Madame Speaker, 

It was announced yesterday that the President of the Republic had authorised the internal deployment of military units to help the police end the xenophobic violence in Gauteng. 

Under normal circumstances, the IFP would not support the internal deployment of army units as they are not suited or properly trained to deal with civilians. 

However, in this particular case, the IFP recognises that the situation is not normal and that the police need all the help they can get. However, our support for army deployment comes with very strict pre-conditions. 

First, military units must be under the direct control of the police and must only provide assistance when requested by the police. The military units should not be involved in criminal investigations at all. 

Second, great care should be taken to ensure that the military units are not directly involved in crowd control. They are simply not trained for such situations. 

Third, the military units should be subject to the strictest rules of engagement with the use of minimum force as a prerequisite. Care should also be taken not to deploy any heavy weapons with the units.  

Finally, the military units should only be deployed in the areas where the greatest threat exists and not any wider than that. 

Thank you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Mr Velaphi Ndlovu MP: 083 625 0803