THEAPARTHEIDERA
responsible for interrogating political suspects and frequently resorted to
torture.P
Wher~as the police were relatively few in proportion to the population,
the Nationalist government embarked on a massive program of military
expansion. In 1978, defense absorbed nearly 21 percent of the budget and
5.I percent of the gross national product. By that time, every young white
man was subject to two years' compulsory military service, and the active
duty defense force comprised 16,600 permanent members (about 5,000 of
whom were black) and 38,400 white conscripts. There were also 255,000
white citizen reserves. The police and the army, navy, and air force were
well armed. ARMscoR,a state corporation, and its subsidiaries manufac-
tured a high proportion of the country's military needs, including armored
cars, mortars, guns, bombs, mines, fighter aircraft, missiles, and tear gas
and napalm. Local production was supplemented by military hardware
and technology imported from Europe, the United States, Israel, and Tai-
wan. The flow continued, mainly from Taiwan and Israel, despite the
international arms embargo imposed by the United Nations in 1977. The
South African armed forces were far the most powerful and disciplined in
Africa south of the Sahara.s"
Apartheid Society