Mandela and Moscow join in ATURES South Africa m LL
ANC policy switch were years of great turbulence thousands of people took part in trade union movement con- solidated itself, led successful tial influence by the building of The early years on the 1980s in South Africa. Tens of massive struggles against the apartheid regime - in the townships, in the factories, strikes and increased its poten- two national trade union federa- mines and workshops.
The state's response was to declare a state of emergency, banning 90 or- ganisations including the United tions - COSATU and NACTU.
within the womb of the apartheid system, and cameral racist parliament? The fact that this is shared the belief that transition in South Africa maturity arising from half a century of mass issue of insurrection. (Quated by Bundy in Transformation, No. 8) What are the forces Page 23 within the process of the struggle to destroy it. Can he, perhaps have in mind the Tri- now openly being discussed within the ANC does not, of course, mean that the ANC leader- ship has already changed their position on the need for armed struggle. Not yet! But Mashinini does give more than a broad hint that there is a faction or tendency within the ANC ... if we have introduced a new element. that of the negotiated settlement, and if we will have to come through negotiations, then it is imperative to address and reviow the strategy A far cry, indeed, from Mashinini himself is only a very recent con- In April 1986, he argued in the pages of Sechaba, that the highly developed capitalism of South Africa has given rise to a large black working clars, relatively highly organised and class-conscious, with a political experience and He emphasised that this as it could be con- ceived of in any highly developed capitalist country brought to the fore of the struggle the which are causing this "new thinking in the ranks of the ANC? It cannot simply be the abolition of petty-apartheid. The main fotnida- tions of apartheid: the Group Arcas Act, the Land Acts and the Registration of Population Act, are still firmly in place, with no sign that vert to the concept of a negotiated settlement. Supporters of Buthelezi's Inkatha movement have murdered ANC and UDF activists, but who are thinking along these lines: the heady days of the carly 1980s. of the people's war." political mobilisation. surrection on the other." ANC President Oliver tigated as treason or heresy a couple of years ago are today discussed openly in the pages of the ANC's publications Sechaba and African Communist. "Negotiation" and dialogue" have now become acceptable for discussion in the policy-making hierarchies of the ANC and Negotiation", wrote: A relatively new concept, that of a negotiated scttlement of the South African conflict, has already won itself a of the country". He goes on to argue that, Since we are confronted with conditions under which absolute victory is imporsible, conditions in conducted must end up in partial victories for Both sides would have victories", he writes that it would impose some cipation. In practical terma, this means that the concept of partial victory implies the de jure abolition of aprurtheid, and says loss about the troduced by President Botha have created "an Today there is a completely different atmos- phere. Policies which would have been cas In Sechaba in August 1988, Alex Mashinini, in an article entitled 'People's War and prominent position in the political vocabulary which both sides must necessarily make com promises on certain positions, we can conclude that the outcome of any negotiations that can be failed to defeat cach other absolutely, and we would have to be content with partial victories. Elaborating on what he meant by partial limitations on our programme of social eman- seemsto believe that the so-called reforms" in- infra-structure of democratic transformation - On what does he base this argument? are now courted by Mandela and the ANC Tambo spoke of "dual power". the warring parties. indefinite periods without trial, and, when relcased, subjected to sovere restrictions, a down-tum in the intensity of the struggle was, perhaps, inevitable. IL recalls the immediate aftermath of Sharpville when, for nearly a decade after the banning of the African Nation- gress (PAC) die masses seemed in slumber - only to awaken into insurrectionary-scale activity with the Soweto uprising, and the birth of the new hlack trade unions following the rash of spontaneous strikes which hit Durban in the formation of street and arca committees. People's Courts, and the massive increase in tion was just amund the comer. The oppressed people had given notice that they were not cording to some, the declarabion of a state of longer able to go on ruling. These views were In 1985, a regular contributor to the South A frican CP's joumal African Communist, who. uses the pen-name "Convade Mzala', could write that South Africa was on the threshold of and CP propaganda continually spoke of al Congress (ANC)and the Pan African Con- The uprisings in the lownships in the 1980s. support of the hanned organisations, particular- longer willing to tolerate their condition: ac- emergency showed that the rulers were no particularly argued by the ANC and the Com- the revolution*. The whole tenor of his article was around the quesiton: How should we raise the question of the armed insurrection?'. ANC 'People's Power" and "People's War'. Com- rade Mzala wrote of the street commillces and communal organisations as organs of self- government on the one hand and organs of in- ly the ANC, led to xpeculation that the revolu SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 16 June 1989 tions banned, theirleaders detained for Democratic Front and youth organisa- tions. From the regime's point of view With the mass political organisa- this has had the desired effect. munist Party leaderships:
De Klerk, like P.W. Botha before him, is aware that old-style Verwoerdian apartheid is out which will safeguard the privileges of the white minority and save capitalism. One caris cocked to the emergence of "moderate voices unong the oppressed. Pretoria's success in finding a solution to the Namibia problem, with the assistance of Angola, Cuha and the Soviet Union, has raised hopes that it can also find hitherto unlikely allies in the black liberation Charlie Van Gelderen SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 16 June 1989 political activists; the un-banning of the mass organisations; the abolition But, of course, the National Party leader war, in the first instance, addressing his white constituency, which he will be facing in Lie len off the for right-wing Afrikaners. Their vote will go to the Conservative Party. Now he is hoping to win over a section of the 'liberal" English speaking white voters, thus undercut- no longer on the agenda. He is secking a way indaba would he 'free' to put their full view- points and counter-proposals. Talks could be concentraled on how the aspirations and expec. and be proffered a new constitution which would allow "full participation to These fine words have been met with scor by the black majority. They would want to see some sign of scriousness of intent behind the beautiful promises - such as an end to the state of emergency; the release of all political prisoners uncondi- tignally, the lifting of restrictions on of censorship, and an end to capital general elections later this year. He has writ- the ANC from Losaka on April 19. In this sity of Natal, and by Buthelezi to try and end the black against black violence in "Members of Inkatha, the UDF. COSATU, businessmen, clergymen, doctor, lawyers, social workers, youth and women, people of all races, you share the responsibility of ending apartheid - the root cause of all the conflicts Join forces and present a fomdabic front COSATU and UDF affiliates issued a press statement giving full support for the These are all indicalors showing the But this wind is not only affecting some elements in the libration movement. Speaking to a National Party conference, the new party leader, F. W. de Klerk also said that the time for negotiations with all South Africans has arrived. Paiticipants in this great tations of all the people conld be reconciled, all South Africans and without pre- ther reinforced by the statement issucd hy the ANC gives its full support to the peace conference which is being proposed by. others, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Dennis Hurley, Professor Pete Booyssen, Principal of the Univer- The statement from the ANC reads: ting the newly-formed Democratic Party. against the violence of apartheid. direction the wind is blowing- proposed conference. ample of the drafting of agreements in Joint platform with Buthelezi and UDF against repression National Party leader FW de Klerk - time for significance that he addressed Buthelezi by his candidate for negotiations, but he has always: arises: is Mandela preparing himself to play a rule in secking a way out of the impasse in South African politics? Of great significance is the passage in his letter to Buthelezi where he Yet in the June 1987 issue of Sechaha, one Theodoropolous, referred to Buthelezi as a The pre-negotiation position has been fur- Mandela's almost effusively friendly letter to Mangoshutu Buthelezi, leader of the right wing Inkatha movement It is considered of great and signed with his own Buthelezi has long been Pretoria's favoured insisted that he could cot take part in discus- sions until Mandela is released, The question expressed his 'fervent hope (to see) the restora- tion of the cordial relations which existed be- tween the twoorganisations (ANC and Inkatha) of the leading CP theoreticians. C. and the ANC believe that the climination of apartheid by political methods would be in the The pro-negotiation tendency must have heen further strengthened by the letter from Nelson Mandela to the British Ambassador to ly hinted that he would like talks, and interests of all South Africans, black and white." He did, however, add that the climina- tion of violence depends on Pretoria rather than Pretoria, Sir Robert Renwick, in which he clear- URE the ANC or the Soviet Union. tribal name "Madiba'. tribal name "Shngi" T in the seventies. negotiations' LL consensus among permanent members of the Most ominous of all is Yukalov's claim that rational solutions for South Africa was one that the Soviet Union shared with the ANC. There are no differences in our positions. The USSR ogy used by Yukalov and Mashinini cannot be cer, notably SWAPO, which had no part in this guine view? And has the Kremlin in mind a In Moscow's view of the future of South Africa, as interpreted by Yukalov, the main role will be played, not by the national liberation forces hut by "multilateral diplomacy" and the abandoning of attitudes based on confronta- tion." This would depend above all on political the position of favouring political over confron- siderable weight and prestige in support of a Yukalov. head of the African Administration of guage in diplomatic and guarded, bor there is enough in it to encourage the "moderates" in the The striking similarity between the pliraseo!- One wonders if the Namibia Liberation for- In an article in the Weekly Mail (March 23- 30), Alexander Devitt, political analyist of the Novosti Press Agency in Moscow, qunles Uri the forcign ministry of the USSR. The lan- "peace process" would concur with this san- have gained sustenance by the growth of a tinues, Anti-trade union legislation is on the statute book. In what way, then, is apartheid aborting itself? Cleady this is There has always been more than onc source of developments in South Africa in wing, with shadings in between. There are signs that the reformists, who see the way forward through negotiation and dialogue Ever since its foundation in 1909. there has always been a strong petty-bourgcois element in the ranks and leadership of the tion with the state, this sector has been over- shadowed by younger elements and workers. But they are still there and they Now Moscow has added its not incon- they will soon disappear. The mass or- without trial or severe restriction on the political activity of those released con- the ANC - a refonnist and a revolutionary ANC, but in the years of violent confronta- tinne as long as it exista. But this does 2 black trader class and a black bourgeoisie. wheth there are no winners, nor losers. ample of the drafting of agreements in not mean that we shall only use our fists Yukalov then cited the An- problem ... and struggle is not the sole in dealing with the government of South The Soviet Union, said Yukalov, "preferred a political settlement and a political solution to the apartheid means (of fighting apartheid). There are gola/Namibia peace process as an ex- nonsense, and we must look elsewhere. "The isolation of apartheid will con have been strengthened. Why is this? similar procedure for South Africa? United Nations Security Council. ganisations remain banned. sides stood to gain", he said. others including sanctions. less intransigent approach. entirely coincidental Page 24
un FEATU LL weapon is •Your
Over the past month two new groups have been formed which aim to break new ground in the debate in the wake of On May 27, Women against Fundamen 'Religious leader don't speak for ux" against the demonstration called by Islamic fundamen- talism organised a picket on the themo fear - ours is courage' the Salman Rushdie affair.
We call for the aboltion of all blasphemy laws, the cod of state aid to religious education, and the disestahlishment of the Church of Britain of a genuinely pluralist, which has never existed in this and publish is also our right to sent. It is the public's right to open damentalists and racist forces, we cannot be silent. We urge others to join us in supporting the right to dissent and opposing both racism tion by the state, the right to dis- sent, and indeed the right to freedom of worship. is under- England as necessary precondi- tions for the development in democratic society - a socicty Salman Rushdie's right to write reud, to think, to criticise, to dis and honest discussion and debate. In the face of the appalling dis tortion of those issues by both fun- banner of anti-racism has been confused with support for religion. It is high time that sharper turalism and anti-racism and that the fight for sccularism was given a higher priority by the Terry Conway. Page 25 distinctions were made between muti-cul Contact Women Against Fun- damentalism and Voices for Rushdie c/o BM Box 2706, London WCIN 3XX and fundamentalism. country: mined. Muslim men opposed to Rushdie - and women's rights the controversy surrounding this that such a false view only assists from many different backgrounds gies to control their own destinies. We reject the attempt to present book as a crude "Bastern vs. Westem conflict and we believe those who would restrict our right No culture of society has a monopoly on the values of pluralism and the