INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES TO APARTHEID

International responses

Internationally, the response to Apartheid was phenomenal. Influencal world leaders expressed their vocal disapprovement regarding Apartheid and constantly encourgaged South Africans as well as people all over the world to fight Apartheid. There were numerous Anti-Apartheid movements within the United States that consisted of well known African American athletes such as Paul Robeson who is known as a 'leading American pioneer for the struggle against Apartheid'. Below is a biography as well as the significant contributions that Robeson has made in the struggle against Apartheid.

PAUL ROBESON (1898-1976)

Description

Paul Robeson - "a great athlete, actor, singer, and scholar - was a pioneer in promoting political and material support to the liberation movement of South Africa. A courageous fighter against racism and colonialism, he suffered persecution during the "cold war" but stood firm. The United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid held a special meeting on his 80th birthday to pay tribute to him."

"On October 11, 1978, the United Nations bestowed an award on him posthumously in recognition of his great contribution to the international campaign against apartheid. His centenary was observed in many cities in the United States and in London in April 1998."

STATEMENT BY MFANAFUTHI (JOHNNY) MAKATINI, ANC REPRESENTATIVE AT THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMITTEE AGAINST APARTHEID, ON THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF PAUL ROBESON APRIL 10, 1978

"... To the African people throughout the length and breadth of the continent, the peoples of the Third World in general, and the oppressed and struggling people of South Africa in particular, Paul Robeson was more than a legendary artist whose unparalleled talent always inspired the downtrodden blacks with confidence, pride, and the spirit of self-assertion. To our people, Paul Robeson was also an outstanding and selfless freedom fighter, political leader, whose single-minded dedication to the cause of the black man throughout the world, and human and social progress in general, made him a target of the most vicious persecution by the reactionary forces in the United States; the forces that were committed to the perpetuation of exploitation of man by man."

"In his extensive travels and professional performances abroad, Paul Robeson won himself unparallelled fame, respect and influence. If he had sought personal growth and wealth, if he had remained unconcerned and silent over the sequels of slavery and the plight of the blacks in the United States, the plight of the colonised people in Africa and the world, he would have been acclaimed by the dominant group in this country, through its powerful media which it owns and controls, the greatest roving American ambassador of the time. But Paul Robeson was made of finer and sterner stuff. He spoke out. He clearly and unequivocally declared his stand, and the virulent campaign conducted against him only served to temper and steel his commitment and immensely increased his fame and prestige."

"Any appraisal of Paul Robeson shows that his internationalism, his all- embracing humanism, was developed through his deep communion with the Afro- American heritage. To the African National Congress, this day is of special significance because of his close association with our struggles. As you recalled, Paul Robeson attended the meeting of the Coordinating Committee of Colonial Peoples in London in 1949 - at which the African National Congress was represented -and travelled from London to Paris, with Dr. Yusuf Dadoo, to represent the Coordinating Committee at the World Peace Congress."

"In South Africa, Paul Robeson is considered an outstanding champion of the emancipation of the country. No doubt, when the time comes, since victory in South Africa is now as certain as sunrise, he will be one of the first to be honoured by our people..."

At this point in time when this article was written, apartheid still existed, but as it says "victory is certain."

Source: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs

Below is the ten point plan of the African-American Manifesto of Southern Africa. The committe came up with ten starting points as to what the American Government could do in order to help fight Apartheid.

The African-American Manifesto on Southern Africa, 1976

This ten-point manifesto was adopted at a conference convened by the Congressional Black Caucus, September 24-25, 1976, in Washington, D.C. It promoted campaigns in the United States to end apartheid and to free Nelson Mandela.

"There comes a moment in the affairs of humankind when honour requires unequivocal affirmation of a people's right to freedom with dignity and peace with justice. We express solidarity with Africans protesting racism and oppression in the streets of Soweto, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Johannesburg and elsewhere. The bloody repression of Blacks in South Africa have created explosive environments which threaten world peace . Inaction in face of such a threat is betrayal of our future - betrayal of humanity, betrayal of the long line of Black men and women who have given their lives in the struggle for freedom." "Conscious of our duty to speak, and recognising our responsibilities to humanity and to the revolutionary ideals of our forebears, we, the descendants of Africa, meeting in Washington, D.C., on this 200th anniversary of the first modern war for independence, proclaim our unswerving commitment to immediate self-determination and majority rule in Southern Africa." "We do this because we are African-Americans, and because we know that the destiny of Blacks in America and Blacks in Africa is inextricably intertwined, since racism and other forms of oppression respect no territories or boundaries."

The root causes are:

•Despotism and racism that serve to polarise the white government and the African majority;

•The continuing violence by the Europeans to sustain institutions of racism and exploitation;

•Economic exploitation.

The history of our common struggle and recognition that our cause is just have brought us this day to proclaim and adopt the following 10 points:

1.The President of the United States should: Support a finding in the Security Council that South Africa's continued illegal occupation of Namibia is an act of aggression and a threat to the peace, calling for action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Provide assistance, both humanitarian and military, to the liberation movements through the Organisation of African Unity. Impose a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa and a stoppage of shipments of equipment to be used by the military, including all technology and nuclear material.

2.We totally support the liberation of Southern Africa from white minority rule by means of armed struggle.

3.We urge the Administration to call upon South Africa to release its political prisoners and to begin negotiating with them and other Black leaders toward the establishment of a real democracy which guarantees majority rule and human rights for all.

4. We strongly condemn the Pretoria Government for crimes against humanity through its wanton killing of hundreds of African youthful demonstrators and its wholesale detention without legal redress of Africans and their allies. We urge that the U.S. provide special political refugee status, similar to that accorded to the Cubans, to Africans forced to emigrate from Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa because of political repression.

5. We, in support of the Organisation of African Unity, oppose any U.S. Government recognition of the "Transkei" and United States corporate investment in that "Bantustan" whose independence will deny Africans their birthright to full economic and political participation in the entire Republic of South Africa.

6 We reject any U.S. policy that stresses "minority rights" rather than "human rights" in Southern Africa, since minority rights in context implies the preservation of European privilege.

7. We believe that independence in Namibia - including Walvis Bay, the principal port presently considered part of South Africa - must be achieved according to the guidelines set forth in Security Council Resolution 385 of January 30, 1976, which demands that South Africa withdraw and end its illegal administration of Namibia, and transfer power to the people of Namibia with the assistance of the United Nations; that is, release all political prisoners, hold free elections under United Nations supervision and control and "abolish all racially discriminatory and politically repressive laws and practices, particularly bantustans and homelands." SWAPO (South West African Peoples' Organisation) must have a principal role in any negotiations. The Turnhalle Conference should have no standing whatsoever since it excluded SWAPO participation and is the creation of South Africa.

8. We urge proper recognition of the expanded potential of the United Nations as a fully representative body. We urge the U.S. to join the Council on Namibia, contribute to the U.N. Trust Fund, and we condemn the use of the veto by our government in the Security Council to protect South Africa.

9. We urge our government to recognize the People's Republic of Angola and support its admission to the United Nations. The PRA has joined the other Front Line States in efforts to obtain an appropriate settlement in Southern Africa. U.S. alignment on the same losing side with South Africa during the Angolan conflict demonstrated the bankruptcy of the government's Africa policy. This error should not be perpetuated. A normalisation of relations with the Angolan Government will facilitate any U.S. involvement in bringing about a just peace in the region.

10. We condemn the role played by the United States and other foreign corporations and banks, which by their presence and activities collectively have participated in the oppression of Blacks and have undergirded the repressive white minority governments of Southern Africa.

Our Commitment

We challenge the Judeo-Christian community, the labor movement, the media and the political, business, and civic leadership in this country to see that our government upholds its values and its historical commitment to self-determination, freedom and justice, and to understand that the appeasement of South Africa can only invite an escalated war that will exacerbate racial tensions in the United States. Finally, in turn, we commit ourselves to mobilising Black Americans and others of good will to formulate and support a progressive U.S. policy toward Africa. And we state our opposition to those Blacks who work directly or indirectly to support white minority regimes in Southern Africa.

The policies we have recommended are not only morally just, they are in America's best interests. Africa's economic and strategic importance to the United States in an increasingly interdependent world must be fully recognised.

Source: http://www.anc.org.za.ancdocs

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