Справка.
Ciskei. Information.
CISKEI was a nominally independent state – a Bantustan – in the south east of South Africa. Area - 7,700 sq.km. Population - 677,920 (1980) Capital - Bisho. In 1961 Ciskei became a separate administrative region and in 1972 was declared self-governing under the rule of Chief Justice Mabandla and then Lennox Sebe. In 1978 it became a single-party state under the rule of Sebe, and after an independence referendum in 1980, in 1981 it became the fourth homeland to be declared independent by the South African government and its residents lost their South African citizenship. However, there were no border controls between South Africa and Ciskei. In common with other Bantustans its independence was not recognised by the international community. In 1987, Transkei, a larger, wealthier and more populous entity, undertook a series of military raids on Ciskei and attempted to seize control of Ciskei, in an attack on leader Lennox Sebe's compound, with the apparent goal of taking him hostage, in order to force a merger of the two Bantustans. In 1990 Brigadier Oupa Gqozo deposed Sebe and ruled as a dictator – despite an initial promise of a swift return to civilian rule. During 1991 and 1992 many of the legal foundations of apartheid in South Africa were removed, undermining the rationale for the homelands' continued existence. The African National Congress pressed strongly for them to be reincorporated into South Africa. This was opposed by Gqozo and the other homeland leaders. On 7 September 1992 the Ciskei Defence Force fired into a crowd of ANC members demanding the removal of Gqozo. 28 people were killed and hundreds injured in the Bisho massacre outside the sports stadium in Bisho, the small capital of Ciskei. Gqozo refused to participate in the multiracial negotiations to agree a post-apartheid constitution for South Africa and initially threatened to boycott the first multiracial elections. This became unsustainable and in March 1994 Ciskei government workers went on strike for fear of losing their job security and pensions in the post-apartheid era. The police then mutinied, prompting Gqozo to resign on 22 March. The Transitional Executive Council appointed two administrators, who took control of the homeland to ensure security until the elections could be held the following month, the TEC also blocked the South African government from deploying the paramilitary Internal Stability Unit (ISU) of the South African Police force, as the unit was suspected of fomenting violence in other parts of the country, and after the Ciskei military had threatened to open fire on the ISU if it entered the territory. Ciskei and all of the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994, after the first post-apartheid elections. Along with Transkei, Ciskei became part of the new Eastern Cape Province, with its capital becoming the capital of the new province. Currency : South African rand .
