outpaces South African another others, Homelands rebellion detaining Venda, leaders FEATURES government due to begin on April 12, Mass uprisings in many of South "homelands". which spread after the momentous February 11, signal the end of But, with the forthcoming official "talks about talks" with De Klerk's the dramatic events have exposed ANC Pretoria's system of grand apartheid ol Nelson Mandela leadership's strategy for power crucial weaknesses in the By Ben Campbell Africa's bantustan
coup when he realised that over clearer in Cirkei the following week. haps the most ruthless of the bantustan puppets, arranged for his son to stage a 500,000 of his 750,000 subjects were actively relusing Cisker s pruedo-citizenship went off to Taiwan and Hong Kong, his som war nutflanked by army leader Brigadier De Klerk's sand-off tactics bocame and hurning his party cards. But, when Sebe Targely spontancous character of the up: "President-for-life' Lennox Sebe, per surges. De Kierk: hoping ANC leaders will be good for business strects in Baphuthatswana - or 'Bop', as the supposedly independent homeland 1s called - on February 7 following de Klerk'n reform apocch. Sparked partly by the deportation of Jon Lewis, the former editor of the South In what appears to be a new strategy by the De Klerk govemment, only a limited SA spired into protest by the release of Man- security forces Despite ANC appeals for As we go in press, the official death toll hos reached 250, with hundreds more wounded and detained, since the first han- tustan prising hegan in Bophuthatswana on February 14. The townships wid vil- lages of Gazankulu, Venda and Ciskei, in- delu, have been lumed inio war zones by corrupt bantustan rulers and their black has spread to some townships too. calm, unrest
Military Council declared it had siezed power in the second week of Much. The Brigadicr addressed the crowd at Mantsane under the backdrop of flags of the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) and said he wanted reintegration into South Africa', a This surprise development was explained by some observers as a success for the Mass tactic. The In the ahsence of any SADE intervention in the Ciskei townships, Brigadier Gooze's Brigadier under the red flag cuphemism for a non racial govemment. Movement's new Demneratic modiate reintegration of the territory into demands, declared a state of emergency and appealed in vain for military reinforcements from the Pretoria government. His tmops fired into the crowds from Casspir armoured cars, then cut demanded the resignation of the tyranical "president, Lucas Mangope, and the im- crowd Linking socio-economic off electricity, water and telephones. the South Africa on a non-racial basis. Bulletin, demands dismissed Mangope Defence Force (SADF) presence has been ment has refused to launch a single a rescue Bophuthatswana's Lucas Mangope two years ago. The main political heneficiary of the beleagured bantustan puppets is the ANC leadership. Why has de Klerk done this, and what implications does it have for developing On the day of Mandela's release, a rally organised for Hudson Nisanwisi, the chief sent in to the homelands, So far, the govern Left wing surprise working class power?
Page 5 ANC, a task made casier by the release of posed reintegration, and who looked set to forthcoming talks like the DTA chiefs did in Movement's new Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa has been recruiting many chiefs and headmen to support the Mandela and the prospect of a negotiated set- remont. Al the large Conference for a Democratic Future in December, it was made cleat that those homeland leaders who op with the govemment in the Namibia, would have their base of support collaborate they are supposed to provide for relatives The demands in Bop were linked to the people's socio-economic crisis. Centred on and Garankuwa, working class communities protested against official corruption, Jack of public services, un- employment and low wages. Those workers lucky cnough to find a paid job ear as little as R30 (ahout £7.50) per week. From this who scratch a living out of barren plots. Mostly non unionised, the semi-rural workers have begun to sel up committees and have the Odi regon to taken by surprise'. Intervention by the SADF was limited to preventing looting and arson. Nisanwist's local police and soldiers as he tors, led by workers and youth, look to the minister' of the non independent homeland' of Gazankula, tumed into a riot when the A general strike followed. Local reporters said that even left wing organisations were Most of the 25 dead were killed by Meanwhile, an estimated 70,000 pmtes- siezed SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 23, April 1990 pronounce 'away with the bantustans'. platform microphone was Fled into hiding. platform
Al the same line, Mandela expressed fears that the talks could drag out like those with over Mcanwhile, the government is determined to exploit any lint of ANC coliaboration, Foreign Minister Pik Botha said earlier SWAPO over Namibian inde- pendence - which took abandon their positions." twelve years. SWAPO now!l! Dissole parliam FEATURES
en February 6 that We with de ANC will help us now bocanse ticular party." In other words, the goverment will make deals with what is left lof the state of emer gency] is not aimed at any par-
the ANC leaders. and therefore the SACP as well, once they how effectively ANC cadre can discipline the masses in the townships, demonstrate
SACP is learning how to change his language: Slovo's 1988 statement that there should be no Chinese Wall between the struggle for socialism and the struggle for democracy" has lo live within the existing labour system, or a slightly reformed version of it, us Yet, despite calls for calm hy ANÇ-UDF leaders, the new wave of mass defrance has also erupted in townships on the Fast Rand; around Johannesburg, in Natal, at Crossroads outside Cape. Town and even in the Orange Froc State, Everywhere, protestors want more resources for housing and services, resources Lion of a national civic association for all townships and 'to revitalise socialist thinking umongst organised workers". But socialist solutions are the last ones now on the minds of Like Mugahe (the former propagator of •Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought') his ZAPU allies in Zimbabwe and SWAPO allies in Namibia, Joe Slovo of thie "I helieve it is possible to live with these rcalities [the private sector and international capital] and at the same time take structured steps in the direction of socialism. (in an in- terview with that curioos British magazine that Ultimately that means allow- ing. even if gradually at finst ANCIcadership control of the of the What belter laboratory than the herelands? There, over the next few years the most impoveristied and less organised workers can be laught from their local The cxccutive of the trade wiion con federation COSATU has called for the cred- SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 23, April 1990 Revitalise socialism - or Slovo's long transition? has little to do with marxism or today!) apparatus: state, Mugahe has done in Zambabwe, the ANC and SACP leaders. not available repressive capitalist which are authorities. and his MDM groups, including the unions, rather Congress supporters "The disappearance fof the homelands] no hurry to pressure govemment officials to Ciskei provides one clue. Despite the ANC and SACP flags on Brigadier Gozo's plat- detainees, the impoverished crowd began loot- ing shops. While Goozo's amy held back, the police unleashed a reign of terror for 40 hours. Arson against administrative buildings fol- lowed. Guozo's Military Council began talks to quell the violence with the UDF's Bast Lon- don officers and then with UDF General In exchange for freedom of organisation, the UDF regional president shared a platform with Brigadier Guoze to launch a clean up campaign. Molefe told the people that the police were yesterday's enemies, but they can be today's and tomorrow's friends'. Various than the UDF, had to provide marshalls to help the policing effort The UDE leaders will con- tinue 'for the time being" a tactical alliance Evidently, both the government and the ANC leadership have seen their pre-planned gradualist schedule of ralks threatened by the spoed of rebellion. UDF spokesperson Patrick must be timed correctly, not haphazardly. And when a homeland govemment is sympathetic to the liberation movement... there should he Secretary Popo Molefe: who was flown in. Pace of masses too fast form, and his promise to release ANC demonstration In February 1990: Iifting the ban was a gamble for De Klerk with the Military Council. Terror Lekota warned after the Ciskel revolt: On this hasis, pro-ANC forces are said to: to South Africa on March 17. Aware of General has surrounded himself with MDM generalised - opposition to bantustan leaders tustan administrations are unable to meet the masses demands for johs, decent wages, Like the British colonial Native Reserves" on which they were based, the modem homelands are still the dumping grounds for millions of South Africa's "surplus" workers and dependents of migrants essential to the working clase But in the 1980s, bantustan puppety were allowed to harbour small black armies and police forces to brutally repress: any dissent. Obviously the ANC hopes, to neutralise these amed forces and prevent needless bloodshed. But how has this been and Neison have been ahle to foment the uprisings rest breaking out in Transkei, KwaNgane and Lebowa. There, the respective leaders, Bantu Ramadikwe, have voiced support for reincor- Homolisa, will meet Mandela after he retums Mandela's royal Transkei birthplace, the advisers and has promised a referendum on The AN tactic of selective - rather than may appear very successful, but it is highly risky. Suffering an acute fiscal crisis, the ban- system of super-exploitation of the black described ahove, while largely preventing un- fewer taxes, more houses and hetlet services. New ANC tactic dangerous removed by mass disobedience campaigns. poration. The most powerful, Homolisa. Enos reintegration. Page 6
to speed up establishing internal branches to ANC national conference inside South: Africa is only scheduled for December 16, masses. Yet, while the Conservative Party is defying the govemment's death squad in- voles for the 1994 election, and planning a 'Freedom Manifesto" in May or June, the ANC Icadership is trying to defuse black White politicians are calling on the ANC while ANC bureauercy in Lusaka is doing a survey of exiles to assess the costs of retam. The and decisions on the workers' chatter are only scheduled for September. The im- unity with the smaller Black Consciousness forces. Only Mandela has alluded to the demand during the past three months. Link rule, nationalisation, and the alienation of The timing of any govemment deal with the ANC, and therfore the SACP, will be set by how seriously De Klerk views the electoral and security threat from the white nitra right, as against the pressure of the quiry, campaigning for one million white this to the ANC's equivocation on majority the homeland protestors, to see the dangers. burcaucracy and ared forces. violence', protest and FEATURES selves. But a political settlement in necessary, capital and paying premiums for white skills, Implicit in all this is the noed for the non- influcace of the COSATU leadership over thie: past few cars This was demonstrated by tempts lo relegate the worker's charter proposals to a liberal constitutional rights tween systems which succeed one another. one has to accept the need to go through a capitalism is just what De Klerk's party of Afrikaner business want. They would do it without the AN and SACP's collaboration if they could restructure the African market al home and throughout the continent by them- geoisie can join SADCC or the OAU, and get rid of the extra costs of importing Westem and militarism racial and black unions to be depoliticised, which Is just what has happened under ANC their subdued presence al the December Con- ference for a Demncratic Future and their al- now become 'there is no Chinese Wall be for exumple, before the South African bour- Of course, " "lengthy process' lengthy process of transition' homeland collaborators throughout the region, Today, March 1990) Of course, # lengthy
future Buthulezis whom he could substitute for the ANC and ment, as Preinria did with the DTA in mediate danger is that the ANC leaders will allow De Klerk to exploit more "popular' launched with the ANC leadership's blessing delay and compromise any democratic settle homcland Icaders Namibia. Democratic Future called for it in the light of cated. The demand was absont from the end, the ANC-SACP Icadership have equivo- ANC's policy statements on negotiations night up until December, when the Conference for a the Namibian elections and the need for MDM Who will do the policing of the black masses? on a universal hack door dealing and propaganda by the ANC leaders. Yet, instead of initiating the call loud and cicar for in immediate constituent franchise, and directing mass protest at this The only way the masses will accept the consequences of De Klerk's plans, is through Constituent Assembly now assembly frcely elected Poll Tax
councils, blithely confident that high Poll The Standard Spending Assesument levels that were announced implied a 4% increase in They may have been frustrated that extra money made availahle for the introduction of Poll Tax In Scotland was used not to bring Poll Tax levels down but to keep service levels higher than they wanted. The govern ment were certainly blamed for the high levels of Poll Tax anyway. Whatever the reason, the Tones are trying both to introduce the tax and While the govemment tried to relieve the pressure on individuals by giving slightly more generous (?) rebates than originally planned, it decided to increase pressure on the Taxes would be immediately blamed on the spending, enough in the government's mythol ogy to maintain this year's spending pius in to squeeze council spending at the same time. local, especially Labour, councils, E50 billion, a quarter of all public spending. constituencies Tory MP, Anthony Marinw, with council spending at around cus Fox, vice-chair of the back-bench 1922 Committee, talked of Tory MPs being "punch- drunk' from the Pall Tax levels set in their sive and unchallengcable campaign of civil being widely and seriously discussed inside top Tory Party cicles. And so it goes on. If we didn't have to keep an eyc out for our own ranks and Labour movement leaders it would So what went wrong for the Tories? It cal rules for introducing a new tax; start it with all generosity". "They may have been con- cemed at the public spending figures that the Chancellor anonced in last year's Autumn declared "we nsk being confronted by a mas- disobedience! Thatcher's leadership is now seems they forgot one of the most basic polti- dream opportunity! all he a joy to behold. years, always seemed one step ahead of tum into