inthehunger-strike protests. It shouldbenotedthat,between June1986andJanuary 1989,monitoring humanrights groupshadrecorded 37hungerstrikes bydetainees heldunderemergency reg~lations. 11/ 28.Asdetainees onhunger stri~ebecameillandweretakentohospitals, it becameclearthattheprotest wascreating acrisiswithmajorlocaland international implications fortheregime. Manydetainees werereleased, although theywereimmediately servedwithsevererestriction orders. Sincetheprocess of release wasslow,alargenumberofthedetainees managed toescapefromhospitals andsoughtrefugeinforeign embassies andconsulates, thereby increasing the international ;ublicity ondetention withouttrial. 4.Vigilante groups. de~tb SQMB~a.~~Qyert activi~ 29.Another formofrepression wastheescalation ofvigilante accivity, sponsored byorcondoned bytheregime, onahitherto unprecedented level. Thevigilante phenomenon andthedeathsquads, orthe"Z"squad,hadalready emerged in 1986.la/Theobjective ofthevigilantes' actions istoeliminate political activists anddestabilize blackcommunities andtheirpopular organizations without thedirectintervention efthesecurity forces. Vigilante actionisintended t" lendcredence totheregime's argument thattherealsourceofconflict inthe townships isapropensity to"internecine strife". Theactivities ofthese grou~ls areseldombrought tocourt,letalonesuccessfully prosecuted. ~/ 30.Anominous development wasthenumberofpolitical activists whowere assassinated or"disappeared" inthepastyear.TheassassinB operate withthe tacitsupport ofthesecurity forcesandsomeobservers haveevensuggested that theyareagroupwithinthesecurity forces. Theassassination on1May1989of Dr.DavidWebster wasthelatestinalonglineofasyetunresolved assassinations ofanti-Bpartheid activists. Dr.Webster wasawhitedemocrat whoplayedaleading roleinsupport ofdetainees andtheirfamilies, aswellasintherecenthunger strikebypolitical detainees (seepara.212below). Astheco-author ofareport onclandestine violence, hehadcalledattention tothegrowing activities ofthe deathsquads. Heprophetically wrote: "Assassinations havetheeffectof controlling opposition whenallothermethods, suchasdetention orintimidation havefailed. Itisveryrarethatsuchassassination6 aresolved.•.".l_QI 31.Anti-AP.Drtheid organizations andactivists increasingly becamethetargetof sabotage. Thebombing oftheheadquarters oftheSouthAfrican Council of Churches (SACC)andoftheSouthern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC), appeartohavebeencarried outbyexperts onterrorist activities. Thetorching ofvarious offices oftheBlackSash;repeated attacks ontheregional offices of COSATUandraidsandattacks ontheAzanian People's Organization (AZAPO) offices,community resource offices inCapeTown,EastLondon, Johannesburg andinsmaller townslsmearanddisinformation campaigns against theuon-racial tradeunion movement Iallindicate anational campaign. InJuly1989,religious leaders expressed theirconcern attheincrease inincidents involving thechemical poisoning ofpremises usedfortheirmeetings. Reverend FrankChikane, theGe~eral Secretary ofSACC,collapsed several timesandcameclosetodeathinJune1989 afterapparently beingpoisoned byahighlytoxicinsecticide, which,according to amedical investigation, couldhavebeenapplied tohisluggage orclothes. In August 1989,the"people's poet",Mzwakhe Mbuli,andhisfamily, weretheobjectof aseriesofviolent attacks, including agrenade attackontheirhome.111A recentUnitedStatesStateDapartment humanrightsrepe't,inunderlining the deterioration ofhumanrightsinSouthAfrica, pointed totheexistence ofpolice deathsquads, toallegations ofthetorture ofdetainees andtotheregime's
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a report on the human rights situation in South Africa during the late 1980s. It describes the detention of political activists, the use of hunger strikes as a form of protest, and the violence and intimidation tactics used by the regime and vigilante groups. The text also mentions the assassination of anti-apartheid activists and the targeting of religious leaders and organizations.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, Human rights