Pretoria's actions soughttoweakenfurther theanti-a9artheid opposition through thebanning oforganlzations, thorestrictions imposed onformerdetainees, the selective useofthecourtstosilence dissent andthetolerance showntothe activities ofvigilante groups anddeathsquads. 10.Inthiscontext, recentpolitical diCferences between Mr.P.~,.Botha, who reslgned inAugust 1989,andMr.Frederik Willem deKlerkseemtoreflect morea concern withtheviability oftheapartheid systemratherthananessential break withtheideologico-political conception ofapartheid. Mr.deKlel'khasreiterated hisParty's convic".lon that"grouprights" willbeprotected underanypoHtic:al dispensation offered totheblackmajority. The f~ve-year planforpolitical reformmadepUblicinJune1989isrootedinthemaintenance ofracialdivisions andseekstoentrench thevetopowerofwhites. 11 11.Theelections Cortheth,eeb)usesoftheracially segregated Parliament (Whites, Colour&cs andIndiand), heldon6September 1989,onceagainexcluded the African majority andindicate thatPretoria willcontinue toimposeitspolicyof "reforms" through repression, reg.lrdless ofthewidespread oppusition toit.This policyisbasedonafour-pronge~ approach devised bytheNational Management System(NMS),whichisakey~omponent oftheregime's security strategy, to undermine th~anti-89artheid opposition. 11Theactions ofNMSat.tempt (a)to smashallopposition, inparticular cOlnmunity organizations andactivists, through detentions andintimidation, thegrowthofvigilante groupRanddeathsquadsbeing partofthisrepressive strategy, (b)toco-optblacksb'.'"h,.p-.oving" th~living conditions inselected townships, thereby defusLHJ theCOI'Ul,UI'it ...'Sgrievtinr.es; (c)torestore theauthority oftheregime-cr~ated town coulci'~ ~hrough elections, and(d)toaddress theissueofconstitutional rights f~rbla~ks.il 12.Theregime's constitutional planenvisages '..:.ha.:.themunicipal council representatives thatwere"elected" inthe26Octo1"€Ir J9~8municipal elections will becomepolitical representatives totheregional andnacional councils andthe building blocksoftheNational Council orGreatIr.dlbatThrough anintricate consultativeprocess, theCJuncil willdevisea"newconstitution" whichwi11 provide Africans withalimitedpolitical representation atthenational level, whiledenying themthepowertochallenge thefoundations ofa9artheid. Itshould benotedthat, i~theOctober 1968municipal elections, whichwerewidely boyeotted, onthebverage, only5per,'Jntoft~~eligible votersintheAfrican townships voted-nomorethanthepercentage whovotedin1983intheelections forbJacklQcalauthorities. ~/Thesefigures showoverwhelming rejection ofthe localcouncils andofanynational structure basedonthem. 13.Current urbanization trendsindicate agrowing gapbetween thetraditional urbanworking class-located mainlywithinestablished urbantownships -andthe lapidly increasing massesofunemployed andunhoused livingininformal settlements onthefringes oftheurbanareas.Itismanyoftheunemployed ~hojointheranks ofvigilante groups. The"upgrading" schemes intheurbanareasappeartobe ·-5-deliberately selective anddesigned tofavourcertain areasattheexpense of othersl theirrealobjective istodivide andcontrol communities. 14.Theconstitutional planisboundtofailbecause ofpersistent resistance to theregime's policies, asisevident intheDefiance Campaign. In1984,the nation-wide boycott oftheelections totheracially segregated tri-cameral Parliament yielded dismally lowpollsintheColoured andIndiancommunities, notabl~'" 18and16percent,respectively. Furthermore, the"upgrading" Rchemes willnotbeeasilyimplemented, giventheeconomic problems facedbytheregime. 15.Although therepressive actions oftheregimehavedisrupted theactivities of opponents, theyhavebeanunabletodestroy anti-apartheid organizations. Resistance totheregimeisresurging withanewvigour. Thegrowing participation ofwhitesintheopposition isadding animportant dimension tothestruggle andis areflection ofthegradual erosiou oftheNational Partymonolith. Bothwithin andoutside SouthAfrica, theliberation forcesaredeveloping initiatives concerning thefutureoftheanti-~rtheid struggle inSouthAfrica andare enlisting thesupport oftheinternational community fortheseinitiatives. B.R~ssion ofthepopulation 1.Qverview
**Analysis**
The text appears to be focused on the political and social situation in South Africa during the late 1980s, specifically addressing the apartheid regime's attempts to maintain power and the resistance movement's efforts to challenge it. The text discusses the regime's strategies, including the use of repression, manipulation, and tokenistic reforms, as well as the growing opposition and resistance to these policies. The text also touches on the economic and social issues affecting the country, such as urbanization, unemployment, and poverty. Overall, the text suggests that the regime's attempts to maintain power are likely to fail due to the persistence of resistance and the growing participation of whites in the opposition.

**Category**
Politics, Humanitarian aid and relief