Date set in NY apartheid case

Fagan says he is fighting to secure tens of billions of dollars

A United States federal judge has set 6 November to hear arguments in a case against 34 international companies accused of profiting from apartheid, reports say.

Tens of thousands of South African victims of apartheid are being represented by controversial lawyer Ed Fagan, who filed the suit in New York.

He secured more than $1bn from Swiss banks for Jews murdered during World War II, and even larger sums from German industry.

The South African Government opposes the class action:

"We should not try and cheapen (the victims) sacrifices and contributions to the liberation struggle by equating it with money," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa told BBC World Service radio.

President Thabo Mbeki was reported as telling MPs last month that it was "completely unacceptable that matters central to the future of our country should be adjudicated in foreign courts".

The authorities also argue that the issue has already been dealt with by Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission where just over $3,800 (29,173 rand) was awarded to each of the thousands of people identified as victims of apartheid.

Billions

Judge John Sprizzo set the November date to hear substantive motions in the case, according to the Reuters.

During Monday's hearing, a lawyer representing one of the firms, accused Mr Fagan of exploiting the media to generate negative publicity about the defendants in order to force a settlement, the news agency reported.

Mr Fagan says he is fighting to secure tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars for his clients and has Archbishop Tutu as an ally.

Mr Fagan said the South African Government would violate the constitutional rights of its citizens if it were to attempt to interfere in this case.

"The South African Government since its formation in 1994 has done nothing...to preserve the rights and interests of the victims of apartheid," Mr Fagan told BBC radio's World Business Report.

The Financial Times newspaper says the government is concerned about the possible impact on business investment in the country

It adds that this lack of support from the South African authorities could considerably weaken the case.

The companies listed in the lawsuit include prominent banks like UBS and Credit Suisse and major motor vehicle manufactures like DaimlerChrysler.

Coincidently there is another class action case being brought in the United States by another group of lawyers representing an apartheid victims' group and an anti-debt body.