Submitted to the Committee of Nine -.... [The following analysis of the political situation in South © Afriea and the nature of the struggle for liberation was submitted to the "Committee of Nine" set up by the Organization of African States, The memorandum was presented by I.B.Tabata, President of the African People's Democratic Union of Southern Africa (APDUSA), N.eHonono, President of the All-African Convention, and Miss J, Gool, Chairman of-the Working Committee of the Non-European Unity Movement. - The | subheadings appear in- the original text. ]
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iy ay “ Iwo Struggles -
The subject of the complex political situation in South Africa is so vast that in the limited space at our disposal we can ~deal only with those aspects that have a bearing on the struggles of the immediate future.: It is a matter of great urgency that we should understand what is the key to the situation, namely, THAT THERE ARE -TWO SEPARATE STRUGGLES. GOING ON AT PRESENT IN SOUTH AFRICA. On the face of it they may seem to be one and the same struggle and they are often assumed to be the same by the outside world. But the fact is they are totally different in aim, in ‘dimension and in direction.
The first is the NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF THE OPPRES- SED PEOPLES OF SOUTH AFRICA, in which the whole of the African peasantry in the "Reserves" is involved. This basic struggle is not: one that the outside hears-or reads about. Yet in the last decade it has grown in intensity throughout the country. It is a struggle far more grim than the one that is frequently published in the newspapers throughout the world.
The second struggle is the conflict between the representa- “tives of Imperialism in the South Africa and the Boer or Afrikaner Fascist wing, the Nationalist Government that has been in power. since 1948, It is this conflict with all its ramifications that receives publicity both in the home and the world press, though naturally it is not presented in those terms. — oe
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This has- the effect of creating confusion and blurring. the real political. issues involved. The unfortunate fact is that a section of our oppressed people themselves: has been drawn into this conflict. Some of our best men and women are sacrificing their lives in it. But they are being sacrificed on the altar of Imperialism in its own defence,
Now unless we and the rest of the independent States in Africa understand the nature of these two separate and indeed ultimately opposing struggles, and in their actions are guided by this understanding, the cause of liberation of our people in South Africa will be.lost and the sacrifice of our bravest fighters will have been in vain.
The first and true struggle. for liberation has as its immediate objective. liberty and land. It leads to political. freedom and freedom from want.
The Tactics of Imperialism
The second struggle declares as its objective the removal of the Verwoerd Government from power. But its ultimate aim though an unavowed one is NEO-COLONIALISM, that is, the loosening of some of the more obvious bonds: of political slavery while ensuring the economic stranglehold of Imperialism on the soil of South Africa.
~ Imperialism has to resort to the strategem of channelling the deep discontents of the people and harnessing their energies to its own conflicts and rivalries, thus diverting the oppressed from the true struggle for liberation. To this end they employ all their tricks and resources of publicity, devices that should be familiar to ‘us through their long history of divide and rule.
The complex political situation in South Africa can be more clearly understood, also, when we view it in the setting of the Cold War where there is a confrontation of two opposing social systems on a world scale -- Socialism versus Imperialism.
After the Second World War British Imperialism emerged so weakened that. it could no longer hold down all its colonies by force of arms. It had to adopt more subtle methods in order to maintain its hold on its vast empire. It evolved a new policy of granting political independence while seeking to strengthen its economic control. on its former colonies, In the intense competition between Imperialism and Socialism the Western Imperialists in general adopted similar tactics, especially as they were confronted with the disastrous effects of the policy of French Imperialism in Indo-China and Algeria, Their long history of the oppression of people of Colour has placed them at a disadvantage. Imperialism is eager to bury its shameful past.
It is in this context that the South African Nationalist Government has become a polecat in the community of the Western
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Nations, Its Apartheid policy and its Herrenvolkism -- the myth of the master race -= stinks in the nostrils of the world, Thus Ver- ‘woerd becomes a severe embarrassment to the West and has to be removed, It has become the task of imperialism to replace him with a more acceptable government, at once less obviously oppressive andat the same time capable of safeguarding its large investments.
‘But Imperialism finds itself up against a difficulty. It is not possible to remove the Nationalist Government through the ballot. The ‘only people in South Africa who have the vote are the three million Whites, of whom the Boer (Afrikaners) are in the majority. Now the Afrikaners have organized themselves not so much by class as by race, In every sphere they are organized separately into Afrikaner Trade Unions, Afrikaner Churches, teachers, organizations and the Afrikaner Chamber of Commerce, etc. Over all is one federal Afrikaner body (F.A.K.) which is controlled by the Broederbond, the fascist brotherhood at the core of the Nationalist Party. ‘Through the F.A.K. the Broederbond controls all the Afrikaner organizations down to the lives of individuals. It is difficult for any Afrikaner to vote against the Nationalist Party. In the present situation, then, and in the foreseeable future, it is not possible to vote into power a Government more suitable bo Imperialism,
But Imperialism.is faced with the necessity of getting rid of Verwoerd, The international situation is fast deteriorating and Verwoerd with his intransigent policy of Apartheid continues to place in jeopardy not only the large investments in South Africa but also the economic stakes that Western Imperialism has placed in the Continent of Airica. He endangers their vast plans of Neo-— colonialism.
After the massacre at sharpeville in 1960, the news of which echoed round the world, British Imperialism tried to bring about the downfall of the Verwoerd Government by manipulating the stock-exchange. This plan failed. Why? In South Africa, Britain alone has more than a thousand million pounds of investments. In addition to this, about 79% of industrial and commercial activity in the country is in the hands of the English-speaking section who support the politics of British Imperialism against Verwoerdism, Thus any attempt at financial manipulation recoiled first on the heads of the financiers and their local supporters.
Imperialism had to find other means of unseating Verwoerd, who in the eyes of the West is leading the country into an abyss. The organization of demonstrations, passive resistance campaigns, pass-burnings and the threat of one-day strikes -- strikes controlled from above =~ were calculated to cause confusion in the country in order to frighten and alarm the White electorate into re jecting the Nationalist Government,
It is in this way, also, that confusion was created amongst the oppressed people themselves, who became involved in the conflict between Imperialism and Verwoerd, All this activity was given much
publicity in the herrenvolk press and therefore in the world press. It was all part of the tactics of attempting to dislodge Verwoerd, And note the effects, The more Imperialism tried to embarrass Verwoerd, the more viciously heihit back at the oppressed people. Many were jailed and organizations were banned,
Verwoerd on his part: started an anti-Communist witch-hunt, presenting himself as a bulwark»in defence of Western Civilization. He staged the dramatic, long-drawn-out Treason trial of more than 156 people, of whom the great: majority were members of. Non-White.-: organizations. When this venture’ failed, he launched into the’ series of diabolical legislative: measures culminating in the. Sabotage. Act. and the 90-Day Detention Act (1963), which damns any protest. or: opposition to Apartheid under the blanket term of Communism, Thus today in South Africa there is what -is:known as statutory Communism.
In the immediate battle against the local representatives of Imperialism, Verwoerd armed himself with extraordinary powers which he is now able to use in an attempt. to crush the real liberatory Movement --.the Movement that is- “fighting against both Verwoerdism and Imperialism. Vulnerability of the South African Economy
‘In order to appreciate the desperate plight of Imperialism, it is necessary to: take a look.at the imperialist investments and the state of the.economy in South Africa itself, which are under a constant threat because of Verwoerd's reckless * apartheid ‘policy, As we have said, Britain alone has.a thousand million pounds invested in South : Africa. The kingpin of the economy is the gold-mining industry andthe gold mines. are dependent on cheap African labour.
In 1959, for example, a total of 62,025 WHITES were , employed -in the mines, but 487,982 AFRICANS, , The mining industry -- -gold, diamonds, coal -- is the biggest earner of foreign exchange. In 1959 it made available for direct import the sum of 215 million © pounds. Although secondary industry produces by far thé major part of the national income supplying the luxuries enjoyed by the whites, nevertheless it is not able to stand on its own feet. In 1959 it showed a debit balance of 175 million pounds, so that it depends for its foreign credit on the mining industry and agriculture, And these are precisely the two industries that depend almost: entirely on cheap African labour. -In short, it is the Africans who by their labour |. carry on their: backs not only the gold mines and agriculture but also secondary industry, and. therefore the whole of the South African economy.» .
Now, though. all the racialist laws of South. Africa are ‘geared to providing the cheap labour vital to the profits :of the mines andthe White farms, there is always a chronic shortage of such labour, In 1959 there were as many as 650,000 African labourers from: terri- — tories outside South Africa employed in the mines and on the farms. 60% of alle the African mineworkers » ‘in the gold mines were recruited
from the surrounding African territory. The Portuguese, for example, have a standing agreement with the Government of South Africa for the sale of Loo, 000 African labourers a year,
When we bear all these factors in mind, we realize the vulnerability of the whole South African economy which could be gravely crippled by the withdrawal of its labour-force, At the present moment there is a world-wide campaign for the boycott of.South African: products, spearheaded by the independent- African States, But something far more dangerous and effective would be their boycott of LABOUR, that. is, the withdrawal of mine labour supplied by the territories out side. South Africa.
This is what Imperialism fears. most of all. It would have a. most devastating effect. It would cripple both the mining industry and agriculture, both of which are the sole earners of the foreign credit that: secondary industry so sorely nesds. .With one fell blow the African States could shatter the economy of South Africa, the economy that sustains the monstrous armaments; the army, the police: force. and the vast arsenals of war with which the fascist Verwoerd Government is preparing to crush the liberatory Movement, and in the process precipitate war on an | international scale,
sword of Damocles hanging over the South African economy and:also over its huge investments. Both parties in the conflict, Afrikaner - Fascism and Imperialism, are acutely aware of this threat, But they each have their own plans for solving it. Imperialism sees its salvation in easing the sharp tensions in South Africa and in granting. some concessions to the Blacks, that is, the Africans, Coloureds and Indians,. They want especially to win over the goodwill of the intellectuals. They would use the Black intellectuals as their frontline of: defence, . They. are even prepared to see a few Black faces in Parllament, though. they would not allow the Africans to be in the majority, as in the independent African States, And this.is a most impor~ tant factor when we are considering the complex political struggle in South Africa,
A.precondition for these Imperialist plans, however, is the. removal -of the Nationalist Government from power and for: this they will: use all methods, It is in this perspective that the machina- — tions of the Imperialist agents are revealed in a diabolical light. They are harnessing the discontents of the people, their aspirations and their. willingness to sacrifice themselves, but it isin a battle that has nothing to do with the struggle for liberation. The whole Imperialist press in South Africa is geared to the achievement of this aim. It is in this setup that some of our bravest men and women are being thrown to the wolves, Verwoerd's Tactics
Verwoerd on his part sees another solution. He believes that: with his. military build-up he can destroy the liberatory Movement
and by intensifying his Apartheid laws he can further regiment labour to: meet the requirements of the economy, even if the African States. should withhold labour from their territories,
The Group Areas Act, for example, which separates the people into different racial pens, is designed to-turn the country into a. White Group Area, with pockets ‘reserved for the Coloureds, Indians and Africans, strategically placed throughout the country. These constitute labour reservoirs for the mines, the farms and industry.
Then there is the. ‘proposed creation of "Bantustans, "which are: cynically called independent States for Africans.. To begin with, these so-called States can neither be States nor can they be inde= pendent. In the first place they are not viable. They comprise in all.12.9% of the land area of South Africa. for the accommodation of four-fifths of the population. The so-called Parliament consists in the ‘main’ of Government chiefs, who are appointed and paid by it and are liable to be dismissed if they do not carry out government orders. The main function of the chiefs is to facilitate the recruitment of labour throughout the “Bantustans" for the mines, the White farms and industry.
One of the most sinister features of these "Bantustans"™ is the. attempt to re-establish tribalism. Every African man, woman and .child is to be classified under one tribe or. another, whether -they work in the towns or live.in the Reserves, Everyone must come under tribal law... Common law. has. been. abolished and the right of Habeas Corpus for the individual has been withdrawn. ‘The word of the chief is law...If-.a man fails to obey the order of a chief, he is guilty of a: criminal offence,. In actual practice these Laws: permit of police terror. throughout the. ‘Reserves, and indeed they reinforce it.
This seemingly senseless’ and ‘unnecessarily ‘brutal ‘regimenta= tion is a logical concomitant of a forced labour system, The whole . purpose is to. enable the chiefs: to.draft labour in the required quan= ,»tities. This. is Verwoerd's ‘reply to the problem of ‘labour. At this moment populations are being reshuffled according to ‘tribes. that no longer. exist. Each chief is armed not only with extraordinary powers but: with weapons for his henchmen, Verwoerd sees in the chiefs his particular front line of defence for Herrenvolkism., They are going to be used as a fifth column for the purpose of crushing the libera~ tory Movement ., .
, two Outlooks
La The. Rattle for Unit:
‘To those. outside South Africa it may seem strange that the oppressed people should be so blind to their own interests that they have. allowed themselves to be made use of by the rival parties of the oppressors. It is a simple matter to understand the behaviour of the chiefs who are dreaming of the dead past of tribalism and think that «by attaching themselves to Verwoerd they will regain some of their hong-lost power. It is a different matter, however, with the African intellectuals who have accepted the norms Of present- day society.
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Here it must be stated that for the last twenty years there have’ been. two different outlooks amongst the leaders of the oppressed; there have been two divergent policies which have led to two . opposing directions in the conduct of the struggle. It is precisely at this time, when a new phase in the objective situation is opening up, that it is imperative for the leaders to ask themselves in what direction their policies are leading them and the people with them. —
‘There are those who saw the struggle as a question of .plead~ ing their cause before the Herrenvolk and hoping for justice and a change of heart. This was specially true of the older intellectuals, who in this were following an old and honoured tradition of attach=’ ment to the liberal bourgeoisie in South Africa, .
“Their political struggle consisted in deputations, beginning in the days of Victoria, “the Great White Queen," and followed by. innumerable other deputations to successive. South African Govern- - ments, Such ideas die hard, especially when they have always received the fulsome support of the liberals who were well aware that, as long as the Africans followed this policy of humbly pleading their cause, so long were the investments of Imperialism safe .In South Africa.
'It was this policy that : was “followed by the oldest political organization, the. African National Congress, established in 1912 during the crisis of the Land Act... Its leaders had an attachment to and a relidnce upon the local representatives of Imperialism,
' But this policy of the older leaders was the source of the incapacity of the African National Congress to extend itself into a real national organization dynamically connected with the masses of the oppressed, whose aspirations they claimed to express, To this day it has no roots amongst the peasantry anywhere in the country, though the peasantry comprise by far the greatest majority of the oppressed in South Africa, To such leaders the function of an organization was chiefly as an instrument for bringing pressure to bear on the. government in order to'gain concessions, It is for the same reason that they have never appreciated the vital necessity of aligning themselves with the. many people's ORGANIZATIONS in the country, that is, the organizations among the peasants, the workers and the professionals. In fact about 1940 they allowed themselves to be wrenched out of the federation uniting all the African organizations, the All-African Convention (A.A.C.) to which they had belonged since its foundation during the political crisis of 1955, when the Africans were robbed of their last vestiges of Parliamentary voting rights and were fobbed off with the so-called Native Representation Act.
The explanation for the policy of the African National Congress clearly lies in its attachment to the liberal bourgeoisie, This attachment had a powerful influence both upon the outlook of the leadership of the Congress, on the structure of the organization and on the nature of the struggle. It is this reliance on the good
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will of the representatives of Imperialism that dictated their repeated declarations that: theirs was a non-violent struggle -- even as late as the Sharpeville days of 1960. In fact it was precisely on. the issue of such attachments that the youth in the African National Congress, broke away in 1959 to form the Pan Africanist Congress. Their stated reason for the break-away was that the African National Congress was too much under the influence and control of the Whites.
The All-African Convention Calls for Unity
A second trend manifested itself amongst the oppresséda, tark~ ing a sharpening of political consciousness, It crystallized itself in 1943 during the ferment created by the Sécond World War, when the All-African Convention sent out a-clarion call for the Unity not only of all Africans but of ALL SECTIONS WHO SUFFERED UNDER A COMMON OPPRESSION, THE AFRICANS, GOLOUREDS AND INDIANS.
Thi s- was a revolutionary ‘concept: in ‘he given conditions. ‘of South Africa, -The- All-African Convention. called for unity on the. basis of a clearly-defined programme, rejecting inferiority with all its. manifold: forms of racial: oppression,: and: demanding full and equal rights for all South Africans, irrespective: of race, colour or creed, It enunciated that the absolute precondition for the creation of a truly national organization. for. the..successful conduct. of the struggle is. the complete break-away; from the tutelage. of. White Herrenvolk Partles, be it the- iiberat or -any.. other party. oe
.. This new. policy - meant striking out ‘into a . completely indepen-= dent path of struggle. and.the. establishment of the Movement ona... principled basis, - free. from: Herrenvolk influences, and ideas.. + The federal “organization: uniting many Coloured organizations, the National Anti-C.A.D. (that. is, against the proposed Coloured Affairs Department), responded to. the call for UNITY and together with the All-African Convention formed the NON-EUROPEAN UNITY MOVE- MENT in 1945. At the first all-in Conference there were over 150 organizations and branches represented, .
The African National Congress was also invited, as well as the ‘South African Indian _Congress, In. fact, for several. years specithe African Netional Congress. The South African Indian ‘Congress, which was at that time under the. complete control of the -Indian.. merchant class leadership, was. invited by the leaders of the Unity . Movement to a special. conference in 1944, where the question of Unity was thrashed out. . The leaders of the South.African Indian Congress. refused. to. accept the demand: for: the full. franchise, stating quite | frankly that they were ‘pledged to @ policy of Compromise with the Smuts Government of the day, under the old Ghandi Agreement which had placed the Indian population. in a special position. The African National Congress, for its part, preferred to seek its allies amongst the liberal bourgeoisie rather than. with the other. sections of the oppressed,
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THE QUESTION OF UNITY HAS BEEN THE CARDINAL POINT IN THE MOVE- ‘ MENT IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR TWENTY YEARS, especially as the struggle’ began to grow in intensity.
[To be continued.)
That FBI Report
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