JOHANNESBURG South Africans reacted with shock and horror Wednesday to a video film shown on television of six white policemen setting dogs on black men for 40 minutes, beating them up and hurling racial abuse at them.
The film shown on SABC television Tuesday evening and the banner headlines on the front pages of Wednesday's newspapers demonstrated the fragility of race relations six years after the end of apartheid.
The Star newspaper said it was inundated with calls from outraged viewers, both black and white.
The Afrikaner policemen were arrested Tuesday and were expected to appear in court on Thursday on attempted murder charges.
The film, shot in 1998, showed the dogs, on leashes, being repeatedly set on the three alleged illegal immigrants in a field outside Johannesburg as the policemen work them into a frenzy with shouted commands.
Several times the victims try to defend themselves against the animals, but are beaten up by the policemen as they beg for the attack to be stopped.
The men, bleeding from numerous bite and scratch wounds, and their clothes in tatters, were then made to stand in a line as some of the policemen punched them.
The policemen, speaking in Afrikaans, referred to their victims as "bastards" and "Kaffirs", and called the dogs "Kaffir biters." According to AFP, one of the officers is seen slapping a suspect on the head as he screams in pain.
"I am horrified and outraged. This blatant display of racism is likely to cause serious racial tension and might dent our international image," said safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete.
The Gauteng provincial government apologized to the public.
"We are disgusted and want to convey our sincere apologize to the people of Gauteng and the rest of the country," said provincial Safety and Liaison Minister Nomvula Mokonyane.
Opposition leader Tony Leon, who heads the Democratic Alliance, said the scenes belonged to the "heyday of apartheid." Pieter Mulder, chairman of the Afrikaner-based Freedom Front, said: "The Afrikaner's ideals and future in South Africa will not be built on racism or through the bullying of other people." Said Bishop Mvume Dandala, president of the South African Council of Churches: "The further tragedy of these events is that they have touched the raw nerve of our fledgling democracy." Police set up a team drawn from the national serious and violent crimes unit, the elite special task force and the special directorate of investigations to ensure similar incidents are not taking place at other dog units.
"We are doing our utmost to rid the saps (South African police service) of these backward elements," Tshwete said. "I have made it abundantly clear that there is no place for racism and brutality." Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi said he had a message for all policemen who abused their powers: "Pack up your uniforms and hand in your badges.
You are not wanted in the saps. You will be flushed out and imprisoned should you make yourselves guilty of the criminal behavior and gross brutality and racism that was witnessed in this video footage." Whites still far outnumber blacks in the senior ranks of South Africa's Police Service, while the junior ranks are overwhelmingly black.
The figures, for male officers only, are 5,748 whites, 2,321 blacks, 453 coloreds (mixed race) and 712 Indians, a spokeswoman told AFP.